Nine national leaders have the power to unleash nuclear devastation but, if it were not for the actions of a traitorous Taiwanese colonel in 1988, that number would be at least 10.
Chang Hsien Yi at 73 years old enjoys a quiet life in Idaho. For years he lived in secrecy in the US because of fears he would be assassinated by Taiwanese agents for revealing the full extent of Taiwan’s secret nuclear weapons programme. His defection gave Washington the evidence it needed to force Taipei to shut down the project.
After decades of silence, Mr Chang has recently written a book on his role in this fascinating and little-known chapter of history. One of the revelations is that his actions, carried out mostly for idealistic reasons, halted Taiwan’s project when it was just one or two years away from producing the bomb.