The Korean War (1950-1953) reignited the USA's interest in the Far East, and consequently Taiwan, when the Truman administration had just begun to cut ties with the island, as they thought a Communist invasion was imminent.
The depletion of Communist China's resources caused by the Korean War gave Taiwan some leeway and helped it avoid getting annexed. In addition, the US's interest in preserving Taiwan as an ally of theirs swelled, as demonstrated by General Doughlas MacArthur famously comparing a hypothetical Communist-controlled Taiwan to "an unsinkable aircraft carrier".1 Tangible outcomes included President Harry Truman ordering the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait to protect the island, as well as the initiation of a economic aid program in 1951, which saw $1.5 billion in foreign aid be granted to Taiwan until the program's end in 1964, over $100 million of which as nonmilitary aid.2 Besides capital, they also supplied the ROC administration with skilled technocrats to help them modernise the island effectively.
