China-Taiwan Issue - Coursework Example

CHINA-TAIWAN ISSUE al Affiliation Introduction China-Taiwan controversy regards the political status of Taiwan. It hinges on whether Taiwan should remain effectively independent as the Republic of China’s (ROC) territory, become unified with the territories that are currently governed by People’s Republic of china (PRC)or officially declare independence and become the Republic of Taiwan (Sanford, 2009, p1-2). The issue also questions whether its existence and legal status as a country are legitimate with regards to international law and the diplomatic recognition Taiwan receives from the international community. Preventing Taiwan from going independent is totally critical to the legitimacy or authenticity of the communist regime of China (Lynn, 2005, p415). Chinese leaders are of the opinion that their own nationalistic people will overthrow them should they allow Taiwan to go independent. This issue has attracted mixed reactions from international organizations and communities. The supporters of Taiwan independence maintains that ROC has never been part of PRC because Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state. One of such countries is the United States of America. The US supplies Taiwan with arms and provides military training to the ROC Armed forces (Black, 2007, p128). On the other hand, supporters of Chinese reunification maintain that Taiwan is part of China because the Civil War is not over since no peace deal has been signed. They claim that the political separation that exists is temporary, and the ROC and PRC will be reunified (Sanford, 2009, p10). The actual conflict between Taiwan and China has been fueled by the Taiwan relations Act passed in 1979. The Act was established to fight communism and help spread capitalism and globalization, a policy that communist China is against because the Act permits the US to come to the defense of Taiwan should any outside nation attack it (Wallace, 2007, 69). Due to its ability to strengthen China strategically, PRC has sworn that it will keep Taiwan under its jurisdiction using whatever power that is required. This issue is significant to the international community because it is likely to spur the war between the two countries. The PRC is likely to use force to bring Taiwan under their jurisdiction. Taiwan is also likely to engage in risky behavior that precipitates an attack. This would destabilize Asia, drag the US into a regional conflict and destroy the Taiwan economy. PRC has listed things that are likely to provoke a war. One of such things is the declaration of independence by the Taiwan that would mean war. It would also mean some form of the economic embargo or military conflict or an attempt by China to destabilize the economy of Taiwan. The conflict is likely to escalate due to the inevitable result of the war. It is, therefore, upon the international community to intervene and help address the situation in order to prevent the conflict from escalating further (Wang, 2008, p93). History Taiwan is an island off southern coast of china with 23 million residents. Japan has occupied it for fifty years (1895 to 1949). In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek (ROC president) and the entire Nationalist Party as well as his followers fled to Taiwan after having lost his struggle for power to Communist Party in China. It was during this time that the conflict began. Having been overthrown by on the mainland by Mao Tse-Tung (Chinese Communist Party leader, the Kuomintang (KMT) leader escaped to the Chinese island of Taiwan and reestablished the Chinese nationalist government. Being in exile in Taipei, Kuomintang (KMT) government described itself as an alternative to the Communist rule. They hoped that one day they return to power in Beijing (Marquand, 2004, p29). People’s Republic of China was established in 1950 with an aim of unifying all of China under their rule. For that reason, they invaded Taiwan, a move that failed since the United States of America commissioned naval forces and succeeded in defending Taiwan. As a result, both ROC and PRC have not been completely independent or integrated. They have not been at peace or t war with each other. Both the countries have experienced military hospitalities and tensions which have risen at times. For instance, when china tested their ballistic missiles off Taiwan’s coast in March 1996 and when Taiwanese islands of Matsu and Kinmen were attacked by the PRC in August 1958 (Lynn, 2005, p413). The countries’ relations have somehow improved at other times especially with PRC retreating it stern Communism and accepting Western economic policies. Even though there are fluctuations in relations, ROC has developed a stellar economy and democratic government that is independent on China. The two countries have numerous economic interests in common as they have invested billions of dollars in each other’s business (Gupta, 2007, 353). Even though KMT maintained than Taiwan will ultimately reunite under national rule because it is part of one China, the current ruling party of Taiwan, Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has maintained that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state, separate from PRC. The first and most famous issue on the platform of the party is sovereignty of Taiwan. This has put DDP at odds with the leadership of PRC. In 1979, the United States and Taiwan signed the Taiwan Relations Act where it committed to defending Taiwan in case it is attacked by PRC. The US has also supplied the country with arms as part of the treaty (Wang, 2008, p89). Despite Taiwan being independent, China has maintained that one day the two countries will be reunited by any means possible. This has been evidenced by a massive upsurge of military forces on the PRC’s side of the Taiwan Strait. In March 2005, PRC documented an Anti-secession Law concerning Taiwan which states that “in no uncertain terms that if Taiwan attempts to declare full independence from China or if peaceful means of achieving reunification are exhausted, then China will use force to take back Taiwan.” (Lynn, 2005, p411). However, ROC government has rebuffed the intimidation by the Chinese government to reintegrate. Chen Shui-bian, Taiwanese President made a statement in 2002 “each side of the Taiwan Straits is a country”. He also stated that the National Reunification Guidelines of Taiwanese National Reunification Council are “absurd products of an absurd era”; statements that have made Beijing accuse him of being a troublemaker and a provocateur. It is apparent that Chen is not willing to allow Taiwan to be absorbed back into PRC a stance that has increased the possibility of war between the two countries (ROK Daily, 2006, 12). The US mainly supports Taiwan because of its strategic location and economic potential and its ability to strengthen them. They also have economic interest in Taiwan, a move being impacted by China, who claims that US is interfering with their regional cooperation (Gupta, 2007, 343). Perspective analysis The position of People’s Republic of China The PRC maintains that the Republic of China ceased being a legitimate government when the PRC was established on 1 October 1949. It claims that it is the successor of the ROC and the sole legitimate Chinese government (Wallace, 2007, p72). Under the succession of states theory, PRC has the total right to rule over Taiwan. The stand of PRC is that the PRC and ROC are two separate splinter groups in the Chinese Civil War which did not legally end. For that reason, the PRC maintains that the two factions belong to one sovereign country- China. The claim by PRC that sovereignty of Taiwan belongs to china has made the supporters and the government of china believe that the Taiwan’s succession should be determined by the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens and not by only 23 million republic of China citizens who presently reside in Taiwan (Wang, 2008, p49). Furthermore, the position of the People’s Republic of China is that the Republic of China fails to meet the fourth criterion of the Montevideo Convention. ROC is recognized by just 21 UN member states. It has also been denied access to international organizations, for instance, the UN. UN diplomatic recognitions switched to PRC in the 1970s. The move was facilitated when the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 which "decides to restore all its rights to the Peoples Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it." Since then, many attempts by the ROC to rejoin the UN to represent the people of territories it governs have been fruitless (Sanford, 2009, p5). The attempts have not made it past committee mainly due to diplomatic maneuvering by the People’s Republic of China. PRC has maintained that the matter was settled by Resolution 2758. The People’s Republic of China point out that the authority of UN Resolutions as well as United Nations in general should supersede the Montevideo Convention because it was signed by only 19 states at the 7th International Conference of States of America (Wang, 2008, p148). The PRC snub diplomatic relations with those countries that recognize the ROC; however, they do not oppose nations that conduct cultural, economic and other exchanges that do not imply diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Consequently, a good number of countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing (PRC) uphold quasi-diplomatic relations with Taipei (ROC). Correspondingly, Taiwan’s government has quasi-diplomatic offices in many countries under several names; however, the most common name is the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (Lynn, 2005, p417). The People’s Republic of China still maintains “there is only one China in the world" and "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China". PRC now accentuates that both the countries belong to one China and not that the People’s Republic of China’s government is the sole legal Chinese government as they used to claim. In addition, People’s Republic of China maintains that Resolution 2758 by the UN General Assembly which states that "Recognizing that the representatives of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations", implies that the PRC is acknowledged to have the sovereignty of all of China as well as Taiwan which was founded by Potsdam Proclamation, Cairo Declaration and Japanese Instrument of Surrender. For that reason, the PRC understands that it is within its legal rights to stretch its authority to Taiwan by any means necessary, be it military. Even though the current stance permits a lot of flexibility with regards to defining that one China, any kind of deviation from the One-China policy is considered inadmissible by the government of the People’s Republic of China. The PRC government is very strict in its dealings with the ROC government. For instance, they are not willing to negotiate with ROC government for any policy apart from the One-China policy, even though it is possible under PRC policy as 1992 consensus allows a more flexible description of ‘one-china’ the government of People’s Republic of China believes that such a consensus is a provisional measure to keep back the sovereignty dispute and facilitate talks (Wallace, 2007, p70). According to the PRC government, any violation or inconsistency with the One-China policy, for instance, providing the ROC with arms is an infringement of its rights to territorial integrity. Many international new organizations have reported that PRC implies that Taiwan is a rebel province that must reunite with China by force if necessary. Although PRC has not explicitly said that Taiwan is a renegade province, its official media outlets and officials frequently refer to it as simply “Taiwan, china” or “China’s Taiwan province” (Sanford, 2009, p72). PRC government has also pressured international organizations to refer to Taiwan by such terms (Wang, 2008, p111). The position of Republic of China According to ROC, they have all the characteristics of the state and should be treated as such. They maintain that they were not succeeded or replaced by the PRC as it has been in existence long after PRC was founded. They maintain that they satisfy all the criteria of Montevideo convention of 1933 which states that “a state must possess a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states”. ROC has a government that exercise effective jurisdiction over their well-defined territorial boundary. It has a population of 23 million who are permanent residents as well as fully fledged foreign ministry (Lynn, 2005, p414). Initially, Taiwan was thought to be Japanese territory as both the 1912 and 1923 constitutions did not list it as a part of the ROC (Sanford, 2009, p8). However, in mid-1930s both nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and CCP realized the future strategic importance of Taiwan. As a result, they changed the stances of their parties to demand that Taiwan be part of China. In 1949, the National Party lost the Civil War against their rivals, Communist Party. They then fled to Taiwan and established a new government. They often maintained that their government represented both the mainland and Taiwan (all of China). Most supporters of Taiwan independence have maintained that Roc is an independent, sovereign state, and hence Taiwan is not part of China. Their position is that PRC is the government of China only. The Democratic Progressive Party has also maintained that PRC does not exercise any control over the 23 million ROC citizens on the island since Taiwan has never been under PRC’s jurisdiction (Gupta, 2007, 355). Republic of China has maintained that it was a de jure sovereign state because the constitution of the ROC which was promulgated in 1925 does not specify the territory it includes (Wallace, 2007, p69). According to the list of provinces on the draft of the constitution, Taiwan is not among them since it was de jure part of Japan due to the treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895.According to the definition of the ROC government, Republic of China extended to both island of Taiwan and the mainland China (including Macau and Hong Kong). The ROC requires changing the national borders; a move that according to PRC would constitute grounds for a military attack because they term it "a precursor to Taiwan independence". ROC passed several amendments recognizing Taiwan as its province. Such amendments also allowed it to exercise its sovereignty through presidential elections as well as the whole Legislature. Chapter I, Article 2 of its constitution maintains that "the sovereignty of the Republic of China shall reside in the whole body of citizens." the country’s sovereignty is limited to the areas it control however it has no clearly spelt borders (Gupta, 2007, 360). In 1999, President Lee Teng-hui suggested that PRC and ROC should acknowledge that they are two distinct countries with a special cultural, diplomatic and historic relationship. The proposal of two-state theory however attracted angry reaction from China who realized that Lee was secretly encouraging Taiwan independence (Lynn, 2005, p413). The position of ROC is that they are an independent, sovereign country because ROC is Taiwan and Taiwan was not a province of PRC. Government publications indicate that china refers to the PRC and Taiwan refers to the ROC. In order to avoid war with China, President Chen has desisted from officially declaring Taiwan’s independence. President Ma, on the other hand, while campaigning, maintained that he would acknowledge the 1992 consensus and improve relations with the PRC (Sanford, 2009, p16). Cultural identity of Taiwan is different from that of China because it is a blend of different cultures namely the dominant Han Chinese culture, Buddhist culture, Confucianist culture, Taoist culture, some Taiwanese aborigines cultures as well as some minor influences from Japanese culture and small influences from American culture. The socio-political experience in Taiwan slowly developed into their cultural identity and a sense of cultural awareness. Taiwanese has a multiculturalism identity. They see themselves as Taiwanese and not as Chinese because culturally and ethnically; they are a blend of many different cultures unlike Chinese who have the original culture. The countries ethnic identity of Taiwan has since shifted towards a greater Taiwanese consciousness. Taiwan’s, shift in identity has been mostly influenced by political ideologies of their leaders, policies promoting democracy and localization (Wallace, 2007, p89). The identity of Taiwan has shifted from that of one china to “One China, Two Region, Two Political Entities” and consequently to “One country on each side of the Taiwan Straits.” The Taiwanese nationalism ideology is based on political and legal separation from the Chins’ national identity rather than ancestral or cultural separation because they are the same origin; the difference is that they have undergone the assimilation. The greatest supporter of Chinese independence is the United States of America but has maintained a low profile to avoid conflict with China. China has threatened them with economic sanctions. Global Forces The two countries have different political ideologies regarding the issue. A suggestion by President Lee Teng-hui that PRC and ROC should acknowledge that they are two distinct countries with a special cultural, diplomatic and historic relationship attracted angry reaction from China who realized that Lee was secretly encouraging Taiwan independence. The conflict has also been fostered by international community’s pursuance of a one-China policy. The United Nation has prevented Taiwan’s re-entry. This has fueled the tension because Taiwan believes that China is behind it. Even though the Unite Nations passed Resolution 2758 to aid in reunifying Taiwan and China, Taiwan believes that it is wrongly used to exclude them from the UN system (Wallace, 2007, p69). The change of government from KMT to DPP has fostered the conflict. DDP government has maintained that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state as envisions in their party’s platform. The conflict has also been fostered by the Taiwan Relations Act passed in 1979.The Act was established to fight communism and help spread capitalism and globalization, a policy that communist China is against (Lynn, 2005, p418). Factors facilitating resolution Over the years, the economic ties between the two conflicting countries have continued to thrive. The cross- strait economic ties have blossomed as both have entered the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2007, China was the largest trading partner of Taiwan as 30 percent of exports of Taiwan were sold to China. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and China reached $102 billion in 2007, up from $8 billion in 19991. The two countries have been negotiating for an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in order to ease trade restrictions between them thus reducing the tension between them (Gupta, 2007, 353). President Ma, on the other hand, while campaigning, maintained that he would acknowledge the 1992 consensus and improve relations with the PRC. President Ma, while campaigning, maintained that he would acknowledge the 1992 consensus and improve relations with the PRC. His policies regarding the political status of Taiwan were: negotiation for reunification and not provoking PRC into attacking Taiwan. This eased the conflict between the two countries allowing weekend direct charter flights between the two countries. Both leaders have refrained from aggressive languages of their predecessors regarding the issue. They have instead advocated increased cultural and economic integration, a move that reduced the conflict (Gupta, 2007, 359). President Ma has also called for increased educational and cultural exchanges with china to continue the conciliatory trend. The Unite Nations passed Resolution 2758 to aid in reunifying Taiwan and China. Resolution In March 2005, National People’s Congress of China passed a law that legally empowers its army to attack Taiwan in case it declares independence. This has created a far-reaching, complicated and bewildering situation in the region. It has intensified tension between ROC and PRC as well as filling the regional and international atmosphere with anxiety. This has called for a speedy resolution to reduce the tension and anxiety. Peaceful negotiation The two countries have distinct cultural identities and two separate political systems. They also have separate role and identities with regards to the economic world. Therefore, a unilateral step may cause extremely dangerous consequences. It is, therefore, essential for the two countries to have enough understanding and patience to address their issue through peaceful means. With a 23 million permanent residents, Taiwan has been dedicated to democracy for many decades making it ideal to the world. In terms of economic prosperity, Taiwan ranks 15th as world trade contributor. It is economically strong with the foreign exchange reserves of approximately US$230 billion (Wallace, 2007, p72). In addition, it produces high-quality goods that have made it earn world praise. Further, Taiwan is rich with its own cultural values. Even though it is small, it has prospered in nearly all fields making it even stronger hence military operation is not capable of bringing it under China’s rule. China, on the other hand, has had its integrity questioned due to its adoption of double standards and policies. For instance, in 1951 it committed itself not to change the existing political system but, however, it later launched occupation by force. In addition, it introduced a slogan than Chinese and Indians are brothers (Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai) but later attacked India in 1962. China has resort to peaceful negotiations because they are aware that the military attack will result to consequences that they will not be able to bear. China is aware that many nations have economic interest with Taiwan evidenced by its many commercial and trade relations with many countries on almost six continents. Therefore, any military attack on Taiwan would attract their assistance, and china has to talk constantly to ROC with a liberal attitude with no prejudice to resolve the conflict (Bush, 2005, 98). The two countries should coexist with each other without declaration of independence. This will enable them to co-exist as one unit of the federation because reunification is not possible due to their separate culture and democratic system. China, a communist country, can be a unit of the same federation and will have to treat Taiwan (capitalist country) as a fellow associate of the federation. The arrangement would be accepted because it will be advantageous for both countries as they will co-exist as two units of one federation. Both countries should refrain from rigid positions and strong-0arm tactics and foster dialogue in a cordial atmosphere to provide a positive solution that is acceptable to the two parties hence ending tension and clearing the road for regional progress and peace (ROK Daily, 2006, 4). Conclusion China-Taiwan controversy regards the political status of Taiwan. This issue is significant to the international community because it is likely to spur the war between the two countries as China is ready to use force to bring Taiwan under their jurisdiction. This would destabilize Asia, drag the US into a regional conflict and destroy the Taiwan economy. Different country has different position regarding the issue, for instance, the position of PRC is that the Republic of China fails to meet the fourth criterion of the Montevideo Convention and should not declare independence because "there is only one China in the world" and "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China". ROC, on the other hand, has maintained that they meet all the criteria of Montevideo convention of 1933 and is free to declare independence. Their position is that they are an independent, sovereign country as ROC is Taiwan and Taiwan was not a province of PRC. The issue has been fueled by their differing political, economic, social and cultural ideologies. For instance, China is a communist country while Taiwan is a capitalist country. However, the economic ties between the two conflicting countries have continued to thrive thus facilitating resolution. The two countries should coexist with each other without declaration of independence. This will enable them to co-exist as one unit of the federation because reunification is not possible due to their separate culture and democratic system. Bibliography Black, Sam. 2007. Arms sales to Taiwan: A means to what end? Center for Defense Information (CDI) website. (July 26). Bush, Richard C. 2005. Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Straight. Brookings Institution Press. Washington. Gupta, R. "The Taiwan Issue: A Strategic Perspective." China Report, 2007, 353-62. Heo, Uk, and Shale Asher Horowitz. 2003. Conflict in Asia Korea, China-Taiwan, and India-Pakistan. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Lynn, Erica. 2005. Analysis of the Dispute Over Taiwan Using a Game Theory Approach. 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