Although the Taiwanese independence success arguably has given just cause for the International community to recognise Taiwan as an independent sovereign state. However due to the fine balance of power in the region between the United States and China, with both powers playing a role resulting in a stalemate, as both powers are hesitating to make drastic, moves that could destabilise the region means that Taiwan is likely to remain only a de facto independent sovereign state for the foreseeable future. A de facto state is a state that exists in fact although it may not be legally accepted as existing.(1) Taiwan is a de facto state as it has its own democratically elected government, seperate to the one on Chinese mainland. China’s ruling communist party has no authority in Taiwan, despite China claiming Taiwan as its own. however Taiwan has been recognised as a sovereign state by only 20 countries. Taiwan has been operating on its own since 1949, following the as a result of the Chinese civil war. , Republic of China officials along with their families and military fled to Taiwan. Since then the ROC has battled with the PRC for international recognition as the legitimate government of China. Since 1971 the United Nations has officially recognised China’s Communist Party as the sole legitimate government over all of China, including Taiwan(2). Since then Taiwan has been struggled to gain further recognition abroad and in more recent times has renewed their foreign policy to step away from the zero sum game, as they look to gain recognition as an independent state separate from mainland China. Despite electing its own government for the first time in 1990, essentially giving up the belief that the ROC is the legitimate government of the mainland, the CCP still include Taiwan as under their jurisdiction and officially claiming Taiwan is critically important for the CCP due to four main reasons.Firstly, the very presence of Taiwan, and their de facto independence from the mainland, is a constant reminder of the Civil War and is symbolic of the CCP’s failure to enforce its power to all regions which the CCP claims as their own. Secondly, the United States, a superpower rivals involvement in cross- Strait relations exposes a Chinese vulnerability to foreign pressure that is reminiscent of the ‘unequal treaties’ era after the defeats in the Opium Wars. Thirdly, Taiwan’s maintenance in its de facto sovereignty since the 1950s sets a ‘bad’ example to other parts of China, such as Tibet where the CCP has failed to completely squash secession movements. Lastly, the future of the CCP arguably relies upon a resolution to the Taiwan debate. If Beijing finds a solution to the sovereignty conflict that is accepted by the Taiwanese, it could finally conclude the civil war and rid the legacy of foreign powers’ interference in its domestic affairs. A china without the ‘Taiwan problem’ could divert significant economic and ideational resources it currently spends on addressing the Taiwan issue to solving other domestic and international challenges. (4)Having said this however due to Taiwan’s success particularly through their economy the 1970s and 1980s as well as politically holding fair, free and regular democratic elections, there has been a gradual, growing call for Taiwan to be granted international recognition, this can be seen in Taiwans election where in 2000 a pro independence candidate, Chen Shui-bian was elected(3). However despite this strong feeling amongst the Taiwanese, diplomatic recognition is still not foreseeable in the future.
Taiwan was very discovered by the West in 1590(5) by the Portuguese. However at this time Taiwan was considered neither a formal part of mainland China nor populated by the indigenous people of China. Then in 1642, the dutch became the first people to colonise Taiwan. However this did not last long as in 1662, Chinese pirate Zheng Zhilong removed the dutch and transformed the island into anti-Qing militants. It is for this reason that Qing in 1682 invaded Taiwan and brought it under the Chinese empire for the first time. Despite this, Qing cared little for the island shown through the lack of economic and military development. However due to the threats posed by the land hungry western world, China was forced to in 1885, upgrade the island to the status of the island to be reclassified as a province along with some efforts to modernise its economy. However this mattered for little as in 1894, as a result of the Sino-Japanese war, the treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the war obliged china to cede Taiwan to the Japanese. The Western powers regarded the treaty as legally binding however the Chinese did not as they believed it was an agreement imposed under duress(6). In the immediate aftermath of the news of the treaty reaching Taiwan, local leaders declared the republic of Taiwan – however its life was short-lived last only 10 days as Japan was determined to turn Taiwan into a colony so it came down hard on any uprising movements on the island. Taiwan represents Japan’s first attempt at colonialism as they proclaimed the Republic of Formosa in May 1895(7) and was one Tokyo considers a great success due to their ability to establish law and order, eradicate disease, develop an economy and build infrastructure. Japan were able to develop their economy by focusing on developing agriculture and rice production, introducing new seeds and farming techniques. From that strong economic base, Taiwan was soon electrified which in turn facilitated the growth of new industries into the economy such as textiles and chemicals. This steady growth was accompanied by the two World Wars of the 20th century which both had booming effects on Taiwan as new industries were developed and trade was expanded. Japan maintained this law and order and economic growth by using harsh punishment to enforce the law. They also forced the population to learn Japanese as well as adopting Japanese culture. This allowed the Taiwanese access to new sciences and technology however the Taiwanese people rejected the Japanese’s pressure and did not conform into loyal imperial subjects, and continued to recognise themselves as Chinese, rejecting their language and customs(8). When in 1937, Japan declared war on China, commencing the second Sino-Japanese War (9) they allowed the Taiwanese to return to China however few did. Japan then used Taiwan as a stepping stone, to invade the Philippines as well as other areas to their south. Taiwan became so influential in the war that the United States’ military strategists discussed a plan to invade Taiwan, once maps of the island were discovered, and the allies conclude the Taiwanese would continue to fight alongside Japanese troops, US warplanes bombed oil storage and other strategic targets however this had little impact on the island as a whole. (10) In 1943 after the first Cairo Conference, the US and Britain met with Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek and agreed that Taiwan was a territory that Japan had stolen from China and therefore would be returned to China. (11) This decision was ratified in the Potsdam conference in 1945. The Taiwanese population welcomed the end of the Japanese occupation and the restoration of Chinese control. When China regained control of Taiwan the economy was slowing, therefore when the Kuomintang (KMT) appointed first the first governor general, Chen Yi his task was a difficult one. Not only did he have to revive the islands economy back to War levels, he also had to assimilate Taiwan back into China, after it had shifted away from China politically, economically, and culturally as it had been forced to adopt Japanese language and culture. The Chinese felt apprehensive about accepting Taiwan as they were no longer compatible, highlighted by the fact many Taiwanese acted as spies or conscripts in the Japanese occupation of the mainland. To hammer this fact home, the ROC placed Taiwan under military government a status associated with a conquered enemy territory. (12) The KMT were originally granted power by the allies as a temporary solution, unfortunately for the Taiwanese people, their rule severely disappointed the locals, to make matters worse this temporary solution became a permanent one. The KMT used Taiwan as a military headquarters in their war against the communists. They enforced a dictatorial rule on the Taiwanese people, closing the Japanese markets which the Taiwan economy had thrived off prior 1945. This led to increased crime and disorder, the likes of which Japan had nullified. Corruption among KMT officials reduced employment opportunities in the administration as well as channelled the islands resources to the mainland economy, frustrating the Taiwanese. Discontent amongst the people peaked in 1947 where a military policeman murdered an elderly woman allegedly of selling contraband cigarettes(14) , her death sparking island wide protests. This marks the start of the White Terror period, the period in which under the KMT rule, citizens liberties both political and civil were severely restricted with a tens of thousands being purged, according to Christian Schafferer (2003: 5) “the number of people executed during the martial law period for violating the laws of the KMT is uncertain. Estimates go far beyond tens of thousands.”, wiping out a generation of political and academic elite. Martial law lasted 38 years in Taiwan with the KMT ruling with an iron fist. Human rights were abused with citizens executed or imprisoned for their dissenting political opinions. In 1949 the Chinese Civil war concluded with Maos communists running the Chinese nationalist out of government. The nationalists in main, fled to Taiwan with 1.5 million following Chiang onto the island, putting massive strains on the already lagging economy. This also further exacerbated ethnic tensions from the 1947 uprising known as the er-er-ba. Chiang publicly executed Ch’en for his treatment of the Taiwanese people and tried to root out corruption from the KMT however this had a minor impact in appeasing the citizens. The US inadvertently helped Chiang with the outbreak of the Korean war, President Truman sent the US 7th fleet to the island to prevent an invasion of the island from the communist mainland. Taiwans economy boomed in the 60s with Chiang pledging to invade and retake the mainland and using that ambition as a means to justify postponing democratic elections. Although as he succeeded he slowly gained the support of the citizens. As time went on however, the dream of retaking the Chinese mainland dimmed as many Taiwanese can be to believe that they could only feel secure by working with the mainland government. Taiwans economic success was further highlighted and celebrated by a languishing mainland china economy under Mao with ill-advised policies such as the Great leap forward of 1958-60. When Chiang died in April 1975, he had restored Taiwan’s economy back beyond the Japanese occupation levels. He had also introduced relatively free local elections, establishing the foundations for Taiwan to become a fully-fledged successful capitalist democracy. Since Chiang, Taiwan has became arguably an economic power (13), this was possible due to to their mature and diversified economy. This developed through the 1790s where Taiwan focused on high technology as well as textile and clothing. In 1952, Taiwan had a per capita GDP of $170 but, by 2010 Taiwan's per capita GDP, adjusted for purchasing power parity, had soared to $35,227, similar to that of developed West European economies and Japan(14). Accompanying this economic growth, was a growth in political right in Taiwan. This is highlighted in the 1996 election, which was the first election in which the people directly elected their president. (14) Lee Teng-hui from the KMT party won the election running off a pro-independence platform highlighting the growing desire of the Taiwanese people. Despite the continual growth of Taiwan in all aspects of society, be it social, economical or political China has continued to reassert its desire to reunite Taiwan under its one China policy.
The CCP has not always considered Taiwan as part of their inseparable sovereign territory . In fact up until the 1940s Mao supported their Taiwanese in their desire for a seperate autonomous state, as in his view they represented a distant nationality(15). However the Cairo Conference of November 1943 shifted the CCP’s view on Taiwan. The Cairo Declaration was collaborated and agreed upon by the UK, the US and China and specified that “Japan shall be stripped fall the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the First World War in 1914.” The Potsdam Conference two years later further confirmed the terms of the Cairo Declaration. Despite this, both declarations were neither formal treaties nor legally binding documents, however they did serve as granting the ROC a mandate in their takeover of Taiwan on behalf of the allied powers. Later, in 1951 a peace treaty signed with Japan reinforced the previous declarations declaring “Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores” However the PRC who had now taken power in China but were excluded from these negotiations rejected the peace treaties as not legally binding and reasserted it sovereign claims to Taiwan based on China’s apparent ancient attachment to the island. At this point in time, the long term future of Taiwan did not concern Mao and the CCP, and in 1949 when he ordered his Third Field Army to prepare for landing on the island, he was simply intending to defeat the KMT forces which had fled there. However the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, halted CCP’s plans for invasion as it diverted their resources from the invasion of Taiwan to Korea. It also brought US influence into the region as Taiwan was a crucial buffer zone between the Capitalist Korea and Communist China. The US intentions can be seen in Harry Truman’s statement in 1950, where he reasserted the purpose of the Cairo Declaration when he said “… it was their purpose that territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Formosa, should be restored to the Republic of China.” (16) From then Mao believed that the KMT’s survival in Taiwan relied almost completely upon the support, both economically and militarily from the US. He therefore worked tirelessly to underminetheir relations in a bid to isolate Taiwan. After the two Taiwan Strait crises in the 1950s, The PRC finally achieved some diplomatic success with the US in the early 70s. With both the US and China fearing an expansionist USSR the two found common ground to form an alliance. This resulted in the UN passing resolution 2758 which granted the CCP a seat at the UN replacing the ROC as well as global recognition as the only sovereign government of China.(17) This was followed up by the Shanghai Communique signed between president Nixon and Premier Chou En-Lai, which enforced the US’ intentions to withdraw its troops for Taiwan. It also acknowledged the US’ One China Policy. Chinas largest victory however came in 1979 where the US cut off all diplomatic ties with Taipei and switched to Beijing and activated article 10 in the defence treaty to terminate the agreement in one year. Although despite all these shifts away from Taiwan, the US did not completely abandon them. In 1980 when the Mutual Defence treaty was officially terminated the US replaced it with the Taiwan Relations Act, which ensured the US’ continued commitment to Taiwan’s defence. It also assured Taipei that the US would continue to supply arms “in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defence capability”. In 1982, the Reagan gave Taiwan “six assurances” (18) which ensured Taipei did not feel isolated nor abandoned by the US and indicated neither would happen in the foreseeable future. China at this time also eased tension on Taiwan as they feared a desperate Taipei could reach out to Chinas arch-enemy USSR. Deng, now leader of the CCP reached out to Taiwan calling for three links and four exchanges and ensuring not to cause the people of Taiwan “any loss” or change their society “by force”. Tensions eased in the main until the 1990s, where in 1992 a dispute over what consensus was reached is still debated today. The debate centres around the One China policy and who is the sovereign government of that China. Tensions heated up further in 1996, with the first direct democratic elections being held in Taiwan resulted in the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis (19). However after this flashpoint China again became approachable, where in 19995 President Jiang Zemin’s 8 point proposal, suggested China was willing to discuss any matter with Taiwan leaders on equal footing as long as they accepted the policy of “One China’. Importantly when he invited the leaders to visit the mainland, the term PRC did not appear in the statement which has been interpreted as meaning that China no longer insist on ‘One China” referring to the peoples republic. Despite these developments, both sides are still unwilling to make the great plunge in either secession or a military invasion, with the Taiwanese growing in their desire for independence.