On Oct. 10, the world will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). It should come as no surprise that Taipei is gearing up to commemorate the uprising with a series of major events. After all, the ROC is alive and well in Taiwan.
Public opinion polls reveal that most people in Europe and the US agree that there is a government in Taipei. Nevertheless, some quarrel with this position. However, a review of three core concepts in international relations — sovereignty, the state and the nation — shows that the ROC does indeed exist.
Jean Bodin (1530-1596), the French philosopher who contributed much to the concept of the modern state, explained that sovereignty is “the distinguishing mark of the sovereign that he cannot in any way be subject to the commands of another, for it is he who makes law for the subject, abrogates law already made and amends law.”
Sovereignty resides in the state — a body that exercises predominant authority within its geographic borders, possesses a relatively stable population that owes its allegiance to a government and maintains diplomatic ties with other states. A state differs from a nation.
A nation refers to a group of people with a shared sense of identity, often based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, language, history or culture. Consequently, it is possible for two or more states to reside within one nation, or for a nation to exist within two or more states.
The ROC exercises predominant authority within its borders, possesses a relatively stable population that owes its allegiance to the ROC government in Taipei, maintains formal diplomatic relations with roughly two dozen countries and strong “unofficial” links with many others. Therefore, the ROC meets all the requirements of statehood.
Despite this fact, some contend that the ROC no longer exists because it is not a member of the UN and/or other intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). According to this logic, however, the People’s Republic of China did not exist until 1971, East and West Germany did not exist until 1973 and North and South Korea did not exist until 1991. In fact, Switzerland did not join the UN until 2002. Moreover, the ROC participates in some major IGOs (including the WTO, APEC and the WHO), and belongs to more than 2,000 NGOs.
Others argue that the ROC does not exist because large countries like the US do not “officially” recognize the government in Taipei. However, this is a case of “smoke and mirrors.” The US Department of State concedes that Washington’s “unofficial” ties with Taipei are closer than its “official” ties with most foreign governments. Furthermore, the US doesn’t maintain diplomatic ties with North Korea, Cuba or Iran, and these states exist.
Still others point to the fact that the ROC’s territory has shrunk since 1911. The government moved from Nanjing to Chongqing during World War II. Then during the Chinese Civil War, it moved from Nanjing to Chongqing to Guangzhou to Taipei — a city that Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) described as “the wartime capital of the ROC.” During the past 100 years, the territory of the ROC has changed a lot, but this is not unusual. The territory of many other states — including the US, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom — has changed a lot since 1911.
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