Taiwan’s ‘status quo’
Taiwan’s vibrant democracy has earned worldwide respect, but has also brought the question: “Why is Taiwan not a member of the UN?”
Lee Chapman, a British man married to a Taiwanese woman, collected 20,855 signatures for a petition asking the British government to recognize Taiwan as a country and received the following answer from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office: “The UK acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is a province of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China.”
Apparently, the British government mistook Taiwan for the Republic of China (ROC).
Unfortunately, the stance was also endorsed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) when she said: “Since the ROC was established in 1912, it has been a sovereign, independent country and has developed relations with other countries independently.”
However, the crucial point is that the ROC, which is not recognized as a sovereign nation, does not have sovereignty over Taiwan and Taiwan has never been registered as its constitutional territory. Referring to Taiwan as the ROC and implying that it is part of China is unacceptable for Taiwanese.
Madonna’s DJ, Mary Mac, recently apologized after she shouted, “I love Taiwan,” followed by “I love China,” at Taiwanese fans during a concert at the Taipei Arena earlier this month. Taiwan is Taiwan; it is not part of China.
Before the end of World War II, Japan had sovereignty over Taiwan. It renounced all right, title and claim to Taiwan and the Pescadores (Penghu) in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco, but never transferred sovereignty of Taiwan to China. Instead, the US Military Government was authorized as the principal occupying power.
The PRC said they rejected the treaty, as they were not invited to the San Francisco Peace Conference, adding that it should be null and void. If the treaty is nullified, then it would mean that Japan never gave up its sovereignty over Taiwan and that Taiwan should still belong to Japan, as the Qing Dynasty had ceded it to Japan through the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Neither the ROC nor the PRC have been given sovereignty over Taiwan.
Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was authorized by US General Douglas MacArthur under General Order No. 1 to maintain order in Taiwan after World War II, but military occupation does not mean a transfer of sovereignty. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been known as the ROC government in exile since 1949; it is not recognized as an independent, sovereign nation.
Would Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) being elected president automatically lead to the ROC being recognized as an independent sovereign state? The answer is “no.”
In 1979, the US promulgated the Taiwan Relations Act, which derogated the ROC and named it the governing authority of Taiwan. The US’ Taiwan policy ties the three joint communiques with the PRC and the ROC as “one China,” while the Taiwan Relations Act ties Taiwan with the executive department of the US government.
Taiwan needs to clearly identify its territory and show the difference between the ROC and itself before it can be accepted as an independent state.
Even though Taiwan recently elected its new president, it is still not granted the status of a sovereign nation, as it is still under the rule of the ROC government in exile, which does not represent Taiwanese.
Taiwanese need a government that is clearly identified as solely representing Taiwan, only then can the government try to claim sovereignty and earn recognition as an independent nation. An intermingled title claim of nation, such as Taiwan being the ROC and the ROC being Taiwan, would not work, as it simply tells the world that Taiwan is a part of China. This is the message the British government disclosed.
However, since Britain is not the authorized occupying power in Taiwan, its advice can only be used for reference.
Taiwanese should watch carefully what the American Institute in Taiwan or the US Department of State says.
Hopefully, president-elect Tsai can work out a version of the “status quo” to deal with China and lead Taiwan to international recognition.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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