The China problem is a leftover from World War II, with the issues arising as the Republic of China (ROC) government occupied the nation after having accepted the surrender of the Japanese forces in Taiwan on behalf of the Allied forces.
In 1949, the ROC was overturned and replaced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The People’s Republic of China (PRC) wanted to deal with what it saw as the remnants of China that remained outside of the PRC’s borders and the capture of the ROC has been its goal for well over half a century. It is this aim that is the basis of instability.
This issue is not only creating difficulties for Taiwan, it is also creating difficulties for the PRC, which is the representative of China.
This is causing problems for Taiwan’s democratic development and its road toward nationhood, and it is making it impossible for the PRC to become truly independent.
As a result, Taiwan and China have been unable to establish normal relations.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has used this “Chinese knot” to hijack Taiwan, but the CCP, with its “liberation theory,” has also been unable to untie the knot.
Taiwan, which was ceded by the Qing Empire to Japan, which ruled Taiwan for 50 years, has been separated from China for more than 120 years and even though the KMT has seen the land as a basis for the party’s revival after defeat in the Chinese Civil War, more than half a century of KMT rule has only resulted in the public becoming resentful of China.
The PRC wants to take over the ROC to complete the construction of a “new China,” which has made Taiwan a constant target for annexation. Although cross-strait economic relations have been close since China’s reform and opening up, Beijing’s ambitions to invade Taiwan have not diminished.
A look at history shows that there has been talk about helping liberate the Taiwanese from the KMT and the ROC, but a comparison with today’s situation highlights the malicious intent of great powers.
Taiwan has already cast off KMT rule and is now moving toward becoming a small, independent nation that has no claims on China.
Although many Taiwanese have ancestors from China, their descendants born and raised in Taiwan are not strictly Han Chinese, they have also developed their own history, independently of China.
Mutual respect and parallel development has been the norm in the modern world.
Military confrontation and meaningless waste of resources should come to an end in the name of peace and friendship.
This is also necessary if China is to become a respected power.
Following the election of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in 1996, there have been two popularly elected presidents who both served two terms each: former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who was elected in 2000 and then re-elected in 2004, and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who won the presidential election in 2008 and then again in 2012.
Ma’s eight years — during which he restored the KMT government to power — are about to come to an end and president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to take over on May 20.
Taiwanese have already made their view of the “status quo” known, discarding the KMT’s party-state ideology and pro-China stance.
The establishment of two nations, one on each side of the Taiwan Strait, will put an end to historical enmity and provide a historical opportunity for a new friendship.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Perry Svensson
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said on Monday that it would be announcing its mayoral nominees for New Taipei City, Yilan County and Chiayi City on March 11, after which it would begin talks with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to field joint opposition candidates. The KMT would likely support Deputy Taipei Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) as its candidate for New Taipei City. The TPP is fielding its chairman, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), for New Taipei City mayor, after Huang had officially announced his candidacy in December last year. Speaking in a radio program, Huang was asked whether he would join Lee’s
RSS