Here are some questions right out of the TV show Jeopardy: What is the difference between the "Republic of China (ROC)" and the "People's Republic of China (PRC)"? What is the difference between the ROC and PRC national flags? What is the difference between the ROC and PRC passports? Not only are most people in the world clueless to these differences, but many people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have similar difficulties. In fact, Taiwanese travelers have just about accepted being regularly mistaken for PRC citizens during their international travels as the normal state of affairs.
During the 20th anniversary of the founding of the US-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), President Chen Shui-bian (
As to how the new policy will be implemented, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has two main options:
1. Place the parenthesized word "Taiwan" after the words "Republic of China" on passport covers. This, however, runs the risk being seen as formally changing the country's name or conceding that Taiwan is a PRC province.
2. Add the words "issued in Taiwan" on the lower half of passport covers.
MOFA is going with plan 2, the one that it was hoped would have the smallest level of backlash. Unfortunately, it still triggers debate in and out of Taiwan. The pro-China political party in the nation -- the PFP -- and the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in China -- Zhang Mingqing (
This newspaper supports MOFA's move, because it is the most pragmatic approach. The ROC was founded before the PRC. Even after 1949, the ROC's independence from the PRC was still a fact, although the former's territory had decreased in size. As an independent sovereign state, the ROC government can decide whatever kind of cover it wants on its passports.
Next, although the constitutionally defined ROC territory still covers China and the ROC's official capitol is still Nanking, it is clearly stated on ROC passports that the place of issuance is the country's temporary capitol of Taipei. Without question, this is a constitutional administrative measure.
The "ROC on Taiwan" has become the widely accepted name for the country. Adding the words "issued in Taiwan" on passport covers, in reality, means the same as "ROC on Taiwan." The opposition finds the name "ROC on Taiwan" acceptable, yet strongly opposes the new passport cover. This is simply a political maneuver, intended to make the government look bad, and provide an excuse to cut MOFA's budget.
Recently, a debate over what is "one China" has been taking place among media, members of the US Congress and diplomats in Washington. Many people submitted letters to newspapers, arguing over what is ROC, PRC and "one China." Even those in Washington who are most knowledgeable on China issues are becoming confused.
Of course, the new passport cover does not work as well as the name "Republic of Taiwan" in terms of avoiding confusion. But, to avoid additional controversy, adding the words "issued in Taiwan" is acceptable, for now.
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
For Taiwan, the ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets are a warning signal: When a major power stretches the boundaries of self-defense, smaller states feel the tremors first. Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. The first deters coercion from China. The second legitimizes Taiwan’s place in the international community. One is material. The other is moral. Both are indispensable. Under the UN Charter, force is lawful only in response to an armed attack or with UN Security Council authorization. Even pre-emptive self-defense — long debated — requires a demonstrably imminent
Since being re-elected, US President Donald Trump has consistently taken concrete action to counter China and to safeguard the interests of the US and other democratic nations. The attacks on Iran, the earlier capture of deposed of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and efforts to remove Chinese influence from the Panama Canal all demonstrate that, as tensions with Beijing intensify, Washington has adopted a hardline stance aimed at weakening its power. Iran and Venezuela are important allies and major oil suppliers of China, and the US has effectively decapitated both. The US has continuously strengthened its military presence in the Philippines. Japanese Prime
After “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the US joined Israel on Saturday last week in launching “Operation Epic Fury” to remove Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his theocratic regime leadership team. The two blitzes are widely believed to be a prelude to US President Donald Trump changing the geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific region, targeting China’s rise. In the National Security Strategic report released in December last year, the Trump administration made it clear that the US would focus on “restoring American pre-eminence in the Western hemisphere,” and “competing with China economically and militarily
RSS