Thu, May 21, 2026 page8

• EDITORIAL: Long game to independence

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  The Presidential Office on Saturday reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation after US President Donald Trump said that Taiwan should not “go independent.”

  “We’re not looking to have somebody say: ‘Let’s go independence because the United States is backing us,’” Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday.

  President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday said that the Republic of China (ROC) — Taiwan’s official name — and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to each other.

  Speaking at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai said that sovereignty is the foundation of statehood and democracy. Taiwan and the ROC have become inseparable and, regardless of how the international community refers to the nation, both terms refer to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, he added.

  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Sunday called on Lai to clarify his position on Taiwan’s relationship with the PRC and whether he considers it to be a foreign country. The KMT also accused Lai of hiding behind the ROC while promoting Taiwanese independence, while simultaneously misleading DPP supporters by not formally declaring a “Republic of Taiwan.”

  The KMT’s criticism is an attempt to sow division within the DPP by pushing Lai toward a politically contentious and constitutionally indefensible position.

  The DPP has long been constrained by the Constitution, which maintains territorial claims that include areas administered by the PRC, making formal recognition of PRC sovereignty effectively impossible under the constitutional framework. The KMT understands that better than anyone, having played the leading role in drafting and implementing the Constitution.

  However, the question of PRC sovereignty does not need to be resolved for the ROC to assert its own sovereignty and de facto independence.

  The most widely cited benchmark for determining statehood, the Montevideo Convention of 1933, outlines four core criteria: a permanent population; defined territory; a functioning government exercising authority over that territory and population; and the capacity to engage in relations with other states through diplomacy, treaties and participation in international affairs.

  Taiwan satisfies all of those criteria. It maintains its own military, holds democratic elections, enforces its own laws, and issues its own passports and currency. By standard legal definitions, Taiwan functions as an independent nation.

  However, the central issue is not governance or capability, but international recognition.

  Taiwan is not unique in this regard. Kosovo, Somaliland and Palestine similarly face varying degrees of limited recognition. Of those entities, only Palestine participates in the UN, and only as an observer.

  Taiwan would benefit from UN membership. Membership provides broad international legitimacy and full access to the global diplomatic system. UN members can vote in its general assembly, participate fully in international organizations and treaties, establish widely recognized diplomatic relations, and gain easier access to institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF.

  Membership also improves a country’s legal standing internationally, and facilitates cooperation on trade, health, aviation, security and development issues. It signals that a state is broadly accepted by the international community as sovereign and independent.

  Conversely, exclusion from international organizations carries significant costs. Taiwan was unable to participate meaningfully in the WHO during the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite possessing valuable public health expertise and information. Taiwan has also faced difficulty resolving trade disputes with China, which periodically restricts access for Taiwanese businesses and agricultural exporters for political reasons. Similarly, Taiwan has struggled to address concerns over dangerous Chinese flight path adjustments implemented unilaterally by Beijing, in part because Taiwan is excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organization.

  There is precedent for resolving such disputes peacefully. Iran claimed Bahrain as its 14th province until 1970, when a UN-backed process found that the people of Bahrain overwhelmingly preferred independence over union with Iran. Bahrain became formally independent the following year.

  Taiwan must continue to assert on the international stage that it is a sovereign and independent nation. That reality does not change because of partisan disagreements over terminology, nor does it depend entirely on whether the US or other nations, or the UN, formally recognizes its sovereignty.
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