China-Taiwan Relations

Taiwan's strategic security rests heavily on the implied guarantees offered by the United States over the years¿guarantees made more concrete than ever during the administration of George W. Bush, who pledged in 2002 to "do what it takes to help Taiwan defend herself, and the Chinese must understand that." That statement, which caused some anger in China, rests on the overwhelming might of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, based in Japan, and on the recently strengthened U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.

Meanwhile, Economic Ties Thrive

Against the backdrop of diplomatic friction over the past decade, the cross-strait economic relationship has blossomed. China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and, within a month, Taiwan entered as "Chinese Taipei." Since entering the WTO, China and Taiwan have lowered or lifted tariffs, and eased restrictions on investment, direct trade, and tourism. The volume of two-way trade across the Taiwan Strait marked $115 billion in 2006, up from $8 billion in 1991. In 2005, investments in mainland China accounted for more than half of Taiwan's overseas investment and Taiwan ranked in the top ten of foreign direct investors in China in 2005 and 2006. China also has become Taiwan's top export partner and its second-largest import partner.

History of the Conflict

Taiwan, an island of 23 million off China's southern coast, was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1945. In 1949, after Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party lost its power struggle with the Communist Party in China, Chiang and his followers fled to Taiwan. Their government-in-exile in Taipei, the KMT, defined itself as the alternative to Communist rule and hoped one day to return to power in Beijing. The KMT governed Taiwan from 1949 to 2000; its often harsh rule included discriminatory laws against ethnic Taiwanese and nearly forty years of martial law, which was finally lifted in 1987. The KMT has historically seen Taiwan as a part of "One China" that would eventually be reunited under Nationalist rule.

Taiwan's ruling party (as of early 2008), the predominantly ethnic Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was founded in 1986 to counter the KMT, and only became legal in 1989 after a longtime ban on opposition parties was dropped. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian is a member of the DPP, which envisions Taiwan as an independent nation, separate from China. Taiwanese sovereignty is the first and most prominent issue on the party's platform. This position has put the DPP severely at odds with China's leadership, which views Taiwan as a renegade province that will one day be reunited with Communist China¿by force, if necessary.

The Independence Movement in Taiwan

Taiwanese domestic politics and the sentiments of native Taiwanese islanders have been driving moves toward independence. After the long KMT reign, many Taiwanese are now pushing for self-determination. Independence advocates say Taiwan is a free and democratic nation with multiparty elections and a very successful economy due to export-driven economic development. They say the Taiwanese people should have the right to decide for themselves if they want to join China or become an independent nation. Since his presidential term began in 2000, Chen has steadily pushed the idea of Taiwanese independence. China is very hostile to such talk: In August 2005, the official China Daily newspaper quoted a Chinese military official saying, "Taiwan choosing independence is tantamount to choosing war." Although many native Taiwanese back the idea of independence, polls suggest they still stop well short of wanting to risk violence. Shelley Rigger, a professor at Davidson College, examines the generational divide in Taiwanese nationalism in this publication from the East-West Center in Washington.

A Place in the Sun -- and the UN

Taiwan considers its relations with the international community essential if it is to survive independent of the communist mainland. Despite Taiwan's efforts to woo support, more than thirty countries have switched diplomatic relations to Beijing since the United States transferred its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China in 1979. About two dozen governments still maintain full diplomatic ties with the Taiwanese government. The trend in this recognition competition is in large part a reaction to development aid promises or threats of economic sanctions -- so-called pocketbook diplomacy (NYT).

The Taiwanese government has also been pushing to regain its seat at the United Nations, which it lost to China in 1971. Taiwan has unsuccessfully attempted to reenter the United Nations as the "Republic of China." China argues that "China's representation in the United Nations certainly includes Taiwan," but Taiwan insists that Resolution 2758 is wrongly used to exclude Taiwan from the UN system. The latest effort to regain a seat, already publicly opposed by the United States, Russia, and others, is to be voted on during Taiwan's national referendum in March 2008.