China Taiwan issue is something which we all need to understand and pay a close attention to. Since Taiwan’s democratisation, the choice between political unification of China Taiwan and de jure Taiwanese independence has come to dominate discussions about Taiwan’s political and legal status. Any formal declaration of independence is still met with hostility by the PRC, which also upholds its claim to Taiwan.
China Taiwan — History between the two countries
Taiwan, also referred to as the Republic of China (ROC), is an island situated across the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. Since 1949, it has been run separately from the rest of China as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC declares that Taiwan will one day “unify” with the mainland and sees the island as a renegade province.
Political leaders in Taiwan, an island nation with a democratically elected government and a population of 23 million, hold contrasting opinions about the status of the island and its ties to the mainland.
Since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s election in 2016, cross-strait tensions have risen. Tsai has rejected a plan that Ma Ying-jeou, her predecessor, supported in order to promote stronger ties across the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing has been acting more and more aggressively in the meantime, including flying fighter jets close to the island. Some analysts worry that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead to a conflict between the United States and China.
China Taiwan — What is China’s opinion on Taiwan
Beijing asserts that the 1992 Consensus, an agreement reached between representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) party that ruled Taiwan at the time, binds Taiwan. This ‘consensus’ was never meant to address the issue of Taiwan’s legal status, and the two sides disagree on its specifics.
The 1992 Consensus, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, reflects an understanding that “the two sides of the strait belong to one China and would work together to seek national reunification.” The KMT interprets this as “one China, different interpretations,” with the ROC serving as the “one China.”
The South China Sea, Tibet,China Taiwan, and Mongolia are still regarded as being a part of the ROC according to Taiwan’s KMT-drafted constitution. The KMT has repeatedly demanded closer ties with Beijing and opposes Taiwan’s independence. But KMT leaders have debated whether to alter the party’s position on the 1992 Consensus in light of recent electoral defeats.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the KMT’s main adversary, has never endorsed the agreement outlined in the 1992 Consensus. President Tsai, who is also the DPP’s leader, has steadfastly refused to acknowledge the consensus. She has instead tried to come up with a different formulation that Beijing would accept.
China Taiwan — How is china undermining Taiwan’s existence
Xi reiterated China’s long-standing suggestion for Taiwan in a speech in 2019: that it be merged into the mainland under the premise of “one country, two systems.” The same process was used to guarantee Hong Kong’s ability to maintain its political and economic systems and to grant it a “high degree of autonomy.”
A framework like that is utterly despised by Taiwanese citizens. Tsai and even the KMT have rejected the “one country, two systems” framework, citing Beijing’s most recent crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.
China Taiwan — China continues to hinder Taiwan from entering UN
China opposes Taiwan’s membership in UN agencies and other international organisations that only allow states to join. The United States and Taipei both advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in these organisations, and Taipei frequently protests its exclusion from them.
Taiwan criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for caving in to Beijing’s demands during the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing to prevent Taiwan from attending the organization’s World Health Assembly as an observer. Taiwan had mounted one of the most successful COVID-19 responses in the first two years of the pandemic. The inclusion of Taiwan in WHO forums has been demanded by ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations.
China Taiwan — The role played by the US government
The PRC and the United States signed a formal diplomatic agreement in 1979. It also dissolved its mutual defence pact with the ROC and severed all diplomatic ties with it at the same time. However, the United States continues to have a strong, unofficial relationship with the island and continues to provide its military with defence equipment. Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to halt arms sales to Taipei and break off contact.
Over Chinese objections, the United States strengthened ties with Taiwan under President Donald Trump, including by selling the military weapons worth more than $18 billion and announcing a $250 million complex for its de facto embassy in Taipei. Prior to his inauguration, Trump and Tsai had their highest level of communication since 1979 over the phone.
In his final days in office, the State Department lifted long-standing restrictions on where and how American officials can meet with their Taiwanese counterparts. He also sent several senior administration officials, including a cabinet member, to Taipei.
China Taiwan — Does Taiwanese people support unfication with China?
The majority of Taiwanese citizens favour keeping things as they are. According to National Chengchi University opinion surveys, a small percentage of people are in favour of immediate independence.
Even fewer voice their support for Taiwan joining China. An overwhelming majority of people disapprove of the “one country, two systems” theory, and this opinion has gotten stronger as Beijing restricts Hong Kong’s freedoms.
China continues to be Taiwan’s main trading partner, which is important to the island nation’s economy. But in recent years, their economic ties have suffered, in part because of Beijing’s pressure on the island and Taiwanese officials’ growing worry about the island’s overreliance on trade with China.
China Taiwan — Economy of Taiwan
More than twenty agreements between Taiwan and the PRC were signed between 2008 and 2016 while President Ma was in office, including the 2010 Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, in which trade restrictions were lifted.
Direct communications by sea, air, and mail between China and Taiwan were resumed after decades of prohibition. They also agreed to open both markets to banks, insurers, and other financial service providers.
On the other hand, Tsai and the DPP have made attempts to diversify Taiwan’s trade relations, with varying degrees of success. Tsai’s signature programme, the New Southbound Policy, has had some success promoting investment and trade with nations in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
Between 2016 when the initiative was announced and 2022, trade between Taiwan and the eighteen target countries nearly doubled. Taiwanese investment has also steadily increased in those nations. Tsai unveiled a three-year plan in 2019 to encourage Taiwanese manufacturers to return to Taiwan from the mainland.
China Taiwan — Taiwan houses the world largest semiconductor manufacturer
Despite tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is the top contract manufacturer of semiconductor chips in the world. Most electronics, including computers, smartphones, automobiles, and even artificial intelligence-powered weapons systems, contain these chips. In 2022, Taiwanese businesses produced more than 60% of the revenue made by semiconductor contract manufacturers globally.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world and Apple’s top supplier, is responsible for a large portion of that. It produces more than 90% of the world’s most cutting-edge chips, making it one of just two businesses (the other is Samsung, based in South Korea) with the necessary technical know-how.
China Taiwan — will China follow Russia’s example and declare war of Taiwan?
U.S. analysts are particularly concerned that a conflict could break out as a result of China’s expanding military might and assertiveness, as well as the deterioration in relations across the Taiwan Strait.
A confrontation between the United States and China could result from such a conflict. That’s because both China and the United States haven’t ruled out using force to bring about Taiwan’s “reunification” in the event that China attacks.
Although some experts think that such an invasion is still a ways off, the top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific warned in 2021 that China might try to invade Taiwan within the next decade.
Others think 2049 is a crucial year; Xi has emphasised that Taiwan’s unification is necessary to realise what he calls the Chinese Dream, which calls for the restoration of China’s great-power status by 2049.
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