When writing about Taiwan, Western reporters often state that the country split off from China in 1949 as a result of the Chinese Civil War. This is a misleading statement giving the impression that Taiwan was always a part of China until 1949. In fact, in Taiwan's 400-year recorded history, the nation has been separated from China for long periods of time. This history is better characterized as an incessant struggle for freedom against alien rulers.
From 1624 to 1662, Taiwan was a Dutch colony. The Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga and his son ruled Taiwan from 1662 to 1683. The Qing Dynasty then controlled Taiwan until 1895 when Taiwan and the Pescadores were ceded to Japan in perpetuity under the Treaty of Shimonseki. Unwilling to submit to Japanese rule, the Taiwanese established a short-lived Taiwan Democratic Republic that year.
At the end of World War II, dictator Chiang Kai-shek's (
On Feb. 28, 1947, the people rose in protest against the Chinese administration, which in turn massacred some 28,000 protesters and community leaders. In the ensuing 38 years of martial law under the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) dictatorship, thousands more dissidents were imprisoned or executed.
In October 1971, Chiang's representatives were expelled from the UN. In 1979, the US recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC), and in 2000, a peaceful transfer of power from the KMT to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was achieved when Chen Shui-bian (
It is factually incorrect to say that Taiwan has always been an integral part of China. It is also incorrect to assert that the nation is a province of the PRC. The PRC has never ruled Taiwan, not even a single day. Taiwan is not a part of China. Taiwan hasn't been Chinese territory since 1895, when China ceded Taiwan to Japan in perpetuity. The occupation of Taiwan in 1945 by Chiang's forces was a temporary measure on behalf of the Allied forces. It did not alter the legal status of the island.
In 1951, the Allied powers formally ended World War II with Japan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, in which Japan gave up its sovereignty over Taiwan. But the treaty did not specify a recipient. Delegates of Great Britain, Egypt and France stated that Taiwan's legal status was to be determined at a future date in accordance with the principle of self-determination and the expressed wish of its inhabitants.
On Oct. 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 recognizing the Government of the PRC as the only lawful representative of China to the UN and expelling Chiang's representatives from the UN and related organizations.
Resolution 2758, however, did not address the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty and did not confer on the PRC the right to represent Taiwan.
The US and many allied nations adopted a "One China policy" which is not well defined. When pressed, US government officials often merely recite the Taiwan Relations Act and the three Sino-US joint communiques of 1972, 1979 and 1982 as elements of that policy.
The key document is the 1972 Shanghai Communique, which states: "The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain that there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China."
So the US took note of the claim that Taiwan was part of China by the PRC and the KMT government in Taiwan.
The US did not accept or take a position on the Chinese claim. This refusal to recognize the PRC and KMT claims on Taiwan was reaffirmed by former US president Ronald Reagan when he assured Taipei in 1982 that the US position on Taiwan's sovereignty would not change.
So how should the legal status of Taiwan be determined? The right of self-determination is enshrined in the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Through much sacrifice and struggle, the people of Taiwan have overturned the Leninist KMT regime and established a thriving democracy in Taiwan. They have exercised their right of self-determination through the ballot box and are the sole legitimate owners of the island and its surrounding territories.
Today, Taiwan is a de facto independent nation and a vibrant democracy. Taiwan is the world's 17th largest economy and the world's 16th largest trading country. Taiwan holds the world's third largest foreign exchange reserves. Taiwan participates in various foreign assistance and humanitarian and relief programs.
Taiwan is a member of the WTO, the Asian Development Bank and APEC.
Taiwan meets the standard criteria of a state, with a population of 23 million, a defined territory and a government capable of conducting international relations.
The only reason Taiwan is not recognized by the major powers as a state is Beijing's claim that the country is part of China, even though the claim is not supported by either history or international law. China has targeted 800 ballistic missiles against Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is rapidly modernizing, with the strategic aim of overwhelming Taiwan's resistance before help can arrive.
Beijing has also adopted a "united front" strategy, working with Taiwan's opposition parties, pro-China media and businessmen with investments in China to subvert Taiwan's democratic institutions and the ruling DPP government from within.
The recent demonstration in Taipei attests to the effectiveness of this strategy. Ostensibly, the demonstration aims to depose the president, but the real purpose is to scuttle Taiwan's democracy and the rule of law, and to create internal division and disorder so as to facilitate the PRC's intervention.
China's expansionist ambitions extend beyond Taiwan. China has claimed virtually the entire South China Sea as its territorial waters. Its Second Artillery is building a nuclear strike capability which can reach the continental US, including submarines with nuclear-tipped missiles.
The PLA is developing weapons which could destroy military satellites of other nations in space. Chinese submarines have repeatedly intruded into Japanese territory in recent years. With its growing budget and acquisition of state of the art weapons, the PLA poses an ever greater threat, notably to Taiwan but also to the whole East Asia region and ultimately to South Asia and the US.
By resisting Chinese pressure to capitulate, Taiwan is preserving the increasingly precarious balance of power in the Taiwan Strait and peace and stability in East Asia.
If Taiwan should fall into PRC hands, the PLA will be able to project its power well into the Western Pacific. China will then control the sea lanes and airspace vital to the survival of Japan and South Korea. A serious conflict could develop between Japan and China. Japan could decide to acquire nuclear weapons to cope with the twin threats from North Korea and the PRC. Preserving the status quo is thus critical to peace and stability in Asia.
On Sept. 8, US Representative Tom Tancredo, a Republican wrote a letter to UN Ambassador John Bolton in support of Taiwan's membership in the UN. Tancredo was joined by Representative Dana Rohrbacher (Republican), Representative Robert Andrews (Democrat) and Representative Steve Chabot (Republican).
Tancredo, a member of the House International Relations Committee, wrote: "Taiwan is a stable, democratic presence in Asia, a bulwark of support for human rights and a world economic power, home to a thriving multi-party democracy with free and fair elections held at all levels of government. It is, by all measures, a sovereign country -- and it should be treated as such."
"Taiwan is a free country ruled by freely elected people ... Taiwan should be a member of the United Nations," Rohrbacher added.
Taiwan is the only country in the world that is denied UN membership. Only by admitting Taiwan to full membership in the UN can the principle of universality be satisfied.
The preamble to the UN Charter states: "We the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined to reaffirm the faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small."
Article 1 of the Charter states that the purposes of the UN are, "(1) to maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace ... (2) to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples."
Taiwan's admission to the UN would enable the UN to put in practice the lofty ideals and purposes stipulated in the UN Charter. Exclusion of Taiwan due to political expediency weakens the UN and makes a mockery of the UN's missions and efficacy.
If political realities make Taiwan's membership in the UN unfeasible at present, the General Assembly should at least consider urging the PRC to renounce the use of force in solving its dispute with Taiwan, and to respect the right of the people of Taiwan to freely choose their form of government and the legal status of Taiwan without outside pressure or coercion.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan could be asked to convene a regional conference of East Asian states with the explicit purpose of easing tensions in the region, including the Taiwan Strait.
If the General Assembly can accomplish these tasks, the UN would take a giant step towards realizing the kind of world envisioned by its founding members.
Li Thian-hok is a freelance political commentator based in Pennsylvania.
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