Beijing considers Taiwan, democratic and self-governing, to be part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Many Taiwanese disagree. They feel that, in effect, they have a separate nation, whether independence is officially declared or not.
What is the origin of this dispute and what is the role of the United States? Next, we tell it.
Does Taiwan belong to China?
China is currently represented by two separate authorities: the Republic of China—known as Taiwan—and the People’s Republic of China—in mainland China and commonly known as China.
In the aftermath of World War II, infighting resumed in mainland China, with the ROC government—established in 1912 as a successor to the Qing dynasty—relocating to Taiwan, and the group led by Mao Zedong creating the Republic of China village.
To this day, the PRC has control over mainland China, while the ROC has control over the island of Taiwan, the Penghu archipelago, and the smaller Kinmen and Matsu islands, while each government claims sovereignty over all “Chinese”.
The ‘One China’ policy
‘One China’ is a longstanding US policy that forms the basis of its relationship with Beijing.
Under the policy, the United States severed formal diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan and established ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing in 1979.
The contours of the policy were spelled out in the joint US-PRC communique of December 1978, which read as follows:
The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America have agreed to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations as of January 1, 1979. The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.