Taiwan :: History

Taiwan For centuries, Taiwan has been ruled by alien regimes. Modern Taiwanese history is a chronicle of the Taiwanese' struggles against oppression and fight for independent survival. Since 1945, Taiwan under the Kuomintang (KMT) regime has been subject to the threat of China's invasion. Even though recently the tensions across the Straits of Taiwan has loosened gradually, to Taiwanese, the unification policy stressed by both the KMT regime and the Chinese government still poses a grave danger of a forced and forcible merger with China. On August 31, 1993, the People's Republic of China issued a document titled, "The Taiwan Question and the Reunification of China." Circulating in seven languages, this diplomatic white paper manifested its intent and ambition of annexing Taiwan through its distortion of history, misconstruction of international law and treaties, and disregard for the will and welfare of the Taiwanese. Though less dogmatic and more pragmatic than before, the KMT's response remains ambiguous and problematic: the KMT still insists that the Communist regime cannot legitimately represent China, while emphasizing its own capability of resolving this "Chinese problem" eventually. Under such circumstances, we think it necessary to explicate our point of view from the perspective of the Taiwanese. China released a paper that states that "Peaceful Unification" and "One Country, Two Systems" are the basic principles of its Taiwan policy. The paper lists four guidelines: one China, coexistence of two systems, extensive autonomy, and peaceful negotiation. China warns that the Taiwan question is a purely domestic issue and thus to be solved under the premise of "One China." It further pronounces that peaceful unification is a fixed policy of the Chinese government. However, this government will reserve the right to take all action necessary, including military action, to protect its territorial integrity and governing authority. As a note directed at foreign states, the paper delivers its intention to keep out foreign intervention. "The Chinese government is not obliged to any foreign country and makes no promise whatsoever." In our opinion, the Chinese assumption and interpretation of the Taiwan issue are extremely absurd. Taiwan by no means is a part of the People's Republic of China, whether from the perspective of history, international law, or reality. This being the case, what position does the PRC have to formulate the "peaceful unification, one China" policy which aims at devouring Taiwan? China's chauvinistic ambitions are clearly manifested in light of this.