An Earthquake Reveals a Distorted Country View by Some Taiwanese

A 6.4 Richter scale earthquake happened in Tainan, Taiwan, on the day of Chinese New Year Eve this year. So far, nearly 60 people are known to have died, more than 100 people were injured and 70 people remain missing. Since the earthquake, Taiwan’s military has worked day and night on rescue. Some soldiers’ homes also collapsed in the earthquake, but they cannot do anything for their family, being forced instead to return to duty and work on rescue by a military order.

However, not all of the Taiwanese are willing to cheer on the soldiers’ efforts. One Taiwanese, called Aphrodite Hung (洪瑞璞), currently earning a Ph.D. in geopolitics at the University of Sorbonne, France, wrote on Facebook: “When the Republic of China (R.O.C.) is in difficulty, the Ministry of Defense is obligated to rescue. This is its responsibility to the Taiwanese, rather than a gift to them. If you let the R.O.C. Ministry of Defense recover its positive image, it can force the men of Taiwanese to do anything.” In addition, this student suggested that Taiwanese, whether using the New Taiwan Dollar (NTD), holding an R.O.C. passport, participating in R.O.C.’s elections or serving the R.O.C. army, are forced. Of these things, the most terrible is serving in the army, as it robs people of their freedom. Therefore, people do not have to say that we appreciate the Ministry of Defense to send troops to rescue. The student continues, “We cannot refuse to serve the army, but we do not have to cheer for the Ministry of Defense, which can kill Taiwanese soldiers. We do not have to strengthen its positive image. If you love your children, you love your male relatives, please do not let the Ministry of Defense change its negative image by rescuing victims in the earthquake. Frankly speaking, public opinion is the only thing we can protect for the men who are forced to serve the army.”

The comments have upset and offended soldiers. Some officers and soldiers have shared this post on the Internet, and said with emotion that they do not know how to comment on this kind of remark. They also suggest that this woman did nothing for Taiwan, but was simply spreading her political creed. Compared to the people making a lot of effort on the frontline, they asked, what did she do for the disaster?

The student’s thought is typical of Taiwan independence seekers. Recently, increasingly Taiwanese young people hold this view. In their opinion, the Republic of China (R.O.C.) should not be linked to Taiwan. Taiwan is Taiwan, and it is an independent country. This country’s name is Taiwan rather than R.O.C. In their mind, the R.O.C. government is colonizing Taiwan. It forces the Taiwanese people to use NTD (the name of Taiwan’s currency) and R.O.C. passports. Critics do not think the R.O.C. government has any legal basis to rule Taiwan, and note it is just a regime, defeated by the China Communist Party (CCP) in Mainland China that fled to Taiwan. Some people hold thought that is more radical. They not only think that the R.O.C government does not have any legitimacy but also consider that Taiwan is not a country. They are working hard to establish a country called “Taiwan “or “Republic of Taiwan”. Their view is that currently Taiwan does not belong to any country.

Although the above view does not reflect the legal facts and truth, it has become very popular in Taiwanese student circles in Europe and America. Students holding this incorrect view introduce it to their foreign friends, and the misconception spreads. They are trying to create a perception that this view is mainstream in Taiwanese young people. As a student studying abroad, I cannot agree with them. I think as a responsible Taiwanese, I have to tell the truth to the international society.

The Qing Dynasty was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, leading Taiwan to be ceded to Japan for 50 years. It did not belong to China until 1945. The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam for Advertisement, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, all confirm that Taiwan was returned to China at this time. However, in 1946, the Chinese Civil War happened. The ruling party, Kuomintang (KMT) was defeated by CCP in Mainland China, so it moved to Taiwan. Its scope of rule narrowed from the whole of China (Mainland China, Hainan Island, Taiwan, and its affiliated islands) to Taiwan and its affiliated islands (Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu).

On October 1, 1949, CCP announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). At that time, the party already controlled the whole of Mainland China. It hoped to take Taiwan shortly thereafter and eliminate the R.O.C. Nonetheless, for several reasons, the R.O.C. continues to exist, and it has substantially ruled Taiwan and its affiliated islands until now. Even though the P.R.C. thought that it has already replaced the R.O.C. to become the “Real China” and that the R.O.C. had disappeared, this argument is clearly incompatible with reality, because the R.O.C. maintains its own troops, issues passports, and currency. P.R.C. has never ruled Taiwan.

Given the above controversy and some inappropriate ruling methods conducted by KMT, some Taiwanese gradually developed Taiwan independence theories. The core value of them is that “Taiwan is Taiwan, China is China, and Taiwan does not belong to China, no matter R.O.C. or P.R.C.” To these Taiwanese, the R.O.C. is an exile government without any justification for ruling in Taiwan. Therefore, these people do not want to admit they have any connection to China. Nonetheless, this idea is completely ignorant of reality and is a kind of wishful thinking. The truth is that the Taiwanese’s nationality is R.O.C. rather than “Taiwan” or “Republic of Taiwan.” Actually, there is no country called “Taiwan” in the world. I use “Taiwan” in this article only because I do not want readers to mix it with P.R.C., which always claims that sovereignty of Taiwan.

The Constitution of Republic of China regulates the constitutional order, and according to its content, the territory of R.O.C. includes Taiwan and Mainland China. The real situation is that it only rules Taiwan and its affiliated islands. The R.O.C. has never given up its sovereignty of Mainland China. Due to the constitution of the P.R.C., its territory is the same as R.O.C., but it has never given up the sovereignty of Taiwan even though they have not ruled it.

In short, I will re-iterate that there is no country in the world called “Taiwan” or “Republic of Taiwan”. Taiwan is just a geographic name. To say I come from Taiwan simply means that I am not from the P.R.C. It is not to say Taiwan is a country. Regrettably, some Taiwanese still do not understand the truth, and others deliberately ignore the reality. They post such descriptions as the one the above Taiwanese Ph.D. student did. Taiwan’s unique political status leaves it in political limbo, even as the natural disasters come. This is the Taiwanese’ tragedy, and it is also the R.O.C.’s nightmare.

Sovereignty in the South China Sea: Taiwan's domestic posturing

Taiwan’s President, Ma Ying-jeou landed on Taiping Island in the South China Sea on January 28 despite lack of support from the United States. President Ma’s main purpose was to refute the Philippines’ claim stating to the International Tribunal in Hague that Taiping Island is just a reef, rather than an actual island. Ma had lunch on the island with the soldiers and officers stationed there, and explained that their food and water came from the island itself, proving that Taiping Island is a place that can provide the basic necessities of human life. This is the definition of an island under The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

However, Ma’s landing caused the United States’ dissatisfaction. The spokesman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said Ma’s behavior would not help solve the South China Sea dispute that many countries claim they have the sovereignty of the islands and reefs . At the same time, the U.S. State Department expressed its disappointment. According to some Taiwanese journalists stationed in the U.S., Taipei and Washington had already negotiated this issue for a long time, but Ma still decided to land. 

Recently, China has actively built military installations and several airstrips in the South China Sea’s islands and reefs. Several countries including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan all claimed sovereignty over the Sea to a certain degree. The U.S. has been quite dissatisfied with China’s massive construction projects in the area. The Western power is particularly worried that China would undermine freedom of navigation and escalate the territorial dispute over the area. In addition, China is undoubtedly the most significant rival of the U.S. in the twenty-first century. For the U.S., containing China’s behavior, especially related to military expansion, is in line with its interests.

China’s territory claims of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea are based on the Nationalist Government’s (Republic of China, R.O.C.) position confirmed in 1946. The government is tenacious, substantially controlling Taiwan and other affiliated islands. Taiwan (R.O.C.) nevertheless has maintained its territorial claims of the islands and reefs. The U.S. was worried that Ma’s landing would strengthen China’s position, and that might narrow the political distance between Taiwan and China. The power balance between China, Taiwan, and the U.S. might be broken in the near future depending on the political contextual changes of the South China Sea. 

In fact, as the predominant Western hegemon, it is reasonable that the U.S. would be worried about the situation in the South China Sea. However, U.S. decision makers must also understand that it holds no real claims in this region over ten thousand kilometers from the nearest American territory. Most Taiwanese found the U.S.’ criticism of President Ma inappropriate. While there are real disputes in the area, Taiping Island has been totally under the Nationalist Government’s control, never having faced challenges from other countries even though the Nationalist Government moved from Mainland China to Taiwan in 1949. For Taiwan, Taiping Island is absolutely a part of Republic of China. Ma observes his country’s territory as unalterable. Moreover, President Ma’s action was to arouse international attention that Taiping Island is an “island” not a “reef”. Therefore, Taiwan can claim the 200 nautical mile economic zone based on it. Ma did not board a controversial Island to declare sovereignty – he simply entered Taiwanese territory to bring attention to the fact that the area is habitable.One might liken Ma’s action to a host of a house entering a dining room from the living room. 

Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the presidential and parliamentary elections in mid-January. Its position on Cross-Strait and foreign affairs is unconditional in its opposition to mainland China’s government. It also assumes the support of Japan and the U.S. in all things. Some of the DPP’s new congressmen criticized that Ma’s behavior disrupted the international order. One of them even said that Taiping Island is too far to defend, and he did not know why Ma had to go there, mirroring the American position. 

Unfortunately, these DPP congressmen highlighted their adherence to American policy, while the U.S. has been reluctant to be openly involved in the internal politics of Taiwan. The DPP’s congressmen have drawn on American support directly through aligning their policy with American foreign policy itself. Therefore, the U.S. later issued a statement to praise President Ma’s “South China Sea Peace Development Route” and clearly stated that Taiwan is also a country able to claim sovereignty in the South China Sea.

This event has shown that the U.S. is willing to ignore the complexity of Cross-Strait relations and Taiwan’s domestic politics on this issue. The U.S. only tried to avoid Taipei and Beijing on the same side, but it did not notice that the DPP is particularly proficient at manipulating U.S-China relations so as to confront China. Despite the U.S.’s time and resources spent developing policy in relation to China, it is surprising that the whole State Department failed to predict the possible reaction of DPP. As the most essential defender of the current international order, the U.S. should be more cautious in its willingness to interfere in other countries’ internal politics when countering China. Otherwise, meddling will lead to more unnecessary distress to the U.S. and the world, and will not be helpful in resolving the dispute in the South China Sea.

( Lifan Hou is a Master candidate in Elliott School of International Affairs in The George Washington University. He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Taiwan’s National Chengchi University )