This is a thread about the perpetually tense situation involving the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, which the PRC considers to be part of China proper.

This is from Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/14/content_7068728.htm). Note the final quote:

China opposes U.S. congressmen backing Taiwan's UN membership


www.chinaview.cn 2007-11-14 00:23:47 Print

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday expressed strong opposition to some U.S. congressmen for their issuing of a bill supporting Taiwan's United Nations membership.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks at a regular press conference in the Chinese capital.

He said that it is known to all, there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. In addition, the People's Republic of China is the only legal government representing the whole of China.

This was widely acknowledged by the international community, including the United States, and was ensured by resolution 2758 of the UN National Assembly, he added.

"The one-China principle is not allowed to be questioned or denied," Liu said.

Here's the Wikipedia article on Taiwan, which has some good background about the ongoing ROC-Taiwan tension...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan


In 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang (KMT) , led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated from Mainland China and moved the ROC government from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, while continuing to claim sovereignty over all of China and Greater Mongolia. On the mainland, the victorious Communists established the People's Republic of China, claiming to be the sole representative of China including Taiwan and portraying the ROC government on Taiwan as an illegitimate entity.[12]

Some 1.3 million refugees from Mainland China, consisting mainly of soldiers, KMT party members and most importantly the intellectual and business elites fled the mainland and arrived in Taiwan around that time. In addition, as part of its escape from Communists on the mainland, the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan with many national treasures including gold reserves and foreign currency reserves. This was often used by the PRC government to explain its economic difficulties and Taiwan's comparative prosperity.[citation needed] From this period through the 1980s, Taiwan was governed by a party-state dictatorship, with the KMT as the ruling party. Military rule continued and little to no distinction was made between the government and the party, with public property, government property, and party property being interchangeable. Government workers and party members were indistinguishable, with government workers, such as teachers, required to become KMT members, and party workers paid salaries and promised retirement benefits along the lines of government employees. In addition all other parties were outlawed, and political opponents were persecuted, incarcerated, and executed.

Taiwan remained under martial law and one-party rule, under the name of the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion" (traditional Chinese: 動員戡亂時期臨時條款; simplified Chinese: 动员戡乱时期临时条款; Hanyu Pinyin: dòngyuán kānluàn shíqí línshí tiáokuǎn; Tongyong Pinyin: dòngyuán kanluàn shíhcí línshíh tiáokuǎn), from 1948 to 1987, when Presidents Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui gradually liberalized and democratized the system. With the advent of democratization, the issue of the political status of Taiwan has resurfaced as a controversial issue (previously, discussion of anything other than unification under the ROC was taboo).

As the Chinese Civil War continued without truce, the Republic of China built up military fortification works throughout Taiwan. Within this effort, former KMT soldiers built the now famous Central Cross-Island Highway through the Taroko Gorge in the 1950's. The two sides would remain in a heightened military state well into the 1960’s on the islands on the border with unknown number of night raids and clashes with details that are rarely made public. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in September 1958, Taiwan's landscape added Nike-Hercules Missile batteries with the formation of the 1st Missile Battalion Chinese Army and would not be deactivated until 1997. Newer generations of missile batteries have since replaced the Nike Hercules systems throughout the island.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC began to develop into a prosperous, industrialized developed country with a strong and dynamic economy, becoming one of the Four Asian Tigers while maintaining the authoritarian, single-party government. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China (while being merely the de-facto government of Taiwan) until the 1970s, when most nations began switching recognition to the PRC.[13]


Modern democratic era
Chiang Kai-shek's eventual successor, his son Chiang Ching-kuo, began to liberalize Taiwan's political system. In 1984, the younger Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a native Taiwanese technocrat, to be his vice president. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed illegally and inaugurated as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter the KMT. A year later Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law.

After the 1988 death of Chiang Ching-Kuo, his successor as President Lee Teng-hui continued to hand more government authority over to the native Taiwanese and democratize the government. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which local culture and history was promoted over a pan-China viewpoint. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and disbanding the Taiwan Provincial Government. Under Lee, the original members of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly, elected in 1947 to represent mainland constituencies and having taken the seats without re-election for more than four decades, were forced to resign in 1991. Restrictions on the use of Taiwanese in the broadcast media and in schools were lifted as well.

In the 1990s, the Republic of China transformed into a true democratic state, as President Lee Teng-hui was elected by the first popular vote held in Taiwan during the 1996 Presidential elections. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the DPP, was elected as the first non-KMT President and was re-elected to serve his second and last term since 2004. Polarized politics has emerged in Taiwan with the formation of the Pan-Blue Coalition of parties led by the KMT, favoring eventual Chinese reunification, and the Pan-Green Coalition of parties led by the DPP, favoring an eventual and official declaration of Taiwan independence.


Separate identity
On September 30, 2007, Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party approved a resolution asserting separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new constitution for a "normal country" . It called also for general use of "Taiwan" as the island's name, without abolishing its formal name, the Republic of China.

From the Wikipedia article on Taiwan, here's some useful background on the tensions between the island and the ROC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan

In 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang (KMT) , led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated from Mainland China and moved the ROC government from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, while continuing to claim sovereignty over all of China and Greater Mongolia. On the mainland, the victorious Communists established the People's Republic of China, claiming to be the sole representative of China including Taiwan and portraying the ROC government on Taiwan as an illegitimate entity.[12]

Some 1.3 million refugees from Mainland China, consisting mainly of soldiers, KMT party members and most importantly the intellectual and business elites fled the mainland and arrived in Taiwan around that time. In addition, as part of its escape from Communists on the mainland, the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan with many national treasures including gold reserves and foreign currency reserves. This was often used by the PRC government to explain its economic difficulties and Taiwan's comparative prosperity.[citation needed] From this period through the 1980s, Taiwan was governed by a party-state dictatorship, with the KMT as the ruling party. Military rule continued and little to no distinction was made between the government and the party, with public property, government property, and party property being interchangeable. Government workers and party members were indistinguishable, with government workers, such as teachers, required to become KMT members, and party workers paid salaries and promised retirement benefits along the lines of government employees. In addition all other parties were outlawed, and political opponents were persecuted, incarcerated, and executed.

Taiwan remained under martial law and one-party rule, under the name of the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion" (traditional Chinese: 動員戡亂時期臨時條款; simplified Chinese: 动员戡乱时期临时条款; Hanyu Pinyin: dòngyuán kānluàn shíqí línshí tiáokuǎn; Tongyong Pinyin: dòngyuán kanluàn shíhcí línshíh tiáokuǎn), from 1948 to 1987, when Presidents Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui gradually liberalized and democratized the system. With the advent of democratization, the issue of the political status of Taiwan has resurfaced as a controversial issue (previously, discussion of anything other than unification under the ROC was taboo).

As the Chinese Civil War continued without truce, the Republic of China built up military fortification works throughout Taiwan. Within this effort, former KMT soldiers built the now famous Central Cross-Island Highway through the Taroko Gorge in the 1950's. The two sides would remain in a heightened military state well into the 1960’s on the islands on the border with unknown number of night raids and clashes with details that are rarely made public. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in September 1958, Taiwan's landscape added Nike-Hercules Missile batteries with the formation of the 1st Missile Battalion Chinese Army and would not be deactivated until 1997. Newer generations of missile batteries have since replaced the Nike Hercules systems throughout the island.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC began to develop into a prosperous, industrialized developed country with a strong and dynamic economy, becoming one of the Four Asian Tigers while maintaining the authoritarian, single-party government. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China (while being merely the de-facto government of Taiwan) until the 1970s, when most nations began switching recognition to the PRC.[13]


Modern democratic era
Chiang Kai-shek's eventual successor, his son Chiang Ching-kuo, began to liberalize Taiwan's political system. In 1984, the younger Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a native Taiwanese technocrat, to be his vice president. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed illegally and inaugurated as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter the KMT. A year later Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law.

After the 1988 death of Chiang Ching-Kuo, his successor as President Lee Teng-hui continued to hand more government authority over to the native Taiwanese and democratize the government. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which local culture and history was promoted over a pan-China viewpoint. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and disbanding the Taiwan Provincial Government. Under Lee, the original members of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly, elected in 1947 to represent mainland constituencies and having taken the seats without re-election for more than four decades, were forced to resign in 1991. Restrictions on the use of Taiwanese in the broadcast media and in schools were lifted as well.

In the 1990s, the Republic of China transformed into a true democratic state, as President Lee Teng-hui was elected by the first popular vote held in Taiwan during the 1996 Presidential elections. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the DPP, was elected as the first non-KMT President and was re-elected to serve his second and last term since 2004. Polarized politics has emerged in Taiwan with the formation of the Pan-Blue Coalition of parties led by the KMT, favoring eventual Chinese reunification, and the Pan-Green Coalition of parties led by the DPP, favoring an eventual and official declaration of Taiwan independence.


Separate identity
On September 30, 2007, Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party approved a resolution asserting separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new constitution for a "normal country" . It called also for general use of "Taiwan" as the island's name, without abolishing its formal name, the Republic of China. [14]

The questions I have always had about the division in China that began and took place during in WW2 ..are.... who supplied the communist under MAO.. during the occupation by the Japanese. What was the official recognized government of China during those war years? How did MAO's army grow so huge towards the end of WW2 and after Japan surrendered and was removed from China's mainland? The communist led by MAO, were supplied by some nation either directly or indirectly. The only other significant communist nation at that time was the SOVIET UNION, and we were suppling them with munitions and arms to defeat the NAZIS. Chiang Kai-shek and his attractive wife visited the U.S. for support not only for their fight against the Japanese, but also in their fight against MAO's cummunist RED ARMY. How could we support Chaing.. and continue suppling the Soviets that were suppling the Chinese RED ARMY under MAO. Correct me if I'm wrong, the conflict between MAO's army, and Chaing Kai-sheks NATIONALIST ARMY, was taking place even while both were fighting the Japanese. I read somewheres that sometimes they would fight the occupying Japanese in a joint simi-controlled effort..then they would turn around and fight each other for conquered territory. It's coincident that the Russian Revolution found it's roots during WW1...and the Chinese Revolution found it's roots during WW2. We have learned that during the Russian Revolution...the germans were secretly aiding the BOLSHIVICS/COMMUNIST.. while at war with Russia. Is there any thread of evidence that the Imperial Japanese Government might have been aiding MAO and the Red Army? Glad to be back as....ta da... KOONISM

That's an interesting question. You might want to check out the Wikipedia article on the Chinese civil war, which says that the Chinese Communists didn't get that all much aid from the Soviets, much less than what the U.S. gave the Nationalists. Apparently, they CCP got more weapons from the warlord forces that had been disbanded by the Nationalists after WWII (also soldiers).

According to Reuters, Taiwanese leaders again are trying to gain a seat in the United Nations general assembly, which is bound to make the PRC angry.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday criticized Taiwan's plan to hold a referendum on U.N. membership repeating its line that it would upset the status quo with neighbor China which considers the self-ruled island its own.

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party plans to hold the referendum alongside presidential elections in March, ignoring warnings from Washington and Beijing.

"Just the process of having a referendum will make it harder to develop relations across the Taiwan Strait," Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the U.S. government's American Institute in Taiwan, told a news conference.

"It isn't going to accomplish anything in changing Taiwan's international status."

A bit of background:

Repeated attempts by Taiwan to join the United Nations have failed. Taiwan is recognized by just 24 mostly small, impoverished countries around the world, against 170 which recognize economic powerhouse China.

According to Reuters, Taiwanese presidential hopeful Frank Hsieh wants to significantly increase the island's military budget to counter the threat of attack by the ROC.

Taiwan has tried to boost defence spending as it tracks the rise of military spending in China, which claims the democratic island as its own and has pledged to bring it under Chinese rule, by force if necessary.

The island's defence spending is estimated at 2.85 percent of GDP this year, up from 2.45 percent of GDP in 2006.

Taiwan's spending, however, is still only a quarter of China's official planned spending this year of $45 billion. A Pentagon report in May said Beijing's total military-related spending could be more than double the official figure.

I've been neglecting blogging about Taiwan, which recently went through a significant political transition, as Kuomintang party leader Ma Ying-jeou won the Presidency. Here's a BBC News profile of Ma. After eight years in which the Democratic Progressive Party pursued a strategy of nationhood for Taiwan--which exacerbated tensions with the PRC and its "One China" attitude--and stalled economic relations with the mainland, Ma is expected to lead Taiwan into rapprochment with the PRC. Or at least the PRC is banking upon that. According to Asia Times:

Mainland China is betting that a formula of economic rapprochement with the self-ruled island of Taiwan will advance its ultimate goal of political reunification better than emphatic claims of sovereignty hammered home by Beijing.

The weekend landslide victory in Taiwan of opposition presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou, who favors warmer relations with the mainland, presents Chinese politicians with an opportunity to boost economic integration with Taiwan and work on resuming political talks across the strait.

The victory of Ma Ying-Jeou returns power to the Nationalist party (KMT) after eight turbulent years under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which pursued a course of independence for Taiwan and resisted closer economic relations



with the mainland. Beijing claims the island, separated from the mainland by the Taiwan Strait, as its territory and has vowed to pursue reunification, by force if all else fails.

Ma and the DPP presidential hopeful Frank Hsieh both said they will not push for outright independence and promised closer ties with Beijing, differing only in how quickly and to what degree they would strengthen relations. Both have strived to chart a course different to that of the departing president, Chen Shui-bian, whose confrontational stance had angered Beijing and irritated Taiwan's staunchest ally - Washington.

Ma won on promises to accelerate the pace of cross-strait economic integration and end the hostility between Taiwan and China. His convincing victory, which took 58.5% of the vote, illustrates a perception among the Taiwanese public that the island should benefit from rather than shun economic interdependence with the mainland.

"For an island economy like Taiwan's it is impractical not to want to be part of China's economic boom," says Taiwanese Raymond Ma who manages a real estate company in Beijing. "I sense potential and possibilities here every day and I think keeping political barriers between Taiwan and China seems rather outdated."

After his election, Ma, a Harvard-educated lawyer and former mayor of Taipei, said he would seek to establish direct travel links with the mainland and allow for more tourists from there to visit Taiwan. He had promised earlier to permit Taiwanese firms to invest more than 40% of their assets in the mainland.

During his campaign, Ma floated the idea of a loose economic entity between China and Taiwan, modelled on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement that Hong Kong has with the mainland.

"I will lay the foundation for a century of peace and prosperity," Ma said in a news conference after the election results were announced.

During the weekend vote, Taiwanese voters rejected two controversial referendums calling for Taiwan to apply for membership in the United Nations, one put forward by the DPP and one by the KMT. The DPP specifically called for the island to apply to the UN as Taiwan and not under its formal name of Republic of China, which in DPP's view reflects the principle that Taiwan and the mainland still form one China. Beijing condemned the referendums as a step towards declaring formal independence.

"Chen Shui-bian's administration has put forth a referendum to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan, but that referendum has failed, which goes to show that the people are not in favor of those who advocate Taiwan independence," Li Weiyi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the mainland government's State Council, or cabinet, said in Beijing.

Apart from Li's officially sanctioned remarks on the referendum, the state media exercised restraint before the elections and in their immediate aftermath. While some newspapers such as the Southern Weekend have run lengthy features on the Taiwan elections, explaining the background of the two candidates and the mood of the electorate, no comments have been published for fear of influencing political developments.

Experts say Beijing has learned its lesson from previous elections and has developed a much more sophisticated approach to dealing with the volatile and proud Taiwanese electorate.

When the island held its first democratic election for president in 1996, China fired dozen of missiles into Taiwan waters, hoping to deter the island's voters from choosing the pro-independence candidate Lee Teng-hui. A native-born Taiwanese, Lee campaigned on a platform for fostering Taiwanese identity and won.

This year, Beijing opted for a hands-off approach, which analysts here credit to a change in mainland's policy to emphasize pragmatism over idealism that has occurred under the leadership of president Hu Jintao. The crux of the policy is no longer political reunification by all means but opposition to independence.

"Since the year 2000, when the Democratic Progressive Party gained power in Taiwan, 'reunification' as the focal point of the mainland's strategy toward Taiwan became unrealistic and untenable," said political scientists Chu Shulong and Guo Yuli in an article published in the China Security magazine.

"The decision to adjust the mainland's strategy to one of 'opposing independence' was driven by circumstances of the situation: the political realities and a change in social attitudes in Taiwan."

Under Hu Jintao's rule, Beijing has also raised the status of defense modernization in China's national strategy, making preparations for a possible conflict over Taiwan. The defense budget has seen rapid increased over five years with a sizeable chunk going to missile development, submarines and electronic warfare capabilities.

At the just concluded annual session of Parliament, the mainland said its military spending this year would rise nearly 18% to US$57.2 billion.

India Times reports that Taiwan's improved relations with the PRC are boosting the Taiwanese dollar.

The Guardian (UK) reports that the PRC and Taiwan have made a major diplomatic breakthrough.

Taiwan and China agreed to set up representative offices in each other's territories today in an early breakthrough during the first formal talks between the two sides since 1999.

The move - reported by China's state-run Xinhua news agency - raises hopes for an easing of one of Asia's longest simmering disputes.

The offices, which will perform some consular functions, should smooth the traffic of people and goods between the island and the mainland, which have been split since the civil war in 1949.

Moves to increase charter flights and tourism are also expected to be agreed tomorrow at the conclusion of the high level dialogue.

The negotiations should lay the foundation for "a long-term peaceful relationship between the two sides," Chiang Pin-kung, the leader of the Taiwan delegation said at the opening of the talks in Beijing today.

The party, which includes two vice government ministers, is the most senior delegation to engage in bilateral talks, a sign of the dramatic thaw in relations since Taiwan's election of a nationalist president, Ma Ying-jeou in March.


Ma ran on a platform of improving relations with the PRC to boost Taiwan's economy. But improved ties could benefit both nations economically.

The International Herald Tribune reports that Taiwan's president Ma is calling for rapid expansion of economic ties with China, and thinks that will lead to reduction of political and security tensions between the island and the mainland.

Ma said two other broad sets of issues would have to wait until after his economic agenda had been resolved. These are Taiwan's limited "international space," in the sense that most countries and multilateral organizations now recognize Beijing instead of Taipei, and security issues across the Taiwan Strait.

"I think that's the order - first is economic normalization and then international space and then the peace accord," he said.