The
Republic of China (ROC), commonly
known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia
that has transformed from a single-party state with full global
recognition and jurisdiction over China
into a
democratic state with limited
international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan
and minor
islands, though it enjoys de facto relations with many
other states. Before 1949 it was the internationally
recognized government of China, and as such was a founding member
of the United Nations and one of the
five permanent members of the UN
Security Council, until being replaced by the
People's
Republic of China
in 1971.
Established in 1912, the Republic of China
encompassed much of mainland China
and Mongolia
.
At the end
of World War II, with the surrender of Japan, the Republic of China
added the island groups of
Taiwan and Penghu
to its
jurisdiction. When the Kuomintang
(KMT), the Chinese Nationalist Party, lost the civil war to the Communist Party in 1949, the ROC's
government relocated to Taiwan and established Taipei
as its
temporary capital (also called the
"wartime capital" by Chiang
Kai-shek); while the Communists founded the People's
Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. Taiwan, together with
Penghu, Kinmen
, Matsu
, and other minor islands then
became the extent of the Republic of China's authority.
Although its jurisdiction only covers this area, during the early
Cold War the ROC was recognized by many
Western nations and the United Nations as the sole legitimate
government of China.
Constitutionally, the
ROC has not relinquished its claim as the legitimate government of
all China although in practice it does not actively pursue these
claims. The political parties of the ROC often have radically
different views regarding the sovereignty of Taiwan. Both former
Presidents
Lee Teng-hui and
Chen Shui-bian have held the view that it is
a sovereign and independent country separate from
mainland China and there is no need for a
formal declaration of independence. President
Ma Ying-jeou has expressed
the view that the ROC
is a sovereign and independent country that includes both Taiwan
and mainland China.
The ROC is a democracy with a
semi-presidential system and
universal suffrage. The
president serves as the
head of state and the
Legislative Yuan serves as the legislative
body. One of the
Four Asian
Tigers, Taiwan is the
26th-largest economy in
the world. Its technology industry plays a key role in the global
economy. The ROC
is ranked
high in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public
education, and economic freedom, among others.
Names
The official name of the state is "Republic of China"; it has also
been known under various names throughout its existence. Shortly
after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located
on the Asian mainland, the government used the abbreviation "China"
("
Zhongguó") to refer to itself, for instance during the
Olympic Games or at the United Nations. During the 1950s and 1960s,
it was common to refer to it as "Nationalist China" to
differentiate it from the "Communist China" on the Asian mainland.
The ROC also called itself "Free China" in an attempt to portray
the PRC as an illegitimate government. At the UN, it was present
under the name "China" until it lost its seat to the People's
Republic of China. Since then, the name "China" has been commonly
used to refer only to the People's Republic of China.
Over
subsequent decades, the Republic of China has been commonly known
as "Taiwan", which comes from Tayuan or Tayoan in
the Siraya
language
. It
is also often informally referred to as the "State of Taiwan". The
Republic of China participates in international forums and
organizations under the politically neutral name "
Chinese Taipei"; for instance it is the name
under which it competes at the Olympic Games since 1979, and its
name as an observer at the World Health Organization.
History
The
Republic of China was established in 1911, replacing the Qing Dynasty
and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China.
It is the oldest surviving
republic in East
Asia. The Republic of China on mainland China went through periods
of
warlordism,
Japanese invasion, and civil war
between the
Kuomintang and the
Communists. The Republic of China on Taiwan has experienced rapid
economic growth and industrialization, and democratization.
Starting in 1928, the Republic of China was ruled by the Kuomintang
as an
authoritarian one-party state. In the 1950s and 1960s,
the KMT went through wide restructuring and decreased
corruption and implemented
land reform. There followed a period of great
economic growth, the Republic of China became one of the
Four Asian Tigers, despite the constant
threat of war and civil unrest. In the 1980s and 1990s the
government peacefully transitioned to a
democratic system, with the first
direct
presidential election in 1996 and the
2000 election
of
Chen Shui-bian, the first non-KMT
after 1949 to become
President of the Republic of
China. The KMT regained presidency and increased its majority
in the legislature in the 2008
presidential
and
legislative
elections.
Founding (1911–1927)
In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a
republic was established in China and the monarchy
overthrown by a group of revolutionaries.
The Qing government, having just experienced a century of
instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign
imperialism. The Neo-Confucian principles that had, to that
time, sustained the dynastic system were now called into question,
and a loss of cultural self-confidence was blamed for a total of 40
million Chinese consumers of
opium by 1890
(roughly 10% of the population). By the time of its defeat by an
expeditionary force led by the world's major powers in 1900 during
the suppression of the
Boxer
Rebellion, the Qing government was already in its final throes,
with only the lack of an alternative regime in sight prolonging its
existence until 1912.
The establishment of Republican China developed out of the
Wuchang Uprising against the Qing on 10
October 1911. That date is now celebrated annually as the ROC's
national day, also known as the
'
Double Ten Day'. On1 January 1912,
Sun Yat-sen officially proclaimed the
establishment of the Republic of China, and became
provisional president. As
part of the agreement to have the last emperor
Puyi abdicate,
Yuan Shikai
was officially elected president in 1913. However, Yuan dissolved
the ruling
Kuomintang party, ignored the
provisional
Constitution by
asserting presidential power, and ultimately declared himself
Emperor of China in 1915.
Yuan's supporters deserted him, and many provinces declared
independence and became warlord states. Yuan Shikai gave up on
becoming Emperor in 1916 and died of natural causes shortly after.
Thus devoid of a strong, unified government, China thrust into a
decade of
warlordism.
Sun Yat-sen, forced
into exile, returned to Guangdong
province with the help of southern warlords in 1917
and 1920, and set up successive rival governments. Sun
re-established the KMT in October, 1919.
The
Beiyang government in
Beijing struggled to hold on to power. An
open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should
confront the West. In 1919, a student protest against the weak
response of China to the
Treaty of
Versailles led to a nationwide uprising known as the
May Fourth Movement. These
demonstrations helped reinforce the idea of a republican revolution
in China.
In general,
Chinese anarchism,
specifically
anarchist
communism, had been a prominent form of revolutionary
socialism. Following the
Russian Revolution, the influence
of
Marxism spread and became more popular.
Li Dazhao and
Chen
Duxiu led the
Marxist-Leninist
movement in the beginning.
Tutelage and World War II (1927–1945)
After Sun's death in March 1925,
Chiang
Kai-shek became the leader of the KMT.
Chiang had led the
successful Northern Expedition
which, with the help of the Soviet Union
, defeated the warlords and nominally united China
under the KMT. However, Chiang soon dismissed his Soviet
advisors, and purged the
Communists and
leftists from the KMT, leading to
the
Chinese Civil War. Chiang
Kai-shek pushed the Communists into the interior as he sought to
destroy them.
The Nationalist government was founded in
Nanking
in 1927.. By 1928, Chiang's army finally
overturned the
Beiyang government
and unified the entire nation, at least nominally.
According to Sun Yat-sen's theory, the KMT was to rebuilt China in
three phases: a phase of military rule through which the KMT would
take over power and reunite China by force; a phase of political
tutelage; and finally a constitutional democratic phase. In 1930,
the Nationalists, having taken over the power, started the second
phase, and promulgated a provisional constitution for the political
tutelage period and began the period of so-called "tutelage". They
were criticized by the Communist and
the
West as
totalitarianism but
claimed they were attempting to make to establish a modern
democratic society. Among others, they have created the
Academia Sinica, the
Bank of China, and other agencies. In 1932,
China sent a team for the first time to the
Olympic Games.
Historians argue that establishing a democracy in China at that
time was not possible due to various factors, including the threat
from Communism, corruption within the government, the failure of
democracies in Europe and the increased power of Chiang and the
military over the government. The Nationalist government wrote a
draft of the constitution in 5 May 1936.
Stability was interrupted by the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, with
hostilities continuing through the
Second Sino-Japanese War, part of
World War II, from 1937 to 1945.
The government of the Republic of China
retreated from Nanking to Chongqing
. In 1945, after the war of eight years,
Japan surrendered and the Republic of China, under the name
"China", became one of the founding members of the
United Nations. The government returned to
Nanking in 1946.
After World War II (1945–1949)
Civil war in Manchuria, 1946
After the
defeat of Japan
during
World War II, Taiwan was surrendered to
the Allies, with ROC troops
accepting the surrender of the Japanese garrison. The
government of the ROC proclaimed the "
retrocession" of Taiwan to the Republic of
China and established the provincial government at Taiwan. The
military administration of the ROC extended over Taiwan, which led
to widespread unrest and increasing tensions between Taiwanese and
mainlanders. The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947
triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military
force in what is now called the
228
Incident. Mainstream estimates of casualties range from 18,000
to 30,000, mainly Taiwanese elites. The 228 incident has
far-reaching effect on the following Taiwan history.
From 1945 to 1947, under United States mediation, especially
through the
Marshall Mission, the
Nationalists and Communists agreed to start a series of peace talks
aiming at establishing a coalition government. They however failed
to reach an agreement and the civil war broked again. In the
context of political and military animosity, the National Assembly
was summoned by the Nationalists without the participation of the
Communists and promulgated the
Constitution of the
Republic of China. The constitution was criticized by the
Communists, and lead to the final break between the two sides. The
full scale civil war resumed from early 1947..
In 1948, the ROC administration imposed perpetual
martial law. Meanwhile, the civil war was
escalating from regional areas to the entire nation. Eventually,
the Communist troops, with the help of the Soviet Union, defeated
the ROC army. In December 1949, Chiang evacuated the government to
Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC. In his
retreat, he also transferred China's
gold reserves to Taiwan. Between one
and two million refugees from mainland China followed him, adding
to the earlier population of approximately six million.
In October 1949, the Communists founded the People's Republic of
China.
Government on Taiwan (1949 onward)
The ROC government, now threatened by both demands for independence
within Taiwan, and by the Communists in mainland China, became
increasingly dictatorial. The
White Terror, started while the ROC
central government was still governed from mainland China, remained
in place until 1987 as a way to suppress the political opposition.
During these acts of violence, 140,000 Taiwan residents were
imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or
pro-Communist.
Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that
Taiwan would fall to the Communists.
However, in 1950 the
conflict between North
Korea
and South
Korea
, which had been ongoing since the Japanese
withdrawal in 1945, escalated into full-blown war, and in the
context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the 7th Fleet into the
Taiwan
Straits
to prevent hostilities between Taiwan and mainland
China. In the
Treaty of
San Francisco and the
Treaty of
Taipei, which came into force respectively on 28 April 1952 and
5 August 1952, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title
to Taiwan and Penghu, and renounced all treaties signed with China
before 1942.
The United States and the United
Kingdom
disagreed on whether the ROC or the PRC was the
legitimate government of China—as a result both treaties remained
silent about who would take control of the island.
Continuing conflict of the Chinese Civil War through the 1950s, and
intervention by the United States notably resulted in legislations
such as the
Sino-American Mutual Defense
Treaty and the
Formosa
Resolution of 1955.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC began to develop into a
prosperous, technology-oriented
industrialized developed country, while maintaining an
authoritarian, single-party government. This rapid economical
growth, known as the
Taiwan Miracle,
was the result of a fiscal regime independent from mainland China
and backed up, among others, by the support of US funds and demand
for Taiwanese products. The country became known as one of the
Four Asian Tigers. Because of the
Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the
ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s and
especially after the termination of the Sino-American Mutual
Defense Treaty; after that, most nations switched diplomatic
recognition to the PRC.
Up until the 1970s, the ROC was regarded by Western critics as
undemocratic for upholding martial law, for severely repressing any
political opposition and for controlling media. The KMT did not
allow the creation of new parties and those that existed did not
seriously compete with the KMT. Thus, competitive democratic
elections did not exist. From the late 1970s to the 1990s, however,
reforms slowly moved the Republic of China from an authoritarian
state to a democracy.
In 1979, a pro-democracy protest known as
the Kaohsiung Incident took place
in Kaohsiung
to celebrate Human
Rights Day. Although the protest was rapidely crushed by
the authority, it is today considered as the main event that united
Taiwan's opposition. In 1986,
Chiang
Ching-kuo and
Lee Teng-hui allowed
for the creation of new political parties, which led to the
founding of the first opposition party, the
Democratic Progressive Party.
In 1987, the martial law was lifted along with, a year later, the
ban on new newspaper registration. The democratization process
eventually led to the first direct presidential election by
universal adult suffrage in 1996.
Political status
The political status of the Republic of China is a contentious
issue.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims that the ROC government is
illegitimate, referring to it as the "Taiwan Authority". The
ROC, however, views itself as an independent
sovereign state, with its own constitution,
independently elected president and a large army.
Conflict with the PRC
The political environment is complicated by the potential for
military conflict should overt actions toward independence or
reunification be taken.
It is the
official PRC policy to use force to ensure reunification if
peaceful reunification is no longer possible, as stated in its
anti-secession
law, and for this reason there are substantial military installation on the Fujian
coast.
The PRC supports a version of the
One-China policy, which states that Taiwan
and mainland China are both part of China, and that the PRC is the
only legitimate government of China. It uses this policy to prevent
the international recognition of the ROC as an independent
sovereign state.
United States involvement and current standpoint
The
United
States
is one of the main allies of the ROC. As a
result of
Cold War politics, the US has
provided military training and sold arms to the
Republic of China Armed
Forces. However, the current status quo, as defined by the US,
is supported on a
quid pro quo
basis between the ROC and the PRC. The latter is expected to "use
no force or threat[en] to use force against Taiwan" and the ROC is
to "exercise prudence in managing all aspects of
Cross-Strait relations." Both are to
refrain from performing actions or espousing statements "that would
unilaterally alter Taiwan's status."
For its part, the People's Republic of China appears to find the
retention of the name "Republic of China" far more acceptable than
the declaration of a
de jure
independent Taiwan. However, with the rise of the Taiwanese
independence movement, the name "Taiwan" has been employed
increasingly more often on the island itself.
Opinions within the ROC
Within the ROC, opinions are polarized between those supporting
unification, represented by the
Pan-Blue Coalition of parties, and those
supporting independence, represented by the
Pan-Green Coalition.
The Kuomintang, the largest Pan-Blue party, supports the status quo
for the indefinite future with a stated ultimate goal of
unification. However, it does not support unification in the short
term with the PRC as such a prospect would be unacceptable to most
of its members and the public.
Ma
Ying-jeou, former chairman of the KMT and the current ROC
President, has set out democracy, economic development to a level
near that of the ROC, and equitable wealth distribution as the
conditions that the PRC must fulfill for reunification to
occur.
The
DPP, the largest
Pan-Green party, officially seeks independence, but in practice
also supports the status quo because its members and the public
would not accept the risk of provoking the PRC.
Former President
Chen Shui-bian of
the
Democratic Progressive
Party stated during his years of administration that any
decision should be decided through a public referendum of the
people of the ROC. Both parties' current foreign policy positions
support actively advocating ROC participation in international
organizations, but while the KMT accepts the
One-China principle, the DPP encourages the
participation of Taiwan as a sovereign state.
On 2 September 2008,
El Sol de México asked President Ma
Ying-jeou about his views on the subject of "
two Chinas" and if there was a solution for the
sovereignty issues between the two. The ROC President replied that
the relations are neither between two Chinas nor two states. It is
a
special
relationship. Further, he stated that the sovereignty issues
between the two cannot be resolved at present, but he quoted the
"
1992 Consensus", currently accepted
by both sides, as a temporary measure until a solution becomes
available.
Government
The government of the Republic of China was founded on the
Constitution of the
ROC and its
Three
Principles of the People, which states that "[the ROC] shall be
a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people
and for the people."
The government is divided into five
administrative branches (Yuan): the Control Yuan, the Examination Yuan, the Executive
Yuan
, the Judicial Yuan,
and the Legislative Yuan.
The
Pan-Blue Coalition and
Pan-Green Coalition are
presently the dominant political blocs in the Republic of
China.
President
The
head of state is the
President, who is elected
by popular vote for a four-year term on the same ticket as the
Vice-President. The President has authority over the Yuan. The
President appoints the members of the Executive Yuan as his
cabinet, including a
Premier, who is officially
the President of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for
policy and administration.
Executive Yuan
The ROC's political system does not fit traditional models. The
Premier is selected by the President without the need for approval
from the Legislature, but the Legislature can pass laws without
regard for the President, as neither he nor the Premier wields veto
power. Thus, there is little incentive for the President and the
Legislature to negotiate on legislation if they are of opposing
parties. After the election of the pan-Green's Chen Shui-bian as
President in 2000, legislation repeatedly stalled because of
deadlock with the Legislative Yuan, which was controlled by a
pan-Blue majority. Historically, the ROC has been dominated by
strongman single party politics. This legacy has resulted in
executive powers currently being concentrated in the office of the
President rather than the Premier, even though the Constitution
does not explicitly state the extent of the President's executive
power.
Legislature
The main
legislative body is the
unicameral Legislative Yuan with 113 seats.
Seventy-three are elected by popular vote from single-member
constituencies; thirty-four are elected based on the proportion of
nationwide votes received by participating political parties in a
separate party list ballot; and six are elected from two
three-member aboriginal constituencies. Members serve three-year
terms. Originally the unicameral
National
Assembly, as a standing
constitutional
convention and
electoral
college, held some
parliamentary
functions, but the National Assembly was abolished in 2005 with the
power of constitutional amendments handed over to the Legislative
Yuan and all eligible voters of the Republic via referendums.
Judiciary
The
Judicial Yuan is ROC's highest
judiciary. It interprets the constitution
and other laws and decrees, judges administrative suits, and
disciplines public functionaries. The President and Vice-President
of the Judicial Yuan and fifteen Justices form the Council of Grand
Justices. They are nominated and appointed by the President of the
Republic, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan. The highest
court, the
Supreme Court,
consists of a number of civil and criminal divisions, each of which
is formed by a presiding Judge and four Associate Judges, all
appointed for life. In 1993, a separate
constitutional court was
established to resolve constitutional disputes, regulate the
activities of political parties and accelerate the democratization
process. There is no
trial by jury but
the right to a fair public trial is protected by law and respected
in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges.
Like most Asian democracies, Taiwan still allows for
capital punishment. Efforts have been
made by the government to reduce the number of executions, although
they have not been able to completely abolish the punishment. As of
2006, about 80% of Taiwanese oppose the abolition of the death
penalty.
Audit
The
Control Yuan is a watchdog agency
that monitors (controls) the actions of the executive.
It can be considered
a standing commission for
administrative inquiry and can be compared to the Court of Auditors of the European Union or the Government Accountability
Office of the United
States.
Examination
The
Examination Yuan is in charge
of validating the qualification of
civil
servants. It is based on the old
Imperial examination system used in
premodern China. It can be compared to the
European Personnel Selection
Office of the
European Union or
the
Office of Personnel
Management of the United States.
Administrative regions
According to the 1947
Constitution,
written before the ROC government retreated to Taiwan, the highest
level administrative division is the
province, which includes
special
administrative regions,
regions, and
centrally-administered
municipalities. However, in 1998 the only provincial government
to remain fully functional under ROC jurisdiction,
Taiwan Province, was streamlined, with most
responsibility assumed by the central government and the
county-level governments (the other existing provincial government,
Fuchien, was streamlined much earlier). The ROC currently
administers two provinces and two provincial level cities. Under
ROC law, the area currently under ROC jurisdiction is the "
Free Area of the Republic of
China".
Counties
The
Republic of China also controls the Pratas Islands
(Dong-Sha) and Taiping Island
, which are part of the disputed South China Sea Islands. They
were placed under Kaohsiung City after the retreat to Taiwan.
Taichung
is currently under consideration for elevation to
central municipality status. Also, Taipei County and
Kaohsiung County are considering mergers with their respective
cities.
Claimed territories
Constitutional administrative division
of the Republic of China
The ROC claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all China
after its relocation to Taiwan in 1949 until the lifting of
martial law in 1987. Although the
administration of
pro-independence President
Chen Shui-bian (2000–2008) did not actively
claim sovereignty over all of China, the national boundaries of the
ROC have not been redrawn and its outstanding territorial claims
from the late 1940s have not been revised.
Thus, the claimed
area of the ROC continues to include mainland China, several off-shore islands,
Mongolia, and Taiwan. The
current President
Ma Ying-jeou
reasserted the ROC's claim to be the sole legitimate government of
China and the claim that mainland China is part of ROC's territory.
He does not, however, actively seek reunification, and prefers to
maintain an ambiguous
status quo in order to improve
relations with the PRC.
In practice, although ROC law still formally recognizes residents
of mainland China as citizens of the ROC, it makes a distinction
between persons who have household residency in the Free Area and
those that do not, meaning that persons outside the area
administered by the ROC must apply for special travel documents and
cannot vote in ROC elections.
De-emphasizing the ROC claims of sovereignty
over Mongolia, the DPP
government under Chen Shui-bian has
established a representative office in Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator
. Offices established to support the ROC's
claims over Outer Mongolia, such as the
Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs Commission, lie dormant.
Politics
The constitution of the Republic of China was drafted before the
fall of mainland China to the
Communists.
It was created by the KMT for the purpose of all of its claimed
territory, including Taiwan, even though the Chinese Communist
party boycotted the drafting of the constitution. The constitution
went into effect on 25 December 1947.
The ROC remained under martial law from 1948 until 1987 and much of
the constitution was not in effect. Political reforms beginning in
the late 1970s and continuing through the early 1990s liberalized
the ROC from an authoritarian one-party state into a multiparty
democracy. Since the lifting of martial law, the Republic of China
has democratized and reformed, suspending constitutional components
that were originally meant for the whole of China. This process of
amendment continues. In 2000, the
Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) won the
ROC
presidency, ending the ROC's one-party rule history under the
KMT. In May 2005, a new National Assembly was elected to reduce the
number of parliamentary seats and implement several constitutional
reforms. These reforms have been passed; the National Assembly has
essentially voted to abolish itself and transfer the power of
constitutional reform to the popular ballot.
Major camps
The political scene in the ROC is divided into two camps, with the
pro-unification and center-right
Kuomintang ,
People First Party ,
and
New Party forming
the
Pan-Blue Coalition, who wish
that Taiwan would eventually reunify with mainland China to form
one political entity, and the pro-independence
Democratic Progressive Party
and centrist
Taiwan Solidarity
Union forming the
Pan-Green
Coalition. The latter parties (pro-independence parties) desire
to be severed from China completely, be recognized as a separate
country (be known as Taiwan, not ROC), and to possess a seat in the
United Nations.
On 30
September 2007, the then 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 country's name, without abolishing
its formal name, the Republic of China.
The
Pan-Green camp tends to favor emphasizing the Republic of China as
being a distinct country from the People's
Republic of China. Many Pan-Green supporters seek formally
declaring Taiwan's independence and dropping the title of "Republic
of China". Many members of the coalition, such as former
President Chen Shui-bian, have moderated their views
and explain that it is unnecessary to proclaim independence because
"Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign country" and the
Republic of China is the same as Taiwan.
Pan-Blue members generally support the concept of the
One China policy, which states that there
is only one China and that its only government is the ROC. They
favor eventual re-unification of China. The more mainstream
Pan-Blue position is to lift investment restrictions and pursue
negotiations with the PRC to immediately open direct transportation
links. Regarding independence, the mainstream Pan-Blue position is
to maintain the
status quo, while
refusing immediate
reunification. As of 2009, Pan-Blue
members usually seek to improve relationships with mainland China,
with a current focus on improving economic ties.
Current political issues
The dominant political issue in the ROC is its relationship with
the PRC. For more than 60 years, there were no direct
transportation links, including direct flights, between Taiwan and
mainland China. This was a problem for many Taiwanese businesses
that had opened factories or branches in mainland China. The former
DPP administration feared that such links would lead to tighter
economic and political integration with mainland China, and in the
2006 Lunar New Year Speech, President Chen Shui-bian called for
managed opening of links. Direct weekend charter flights between
Taiwan and mainland China began in July 2008 under the current KMT
government, and the first direct daily charter flights took off in
December 2008.
Other major political issues include the passage of an arms
procurement bill that the United States authorized in 2001. In
2008, however, the United States were reluctant to send over more
arms to Taiwan out of fear that it would hinder the recent
improvement of ties between the PRC and the ROC. Another major
political issue, is the establishment of a National Communications
Commission to take over from the Government Information Office,
whose advertising budget exercised great control over ROC
media.
The politicians and their parties have themselves become major
political issues. Corruption among some DPP administration
officials has been exposed. In early 2006, President Chen Shui-bian
was linked to possible corruption. The political effect on
President Chen Shui-bian was great, causing a divide in the DPP
leadership and supporters alike. It eventually led to the creation
of a political camp led by ex-DPP leader
Shih Ming-teh which believes the president
should resign than stay in disgrace. The KMT assets continue to be
another major issue, as it was once the richest political party in
the world. Nearing the end of 2006, KMT's chairman
Ma Ying-jeou was also hit by corruption
controversies, although he has since then been cleared of any
wrong-doings by the courts. Since completing his second term as
President, Chen Shui-bian has been charged with corruption and
money laundering.
The merger of the KMT and
People First Party
(PFP) was thought to be certain, but a string of defections from
the PFP to the KMT have increased tensions within the Pan-Blue
camp.
National identity
The majority, about 85%, of Taiwan's population is descended from
Han Chinese from mainland China who immigrated to Taiwan between
1661 and 1895 A.D. Another significant fraction is descended from
Han Chinese who immigrated from mainland China in the 1940s and
1950s. But between 1895 and the present, Taiwan and mainland China
have shared a common government for only 5 years. The shared
cultural origin combined with several hundred years of geographical
separation, some hundred years of political separation and foreign
influences, as well as hostility between the rival ROC and PRC have
resulted in national identity being a contentious issue with
political overtones. Since democratization and the lifting of
martial law, a distinct Taiwanese identity (as opposed to Taiwanese
identity as a subset of a Chinese identity) is often at the heart
of political debates. Its acceptance makes the island distinct from
mainland China, and therefore may be seen as a step towards forming
a consensus for
de jure Taiwan independence. The
pan-green camp supports a distinct Taiwanese
identity, while the
pan-blue camp and the
PRC supports a Chinese identity only. The KMT has downplayed this
stance in the recent years and now supports a Taiwanese identity as
part of a Chinese identity.
According to a survey conducted in March 2009, 49% of the
respondents consider themselves Taiwanese only, and 44% of the
respondents consider themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese. 3%
consider themselves only Chinese.. Another survey, conducted in
July 2009, showed that 82.8% of respondents recognized the Republic
of China as a different country from the People's Republic of
China.
Percentage of Taiwanese residents who feel themselves
Taiwanese, Chinese or Taiwanese and Chinese according to various
surveys.
| Survey |
Taiwanese |
Chinese |
Taiwanese and Chinese |
| National Chengchi University survey (December 2008) |
50.8% |
4.7% |
40.8% |
| TVBS Poll Center (March 2009) |
72% |
16% |
(not an option for this question) |
| TVBS Poll Center (March 2009) |
49% |
3% |
44% |
Foreign relations
Before 1928, the
foreign policy of
Republican China was complicated by a lack of internal
unity—competing centers of power all claimed legitimacy. This
situation changed after the defeat of the
Beiyang Government by the Kuomintang,
which lead to widespread diplomatic recognition of the Republic of
China. After the KMT retreat to Taiwan, most countries, notably the
countries in the
Western Bloc,
continued to maintain relations with the ROC. Due to diplomatic
pressure, recognition gradually eroded and many countries switched
recognition to the PRC in the 1970s.
The ROC was a founding member of the
United Nations and held China's seat on the
Security Council
until 1971, when it was expelled by
General Assembly
Resolution 2758 and replaced in all UN organs with the PRC.
Multiple attempts by the ROC to rejoin the UN have not made it past
committee. The
seat of
China at the United Nations is currently occupied by the
PRC.
Due to its limited international recognition, the Republic of China
is a member of the
Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization, represented by a ROC
government funded organization, the
Taiwan Foundation for
Democracy (TFD) under the name "Taiwan".
Diplomatic relations
[[Image:CountriesRecognizingROC.png|thumb|right|Countries
maintaining diplomatic relations with the ROC
|alt=A map of the world showing highlighted countries. Only a few small countries recognize the ROC, mainly in central and south America, as well as Africa.]]
The PRC refuses to have diplomatic relations with any nation that
recognizes the ROC, and requires all nations with which it has
diplomatic relations to make a statement recognizing its claims to
Taiwan. As a result, there are only states that have official
diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. In practice, most
countries view the ROC as an independent state and as such maintain
unofficial relations with it.
The ROC maintains unofficial relations with most countries via
de facto embassies and
consulates called
Taipei
Economic and Cultural Representative Offices (TECRO), with
branch offices called "Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices"
(TECO). Both TECRO and TECO are "unofficial commercial entities" of
the ROC in charge of maintaining
diplomatic
relations, providing consular services (i.e. visa
applications), and serving the national interests of the ROC in
other countries.
The United States maintains unofficial relations with the ROC
through the instrumentality of the
American Institute in Taiwan,
which is the
de facto embassy of
the US in the ROC.
Relations with Mongolia
Besides
the dispute with the PRC over mainland China, the ROC also has a
controversial relationship with Mongolia. Until 1945, the ROC claimed sovereignty
over
Greater Mongolia, but under
Soviet pressure, it recognized Mongolian independence. Shortly
thereafter in 1953, due to the deterioration of diplomatic
relations with the Soviet Union, it revoked this recognition and
kept considering it a part of mainland China. In 2002, however, the
Republic of China announced that it was administratively
recognizing Mongolia as an independent country, even though no
legislative actions were taken to address concerns over its
constitutional claims to Mongolia.
Participation in international events and organizations
The flag of the ROC, under the name
"Chinese Taipei" (
中華台北), during the Olympic Games
Also due to its One China policy, the PRC only participates in
international organizations where the ROC is not recognized as a
sovereign country. Each year since 1992, the ROC has petitioned the
UN for entry but has been unsuccessful. Most
member states, including the
United States, do not wish to discuss the issue of the ROC's
political status for fear of souring diplomatic ties with the PRC.
However,
both the US and Japan publicly
support the ROC's bid for membership in the World Health Organization as an
observer. However, though the ROC has applied for WHO
membership every year since 1997 under various denominations, their
efforts have consistently been blocked by PRC.
At present, the ROC usually uses the politically neutral name
"
Chinese Taipei" in international
events such as the
Olympic Games where
the PRC is also a party. The ROC is typically barred from using its
national anthem and national flag in international events due to
PRC pressure; ROC spectators attending events such as the Olympics
are often barred from bringing
ROC flags into venues. The ROC is
able to participate as "China" in organizations that the PRC does
not participate in, such as the
World Organization of
the Scout Movement.
The relationship with the PRC and the related issues of Taiwanese
independence and Chinese reunification continue to dominate ROC
politics. For any particular resolution, public favor shifts
greatly with small changes in wording, illustrating the complexity
of public opinion on the topic.
Military
The
Republic of China Army takes
its roots in the National
Revolutionary Army, which was established by Sun Yat-sen in 1925 in Guangdong with a goal of reunifying China under the
Kuomintang. When the
People's Liberation Army won the
Chinese Civil War, much of the
National Revolutionary Army retreated to Taiwan along with the
government. It was later reformed into the
Republic of China Army. Units which
surrendered and remained in mainland China were either disbanded or
incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.
Today, the Republic of China maintains a large and technologically
advanced military, mainly as defense against the constant threat of
invasion by the PRC under the
Anti-Secession
Law of the People's Republic of China. From 1949 to the 1970s,
the primary mission of the military was to "retake the mainland."
As this mission has shifted to defense, the ROC military has begun
to shift emphasis from the traditionally dominant Army to the
air force and
navy. Control of the armed forces has
also passed into the hands of the civilian government. As the ROC
military shares historical roots with the KMT, the older generation
of high ranking officers tends to have Pan-Blue sympathies.
However, many have retired and there are many more non-mainlanders
enlisting in the armed forces in the younger generations, so the
political leanings of the military have moved closer to the public
norm in Taiwan.
The ROC began a force reduction program to scale down its military
from a level of 450,000 in 1997 to 380,000 in 2001. As of 2009, the
armed forces of the ROC number approximately 300,000, with nominal
reserves totaling 3.6 million as of 2005. Conscription remains
universal for qualified males reaching age eighteen, but as a part
of the reduction effort many are given the opportunity to fulfill
their draft requirement through alternative service and are
redirected to government agencies or defense related industries.
Current plans call for a transition to a predominantly professional
army over the next decade. Conscription periods are planned to
decrease from 14 months to 12.
The armed forces' primary concern at this time is the possibility
of an attack by the PRC, consisting of a naval blockade, airborne
assault and/or missile bombardment. Four upgraded
Kidd class destroyers were recently
purchased from the United States, significantly upgrading Taiwan's
air defense and submarine hunting abilities. The Ministry of
National Defense planned to purchase diesel-powered submarines and
Patriot anti-missile batteries from the United States, but its
budget has been stalled repeatedly by the opposition-
Pan-Blue Coalition controlled
legislature. The defense package was stalled from 2001–2007 where
it was finally passed through the legislature and the US responded
on 3 October 2008, with a $6.5 billion arms package including
PAC III Anti-Air defense systems, AH-64D Apache Attack helicopters
and other arms and parts.
A significant amount of military hardware
has been bought from the United States, and, as of 2009, continues to be legally
guaranteed by the Taiwan Relations
Act. In the past, France
and the
Netherlands
have also sold military weapons and hardware to the
ROC, but they almost entirely stopped in the 1990s under pressure
of the PRC.
The first line of defense against invasion by the PRC is the ROC's
own armed forces. Current ROC military doctrine is to hold out
against an invasion or blockade until the US military responds.
There is, however, no guarantee in the Taiwan Relations Act or any
other treaty that the United States will defend Taiwan, even in the
event of invasion. The joint declaration on security between the US
and Japan signed in 1996 may imply that Japan would be involved in
any response. However, Japan has refused to stipulate whether the
"area surrounding Japan" mentioned in the pact includes Taiwan, and
the precise purpose of the pact is unclear. The
Australia,
New Zealand, United States Security Treaty may mean that other
US allies, such as
Australia, could
theoretically be involved. In practice, the risk of losing economic
ties with China may prevent Australia from taking action.
Economy
The quick industrialization and rapid growth of Taiwan during the
latter half of the twentieth century, has been called the "
Taiwan Miracle" or "Taiwan Economic Miracle".
As it has
developed alongside Singapore
, South
Korea and Hong
Kong
, the ROC is one of the industrialized developed countries known as the "Four Asian Tigers".
By 1945,
hyperinflation was in
progress in mainland China and Taiwan as a result of the war with
Japan. To isolate Taiwan from it, the Nationalist government
created a new currency area for the island, and started a price
stabilization program. These efforts helped significantly slow the
inflation. In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the US
began an aid program which resulted in fully stabilized prices by
1952. The KMT government instituted many laws and land reforms that
it had never effectively enacted on mainland China; it implemented
a policy of
import-substitution,
and it attempted to produce imported goods domestically. Much of
this was made possible through US economic aid, subsidizing the
higher cost of domestic production.
Today the Republic of China has a dynamic capitalist, export-driven
economy with gradually decreasing state involvement in investment
and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, some large
government-owned banks and industrial firms are being
privatized. Real growth in
GDP has averaged about 8 percent
during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary
impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial,
and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. The Republic of
China has its own currency, the
New
Taiwan dollar.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the economic ties between the ROC
and the PRC have been very prolific. As of 2008, more than US$100
billions have been invested in the PRC by Taiwanese companies, and
about 10% of the Taiwanese labour force works in the PRC, often to
run their own businesses. Although the economy of Taiwan benefits
from this situation, some have expressed the view that the island
has become increasingly dependent on the PRC economy. A 2008 white
paper by the Department of Industrial Technology states that
"Taiwan should seek to maintain stable relation with China while
continuing to protect national security, and avoiding excessive
'Sinicization' of Taiwanese economy." Others argue that close
economic ties between Taiwan and the PRC would make any military
intervention by the PRC against Taiwan very costly, and therefore
less probable.
In 2001,
Agriculture constitutes only
2 percent of GDP, down from 35 percent in 1952.
Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being moved
offshore and with more capital and technology-intensive industries
replacing them.
The ROC has become a major foreign investor
in the PRC, Thailand
, Indonesia
, the Philippines
, Malaysia
, and Vietnam
. It is estimated that some
50,000 Taiwanese businesses and 1,000,000 businesspeople
and their dependents are established in the PRC.
Because of its conservative financial approach and its
entrepreneurial strengths, the ROC suffered little compared with
many of its neighbors from the
1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Unlike its neighbors, South Korea and Japan, the Taiwanese economy
is dominated by small and medium sized businesses, rather than the
large business groups. The global economic downturn, however,
combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration
and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into
recession in 2001, the first whole year of
negative growth since 1947. Due to the relocation of many
manufacturing and labor intensive industries to the PRC,
unemployment also reached a level not seen since the 1970s oil
crisis. This became a major issue in the
2004 presidential
election. Growth averaged more than 4 percent in the
2002–2006 period and the unemployment rate fell below
4 percent.
The ROC often joins international organizations under a politically
neutral name. The ROC is a member of governmental trade
organizations such as the
World
Trade Organization under the name
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu,
Kinmen and Matsu since 2002.
Education
The higher education system was established in Taiwan by Japan
during the colonial period. However, after Taiwan was restored to
China in 1945, the system was promptly replaced by the same system
as in mainland China which mixed features of the Chinese and
American educational systems.
The educational system includes six years of elementary school,
three years of middle school, three years of high school, and four
years of university. The system has been successful in that pupils
in the ROC boast some of the highest test scores in the world,
especially in
mathematics and
science; However, it has also been criticized for
placing excessive pressure on students and eschewing creativity in
favor of rote memorization.
Many Taiwanese students attend cram schools, or
bushiban, to improve mathematics, science and other
topics. The teachers in cram schools focus on questions that are
likely to appear during exams. Lessons are organized in lectures,
reviews, private tutorial sessions, and recitations.
As of 2003, the
literacy rate in
Taiwan is 96.1%.
Demographics
The population of areas under control of the Republic of China was
estimated in August 2009 at 23,082,125 spread across a total land
area of making it the
twelfth most densely
populated country in the world with a population density of .
Ninety-eight percent of Taiwan's population
is made up of Han Chinese while two
percent are Austronesian
aborigines. Taiwan is
undergoing a decline in birth rates with a population growth of
just 0.61% for the year 2006.
Religion
There are approximately 18,718,600 religious followers in Taiwan as
of 2005 (81.3% of total population) and over 14–18% are
non-religious. According to the 2005 census, of the 26 religions
recognized by the ROC government, the five largest are: Buddhism
(8,086,000 or 35.1%), Taoism (7,600,000 or 33%),
I-Kuan Tao (810,000 or 3.5%), Protestantism
(605,000 or 2.6%), and Roman Catholicism (298,000 or 1.3%). But
according to the CIA World Factbook and other latest sources from
US State Department or the Religious Affairs Section of the MOI,
over 80% to 93% of the population are nominal or cultural adherents
of a Chinese traditional combination of
Mahayana Buddhism,
Confucianism (
Ancestor worship) and
Taoism.
Language
The
official national language is
Mandarin Chinese though the
majority also speak Taiwanese
(variant of the Hokkien speech of Fujian province)
and many speak Hakka.
Aboriginal languages are becoming extinct as the aborigines have
become
sinicized and the ROC government
has not preserved the
Formosan
languages.
Like Hong Kong and Macau
, Taiwan
uses the Traditional Chinese
writing system.
Largest cities
The figures below are the 2009 estimates for the twenty largest
urban populations within administrative city limits; a different
ranking exists when considering the total municipal populations
(which includes suburban and rural populations).
Public health
Health care in the ROC is managed by the
Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI).
The current program was implemented in 1995 and is considered
social insurance. The government health insurance program maintains
compulsory insurance for citizens who are employed, impoverished,
unemployed, or victims of natural disasters with fees that
correlate to the individual and/or family income; it also maintains
protection for non-citizens working in Taiwan. A standardized
method of calculation applies to all persons and can optionally be
paid by an employer or by individual contributions.
BNHI insurance coverage requires co-payment at the time of service
for most services unless it is a preventative health service, for
low-income families, veterans, children under three years old, or
in the case of catastrophic diseases. Low income households
maintain 100% premium coverage by the BNHI and co-pays are reduced
for disabled or certain elderly peoples.
According to a recently published survey, out of
3,360 patients surveyed at a randomly chosen hospital, 75.1%
of the patients said they are "very satisfied" with the hospital
service; 20.5% said they are "okay" with the service. Only 4.4% of
the patients said they are either "not satisfied" or "very not
satisfied" with the service or care provided.
Taiwan has its own Center for Disease Control, and during the
SARS outbreak
occurring in March 2003 confirmed 347 cases. During the
outbreak the CDC and local governments set up monitored stations
throughout public transportation, recreational sites and other
public areas. With full containment in July 2003, there has not
been a case of SARS since.
In 2004 the infant mortality rate was 5.3 with 15 physicians
and 63 hospital beds per 10,000 people. The life
expectancy for males was 73.5 years and 79.7 years for
females according the World Health Report.
Other health related programs in Taiwan are the Centers for Disease
Control and the Department of Health.
Calendar
The Republic of China uses two official calendars: the
Gregorian calendar, and the
Minguo calendar. The latter numbers years
starting from 1911, the year of the founding of the Republic of
China. For example, 2007 is the "96th year of the Republic".
Months and days are numbered according to the
Gregorian calendar. Year numbering may
use the Gregorian system as well as the ROC era system. For
example, 3 May 2004, may be written 2004-05-03 or 93-05-03. The use
of two different calendar systems in Taiwan may be confusing, in
particular for foreigners. For instance, products for export marked
using the Minguo calendar can be misunderstood as having an
expiration date 11 years earlier than intended.
Taiwan also uses the
lunar calendar
for traditional festivals such as the
Chinese New Year, the
Lantern Festival, and the
Dragon Boat Festival.
International rankings
The following are
international rankings of the
Republic of China:
Image gallery
See also
References
- "Nationalist disunity, political instability, civil strife, the
communist challenge, the autocracy of Chiang Kai-shek, the
ascendancy of the military, the escalating Japanese threat, and the
"crisis of the democracy" in Italy, Germany, Poland, and Spain, all
contributed to a freezing of democrary by the Nationalist
leadership."
- 评马歇尔离华声明，周恩来选集上卷，1947-1-10
- 首都卫戍司令部，淞沪重庆警备司令，分别致电函京沪渝中共代表，所有中共人员限期全部撤退，重庆:大公报,1947-3-1
- Woodward, Taiwanese hyperinflation, "Yet, the Chinese
Nationalist government attempted to isolate Taiwan from the
mainland inflation by creating it as an independent currency area.
And during the later stages of the civil war it was able to end the
hyperinflation on Taiwan, something it was unable to do on the
mainland despite two attempts."
- "Nanjing was not only undemocratic and repressive but also
inefficient and corrupt. [...] Furthermore, like other
authoritarian regimes, the GMD sought to control people's
mind."
- "The response to national emergency, critics argued, was not
merely military, it was, even more important, political, requiring
the termination of one-party dictatorship and the development of
democratic institutions."
- Section 1: "Since the KMT ruling clique retreated to Taiwan,
although its regime has continued to use the designations "Republic
of China" and "government of the Republic of China," it has long
since completely forfeited its right to exercise state sovereignty
on behalf of mainland China and, in reality, has always remained
only a separate state on the island of Taiwan."
- BBC News, "Taiwan Flashpoint", "But Taiwan's leaders say it is
clearly much more than a province, arguing that it is a sovereign
state. It has its own constitution, democratically-elected leaders,
and 400,000 troops in its armed forces."
- BBC News, "Taiwan Flashpoint", "Since neither outcome looks
likely in the short or even medium term, it is perhaps not
surprising that opinion polls suggest most Taiwanese people want
things to stay as they are, with the island's ambiguous status
unresolved."
- BBC News, "Taiwan Flashpoint", "Officially, the DPP still
favours eventual independence for Taiwan, while the KMT favours
eventual re-unification."
- Survey on President Ma’s Approval Rating and
Cross-Strait Relations After First Year of Direct Flights (Global
Views Survey Research Center)
- Quote: "Table 12: In Taiwan, some people identify themselves as
Chinese, some identify themselves as Taiwan (sic). Do you identify
yourself as Taiwanese or Chinese? (Do not prompt both Taiwanese and
Chinese)"
- Quote: "Table 13: In Taiwan, some people identify themselves as
Chinese, some identify themselves as Taiwan (sic). Do you identify
yourself as Taiwanese, Chinese or both Taiwanese and Chinese?"
- BBC News, "Taiwan Flashpoint", "Given the huge divide between
these two positions, most other countries seem happy to accept the
current ambiguity, whereby Taiwan has most of the characteristics
of an independent state, even if its legal status remains
unclear."
- Swaine 2001, p. 65, "The ROC military functioned until very
recently as an instrument of KMT rule [and] the bulk of the officer
corps is still composed of Mainlanders, many of whom allegedly
continue to support the values and outlook of more conservative KMT
and New Party members. This is viewed as especially the case among
the senior officers of the ROC Army. Hence, many DPP leaders insist
that the first step to building a more secure Taiwan is to bring
the military more fully under civilian control, to remove the
dominant influence of conservative KMT elements, and to reduce what
is regarded as an excessive emphasis on the maintenance of
inappropriate ground force capabilities, as opposed to more
appropriate air and naval capabilities."
- Woodward, Taiwanese hyperinflation, "It was the fiscal regime
change on Taiwan, as in the European episodes, that finally brought
price stability. It was the aid program that brought the budget to
near balance, and when the aid program reached its full proportions
in 1952, prices stabilized."
- "Notably, cross-strait political tensions have not prevented
Taiwanese firms from investing heavily in China. The cross-strait
investments now exceed US$ 100 billions. Four Taiwanese-owned firms
rank among China's top 10 biggest exporters. 10% of the Taiwanese
labor force now works in China."
- "Although used-to-be-hostile tension between Taiwan and China
has been eased to a certain degree, Taiwan should seek to maintain
stable relation with China while continuing to protect national
security, and avoiding excessive "Sinicization" of Taiwanese
economy. Strategies to avoid excessive "Sinicization" of the
Taiwanese economy could include efforts to increase geographic
diversity of overseas Taiwanese employment, diversifying Taiwan's
export markets and investment. "
- BBC News, "Taiwan Flashpoint", "Some Taiwanese worry their
economy is now dependent on China. Others point out that closer
business ties makes Chinese military action less likely, because of
the cost to China's own economy."
Further reading
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