Taiwan cherishes its de facto independence – even if it refrains from formally declaring it. China's President Xi, meanwhile, is again calling for "peaceful reunification" and garnishes his offer with obvious threats. Their positions differ more than ever before.
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The lasting semiconductor shortage and the shortage of medical products, especially at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, have made Western nations realize Taiwan's pivotal role. In Brussels, too, the island seemingly begins to shift into focus, and the community of nations is looking for its way. What is the "Taiwan hype" all about?
By Amelie Richter
The Republic of China on Taiwan is a democratic island state in the southeast of the People's Republic of China. The latter considers the country a renegade province. The Table.Media editorial staff provides all the news about it.
The status of Taiwan is repeatedly the subject of political discussions. The background is that the People's Republic of China pursues a strict one-China policy. If a country wants to maintain diplomatic relations with China, it must recognize that Taiwan is an "inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China". Diplomatic relations with Taiwan are then no longer possible. A total of fourteen countries still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize the territory as an independent democracy: Belize Eswatini Guatemala Haiti Holy See Honduras Marshall Islands Nauru Nicaragua Palau Paraguay Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Tuvalu Most recently, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 2019.
Germany supports the People's Republic of China's One China policy and does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. While it recognizes democracy in Taiwan, it does so only under the "one country, two systems" premise of the People's Republic of China. In 2006, the German government even denied the Taiwanese president, vice president, prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister and president of the parliament a visa and thus entry into the country, so as not to strain relations with China. Nevertheless, in order to represent German interests in Taiwan, we maintain the German Institute in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. This is formally a private organization, but political relations are maintained through it. Taiwan itself has opened economic and cultural offices abroad under the name TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office). This circumvents the ban on diplomatic relations imposed on many countries by China.
In 1683, the then Empire of China took possession of the island in the southeast. At that time Taiwan was still called Formosa. The island officially belonged to Fujian province. In 1885, however, China hived off Formosa and made it a province in its own right. First and foremost, this was done in order to forestall claims of ownership by other countries. As a result of the First Sino-Japanese War, China ceded the island to Japan in 1895. Only fifty years later, after the end of the Second World War and the capitulation of Japan, Taiwan went back to China. Thus, the island was once again a province under the administration of mainland China.
After World War II, when Taiwan was only an island of China, civil war broke out on the mainland. The Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fought the Communists of the People's Liberation Army under Mao Zedong for supremacy. The national conservative government of Chiang Kai-shek then retreated to Taiwan, considered the island a Republic of China, and wanted to retake the mainland from there. The Communists remained on the mainland and established the People's Republic of China. The Kuomintang considered themselves the sole representatives of China. They also represented the entire country at the United Nations until 1971, when they lost this status to the People's Republic of China. To this day, the latter threatens "military reclamation" of the Republic of China on Taiwan if it declares itself independent. A threat that is strictly rejected by most governments. The USA even assured help in case of a military action.
After the Kuomintang proclaimed the Republic of China on Taiwan, they suspended parliamentary elections. On the grounds that they would only accept all-China elections, the government declared a state of emergency on May 20, 1949. Since almost all Kuomintang deputies had fled to Taiwan, this meant de facto one-party rule. The state of emergency was not lifted until July 14, 1987. In 1992 there was a free parliamentary election, followed by a constitutional amendment. In 1996, President Lee Teng-hui, who was in office anyway, won the first direct presidential election. Since then, the Republic of China on Taiwan has become a model democracy in Asia. Elections are held equally, freely and secretly. Taiwan landed in 11th place on the Democracy Index in 2020, ahead of Germany (14th), Austria (18th) or the United States (25th).
From the perspective of the Republic of China on Taiwan, mainland China split off from China proper with the founding of the People's Republic. Therefore, the self-image of a claim to sole representation prevailed for a long time. From the point of view of the government in Beijing, the situation is exactly the opposite, which is why they passed the anti-secession law. It states that the People's Republic is striving for the reunification of the fatherland in a "peaceful manner. Military measures would be taken, however, if Taiwan were to push ahead with independence efforts. From Taiwan's perspective, however, independence efforts are not necessary. The pan-green coalition that ruled Taiwan between 2000 and 2008 made it clear that Taiwan was already a sovereign state and that a declaration of independence was not formally necessary. However, it would still have to fight for recognition of the state. However, in order to calm the relationship between Taiwan, the People's Republic of China and the United States, the government adopted the Five No's policy. Without a military threat from China, Taiwan would: Not declare independence. Not change the name of the state. Not hold a referendum on changing its status. Not use the term "interstate relationship" in the constitution to describe the relationship with the People's Republic of China. Pursue reunification only through negotiations with the People's Republic of China and under democratic conditions.
Economists use the term The Taiwan Miracle to describe the economic miracle in the Republic of China on Taiwan after the end of World War II. Thanks to massive growth in the second half of the 20th century, Taiwan became one of the four tiger economies, along with Singapore, South Korea and Hongkong, that rose from a developing country to an industrialized nation within a very short time. The foundation for this success was laid by Japan during the occupation. They optimized the infrastructure and the education system. For example, school attendance was mandatory for every citizen. The Japanese occupation was a time of modernization for Taiwan. The island was not a classical colony, but an integral part of Japan. Accordingly, railroads, postal services, hospitals and the banking system were built up alongside education.
Also important to economic advancement was that the Kuomintang brought the country's gold reserves and foreign currencies with them when they fled to Taiwan. Taiwan relied on strict import rules for its economic development. There were enormous tariffs on products that could also be produced domestically. This strengthened Taiwanese industry. The government was supported by subsidies from the United States. If the gross domestic product was still 170 U.S. dollars in 1962, it was almost 26,000 U.S. dollars in 2019. This puts Taiwan in 38th place worldwide (Germany: 18th place, $46,473). Adjusted for purchasing power, things look even better. At $53,275, Taiwan ranks twentieth (Germany: 17th, $56,220).
Taiwan achieved this leap by continuously developing its industry. The export of agricultural goods (until 1950) was followed by growth through the processing of agricultural goods while the products were protected by import duties (until 1962). Until 1970, Taiwan exported mainly toys, shoes agricultural goods that were already processed domestically. From 1970, the country focused on electronic goods. Currently, the service sector is the largest industry in Taiwan. In 2020, it generated around 63 percent of the gross domestic product. In addition, Taiwan is one of the world's largest producers of semiconductors, computers, cell phones and monitors. The People's Republic of China and the United States are the most important trading partners in this sector.
In 2010, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) on Taiwan. This is a framework agreement on economic cooperation. At its core, it is about facilitating the movement of people and goods. About 16 percent of Taiwan's exports to China thus became duty-free. The chemical, mechanical engineering and automotive industries in particular benefited from this. But the agreement is not without controversy in Taiwan. Opponents of the ECFA fear that the island could first become economically and then politically dependent on the People's Republic of China. The Taiwanese parliament therefore did not ratify an extension of the agreement to include services. Nevertheless, the Kuomintang, which was in power at the time, did not back down from the plan.
This led to nationwide demonstrations that made headlines as the Sunflower Protests. Although the Kuomintang relented, they lost the elections in 2016, and since then the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been in power under President Tsai Ing-wen. She is considered a supporter of Taiwanese independence and declared the One Country, Two Systems policy of the People's Republic of China to have failed with regard to Hong Kong. However, President Tsai Ing-wen has so far refrained from holding an independence referendum, which demonstrators have vehemently demanded. Despite all this, tensions between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan have grown. Hardly noticed internationally, both parties let the ECFA expire in 2020 without extension. However, negotiations are underway between the U.S. and Taiwan to reach their own trade agreement. From the U.S. perspective, Taiwan is its ninth largest trading partner.
The People's Republic's strict one-China policy and its increasingly aggressive style of economic and political diplomacy are leading to growing tensions. Table.Media reported how the relationship between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan is developing. The editorial team provides all news on Taiwan in German.
