Taiwan’s international visibility in the twenty-first century: A suggestive note

Abstract

This paper provides a critical check to the ongoing, dominant blue/green debate about Taiwan’s identity vis-à-vis China. The colour blue is associated with those who support closer ties with China and green with those who support Taiwanese independence. The state-centric debate over unification, independence, or the status quo in cross-strait relations is closely tied to Taiwan’s national aspirations to enhance its international standing in the twenty-first century, a standing which is arguably diplomatically under-recognized. Based on a critical discussion of the blue/green debate, this paper presents two pragmatic ways of augmenting Taiwan’s international visibility through global recognition without jeopardizing national security or regional stability in East Asia.