Chinese Re-unification

1 See Weiqun Gu, Conflicts of Divided Nations (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1995).

2 China: U.S. Policy Since 1945 (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1980), p. 86.

3 United Daily News (Lianhebao, Taipei) (hereinafter, UDN), 25 July 1992, p. 1. See also Gary Klintworth, New Taiwan, New China (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995), p. 236.

4 Gerhard von Glahn, Law Among Nations (New York: Macmillan, 1976), p. 125.

5 In July 1991 the ROC's Government Information Office (GIO) set a precedent by stating as follows in a New York Times advertisement: 'the ROC has formally declared its willingness to accept temporary dual recognition from other countries (although Peking has not accepted the principle yet)'; cited in UDN, 12 July 1991, p. 3. Of course, the PRC opposes dual recognition; see Taiwan Hsin Wen Daily News (Taiuanxinwenbao, Kaohsiung) (hereinafter, THWDN), 14 January 1976, p. 2. Reportedly, the US Congress would try to change its wording 'Taiwan is part of China' to 'Taiwan is not part of the PRC'; see The Commons Daily (Minzhongribao, Kaohsiung) (hereinafter, CD), 15 February 1995, p. 2. According to Hungdah Chiu, Third World countries tend not to adhere strictly to international law. But he also points out that so long as the PRC does not accept the dual recognition principle, dual recognition is not going to work; see Independence Morning Post (Zilizaobao, Taipei), 31 October 1993, p. 2, and UDN, 31 October 1993, p. 4.

6 I suggested another name: China (Taipei-Taiwan-Jinmen and Mazu-Dongsha and Nansha Island Groups); see my article `On Taipei's Rejoining the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Subsequent to Beijing's Entry: One Country, Two Seats?', Asian Affairs, vol. 17, no. 1 (Spring 1990), p. 9.

7 Qian Qichen said no; see UDN, 10 March 1995, p. 2. But, a former UN Secretary-General said that legally it is possible to have 'one country, two seats'; see THWDN, 10 September 1993, p. 2. Politically, Taipei has to secure two-thirds of the UN members' support. There are more than 180 UN members today.

8 UDN, 5 February 1995, p. 5; Free China Journal (Taipei) (hereinafter, FCJ), 28 April 1995, p. 1; and China Times (Zhongguoshibao, Taipei) (hereinafter, CT) 24 November 1995, p. 11.

9 CN, 29 September 1993, p. 2; CN, 29 September 1996, p. 4.

10 Beijing forced Taipei to change its name at the ADB; see CD, 30 January 1993, p. 11; CT, 1 September 1993, p. 4, 27 June 1995, p. 2. The PRC said the ROC can use the names 'Taipei, China', 'Taiwan, China', and 'Taipei. China'.

11 CN, 29 June 1995, p. 1. According to ROC Foreign Minister, Fu Chien, the US government does not support a policy of treating the Taiwan area as sovereign, separated from China; see CT, 30 November 1991, p. 2.

12 CT, 11 February 1996, p. 2.

13 See my article 'Toward a Republic of Taiwan or Republic of China', Journal of Contemporary China, no. 9 (Summer 1995), pp. 79-92. See also Haipeng Chang, 'Only the Chinese People Can Bring About the Chinese Reunification', Straits Review (Haixiapinglun, Taipei), no. 29 (January 1995), p. 30.

14 See my article in CT, 24 November 1995, p. 11.

15 See my article in CT, 21 November 1993, p. 2.

16 The PRC's internal publications still say that Outer Mongolia traditionally belongs to China; see UDN, 30 April 1992, p. 10, and 9 May 1992, p. 10. In October 1945, with the Soviet Red Army watching, the people of Outer Mongolia voted overwhelmingly in favor of Outer Mongolia's independence; see UDN, 10 April 1993, p. 3, and China and U.S. Far East Policy: 1945-1967 (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1967), p. 38.

17 UDN, 1 November 1994, p. 6.

18 UDN, 17 November 1994, p. 2.

19 CD, 9 July 1995, p. 3. A South African publication mistakenly refered to Taipei as the 'Republic of Taiwan'. See South African Yearbook of International Affairs 1996, pp. 326, 329.

20 UDN, 30 August 1995, p. 3.

21 For the last several years, ROC armed forces have faced the dilemma of whom should they fight for: those who support Chinese re-unification or those who support the independence of Taiwan.

22 CT, 19 November 1995, p. 27. There are about 200,000-300,000 people in Hong Kong who support the ROC; see Sing Pao (Hong Kong), 29 December 1995, p. A2. A newly elected member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council vowed to adhere to Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and well-being; see UDN, 12 October 1995, p. 18. ROC officials said that any residents of Hong Kong who felt unwelcome to stay for political reasons would be helped to relocate to the Taiwan area; see UDN, 15 January 1996, p. 5.

23 China and U.S. Far Eastern Policy: 1945-1967 (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1967), p. 30.

24 On 25 March 1996 Taiwan's Provincial Governor, James C. Soong, proposed the idea of electing a new leader for both sides of the Taiwan Strait in the year 2000. See See Hua Daily News (Sarawak, Malaysia), 26 March 1996, p. 1.

25 Quoted in FCJ, 20 October 1995, p. 1. According to a former university president of mainland China, Weiyan Guan, PRC Premier Chou En-lai said a person from the Taiwan area could become PRC president.

26 FCJ, 13 October 1995, p. 1. See also CT, 1 June 1995, p. 2. According to Gary Klintworth, 'The next five to ten years... will present Taiwan with its window of opportunity for the [political] recovery of the mainland.' New Taiwan, New China, p. 201.

27 UDN, 27 January 1996, p. 5.

28 UDN, 23 March 1996, p. 1.

29 It should also be noted that the ROC is not the Revolutionary Government of the ROC, which lasted from November 1933 to January 1934 and was basically anti-Chiang Kai-shek.

30 See my article 'Lee Teng-hui (and His Successors?) Versus Jiang Zemin (and His Successors!): Dialectical Games', Asian Affairs, vol. 23, no. 1 (Spring 1996), pp. 64-79.

31 UDN, 23 March 1996, p. 1; CT, 23 March 1996, p. 18.