Fleeing the mainland,Jiang Jieshi took refuge on the island of Formosa (Taiwan), which China had regained fromJapanafter the end of World War Two. It was protected by the limited aerial and naval capability of theCommunists and, eventually, byAmerican naval power. However, until he intervened inKorea in 1950, Mao Zedong prepared for an invasion of Formosa, creating an air force to that end. Jiang, in turn, used Formosa and the other offshore islands he still controlled as a base for raids on the mainland. Meanwhile, in the spring of 1950, the island of Hainan and, in 1950–1, Tibet were conquered by the Communists, the capital ofTibet, Lhasa, being occupied on 7 October 1950.
Jeremy Black,The Cold War: A Military History (2015)
And now, Nostalgia is the coastline, a shallow strait. I, on this side, The mainland, on the other.
Yu Kwang-chung (1987) cited in "Nostalgia" onThe Isle Full of Noises: Modern Chinese Poetry from Taiwan, 1987.
Relations across the strait, whether war or peace, now lies in the hands of presidentsChen Shui-bian andJiang Zemin.
The building of theJindeng Bridge will not only help hone Taiwan'sbridge buildingtechnologies, it will also help boost development inKinmen itself. The Jindeng Bridge will facilitate the building ofwater pipes andelectricity transmission cables between Kinmen andXiamen, allowing Kinmen to import fresh water and electricity from(Mainland) China. A move that would also manifest Taiwan's sincerity in pursuingpeace and co-prosperity with (Mainland) China.
If we were toattack Iraq now, alone or with few allies, it would set a precedent that could come back to haunt us. In recent days,Russia has talked of an invasion ofGeorgia to attackChechen rebels.India has mentioned the possibility ofa pre-emptive strike onPakistan. And what ifChina were to perceive a threat fromTaiwan? SoMr. President, for all its appeal, a unilateral attack, while it cannot be ruled out, on the present facts is not a good option.
SenatorHillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) -Congressional Record, October 10, 2002.
The present state of tension in the Taiwan area was created directly byChinese Communist action, not by that of the Republic of China or by the United States. The fact is that following a long period of relative calm in that area, the Chine Communists, without provocation, suddenly initiated a heavyartillery bombardment of Quemoy and began harassing the regular supply of the civilian and military population of the Quemoys. This intense military activity was begun on August 23rd-some three weeks after your visit toPeiping. The official Peiping radio has repeatedly been announcing that the purpose of these military operations is to take Taiwan (formosa) as well as Quemoy and Matsu, by armed force. In virtually every Peiping broadcast, Taiwan (formosa) and the offshore islands are linked as the objective of what is called the "Chinese Peoples Liberation Army."
The issue, then, is whether the Chinese Communists will seek to achieve their ambitions through the application of force, as they did inKorea, or whether they will accept the vital requisite ofworld peace and order in anuclear age and renounce the use of force as the means for satisfying their territorial claims. The territory concerned has never been under the control of Communist China. On the contrary, the Republic of China--despite the characterizations you apply to it for ideological reasons--is recognized by the majority of thesovereign nations of the world and its government has been and is exercising jurisdiction over the territory concerned. United States military forces operate in the Taiwan area in fulfillment of treaty commitments to the Republic of China to assist it in the defense of Taiwan (Formosa) and the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands. They are there to help resist aggression--not to commit aggression. No upside down presentation such as contained in your letter can change this fact.
Since a trilateral negotiation betweenChinese mainland,Japan and Taiwan cannot be realized at the time, the Taiwan government should hold a dialogue with the mainland so the two sides could jointly discuss issues related to defending China's inherent territory.
There are no Taiwanese in Taiwan and Taiwanese are all Chinese. Which Taiwanese is not Chinese? They are Chinese just like you are. ~Hsing Yun
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family. There are no Taiwanese in Taiwan and Taiwanese are allChinese. Which Taiwanese is not Chinese? They are Chinese just like you are. We are all brothers and sisters. The more (cross-strait) exchange we have, the more mixed we will be. Then we won't be able to distinguish who's Mainland and who's Taiwanese — and we will naturally become unified.
It's time that six decades of separation (between Taiwan and Mainland China) and previous generations' confrontation be ended. Let the current and the future generations choose common development and jointly create a situation of mutual benefits.
There is no timeline for future political negotiations, but both of us (Taiwan and Mainland China) must develop and accumulate enough friendship and mutual trust.
Taipei has a responsibility to share its 60-year experience ofdemocratization and economic development withBeijing. We also have a responsibility to makefreedom,democracy,human rights andrule of law the core values for promoting cross-strait ties.
The service trade agreement is a pact that benefits related sectors across the Taiwan Strait and promotes the interests of the public on both sides. It will result in a win-win situation for both sides.
It is the most crucial responsibility of the Straits Exchange Foundation and theAssociation for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits to seek the biggest benefits for people on both sides. We will handle cross-strait affairs realistically and with patience.
The slogans of 'countering back the mainland' created byChiang Kai-shek and 'liberating Taiwan' byMao Zedong several decades ago should be forgotten because none of them could be put into practice.
TheDPP is committed to its responsibilities for the future of Taiwan, is willing to reconcile through dialogue as a means of normalizing cross-strait relations, and desires to be a responsible partner of fellowdemocracies in theAsia-Pacific.
The DPP will engage (mainland) China with a positive attitude and confidence, hoping to foster constructive and well-intentioned dialogues, while maintaining the party's values and basic positions. Unfortunately, (mainland) China remains stubborn and has always tried to coerce Taiwan into a framework defined by nobody but China.
(Mainland) China today is like theChinese Nationalist Party when I first entered politics (in the 1970s), when it tried to control Taiwan through martial law. Today, (Taiwan) society is entirely liberal and we have managed to come this far. ~Su Tseng-chang
The relationship betweenScotland and theUnited Kingdom and that between theROC-Taiwan and(Mainland) China are totally different. The ROC is an independent country, so the question of announcingindependence via referendum is simply a nonstarter. Any kind of referendum that aims to change the status quo would be unwise. Keeping the ROC on Taiwan as an independent,sovereignstate is our topmost priority. Any idea diverging from this would be at odds with theConstitution and against our citizens’ interests.
On this occasion we recall vividly the long, arduous struggle Free China has waged under your valiant leadership againstforeign aggression andCommunisttyranny and for the realization of the noble aspirations of Dr.Sun Yat-Sen. Our alliance, based on ties of historic friendship and unity of purpose, has withstood the tests of the past. May it grow ever stronger in the years ahead.
Today, China useshistory to recast its invasion and occupation ofTibet as not anything of the sort. In the view of theChinese government, it simply reasserted its historical rights, which had been established over the centuries. Taiwan, at least to the Chinese, presents a similar case. AsZhou Enlai said toHenry Kissinger in 1972, “History also proves that Taiwan has belonged to 'China for more than a thousand years—a longer period thanLong Island has been part of theU.S.” In fact, history proves no such thing. In the case of Tibet, it is true that Dalai Lamas from time to time recognized themandate of heaven of theemperor in far-off China, but for most of the time, the remote mountain land was left to its own devices. Taiwan has even looser ties with China. It was too far across the sea for most Chinese dynasties to bother with. Only the last dynasty, theQing, tried to assert some control, partly because the island had become a refuge forpirates and rebels.
TheBritish colony ofHong Kong and the city-state ofSingapore did the opposite of all other countries, and opened their economies wide, without trade barriers. The experts claimed thatfree trade would knock out the smallmanufacturing sectors they had, but, on the contrary, theyindustrialized at a record pace and shocked the outside world by becoming even richer than theold colonial master,Britain.Taiwan andSouth Korea learned from this and began to liberalize their economies with amazing results. Their rapidgrowth took them from being some of the poorest countries in the world to some of the richest in a few generations. It was a global wake-up call because it was so easy to compare what theChinese in Taiwan achieved compared to the Chinese in Mao’s China, and what theKoreans in thecapitalist south created compared to theKoreans in thecommunist north. In the mid-1950s, Taiwan was only marginally richer than China. In 1980, it was four times richer. In 1955,North Korea was richer than South Korea. (The north was, after all, where mineral resources and power generation were located when the country was partitioned.) Today, South Korea is twenty times richer than North Korea.
Johan Norberg,The Capitalist Manifesto: Why the Global Free Market Will Save the World (2023)
If we don't put forward such a proposal (signing a peace pact with Mainland China) and start negotiating with (Mainland) China, how can we know we will not achieve any results?
Both sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) are so lovely and so many of their people are behaving like heroes and heroines, and yet Taiwan's former ambition to 'recover the mainland' has become a thing of the past.
We continue to assert the principles of no political preconditions, mutual respect and openness to innovation as the basis of talks withBeijing, while showing goodwill and creating a friendly environment forcommunication.
It would be against (Mainland) China's hope of a rapprochement in cross-strait relations if it continues to ignore Taiwan's rights and suppress Taiwan's participation in international organizations.
With hindered communication across the strait, I will lead the (Kuomintang) party to take on the responsibility to protect and ensure the personal well-being, rights, social and economic exchange, and cultural transmission for people on both sides (Taiwan and Mainland China).
I hope that the team on the other side (Mainland China) can cooperate with us to contribute to the peaceful development of relations across the (Taiwan) strait, safeguard cross-strait security, and develop ideas for co-existence and mutual prosperity.
Both of our (Mainland China and Taiwan) legal and governance systems were built following the 'one China' structure. That is why cross-strait relations are not state-to-state relations and there is no room for Taiwanese independence.
(Despite some people's opposition to Ko's statement of "both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family") Some (Taiwanese) people do expect to continue exchanges with (Mainland) China.
I used that phrase (both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family) in 2015 and last year (2017). Like I said at the very beginning, we should avoid throwing a wild card and should just stick to old practices.
What matters most in terms of cross-strait relations is that both sides demonstrate goodwill to each other. Nothing works if they (both sides) hold grudges.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait, based on the 'one China' principle, agreed that either side can freely interpret what 'one China' means in a verbal form. This means that the mainland can claim that thePeople's Republic of China represents all of China, while we can also claim that the Republic of China represents the whole of China.
IfPresident Tsai refuses to accept the '1992 consensus' and refuses to acknowledge its existence, I implore her to provide a specific solution for discourse with(Mainland) China, and not just throw aroundhipster slogans.
TheKuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party have both been avoiding elaborating on cross-strait relations, but the problem can only be solved by confronting it.
As a local government, Kinmen should avoid becoming embroiled in (cross-strait) political affairs, but the county needs to seize opportunities (with Mainland China) when the atmosphere is right. Fujian and Kinmen are neighbors and during the trip to the (Fujian) province, the (Kinmen) county government can put forward ideas on future exchanges andcooperation between the two sides, in the hope of concrete results.
If the Kuomintang has the opportunity to rule (Taiwan) again, then we would have met the conditions stipulated by the (Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area) law. Assuming talks between the two sides (Taiwan andMainland China) are successful, a Kuomintang government would be within its rights to sign a cross-strait peace treaty.
Politics are politics andart is art. If (Mainland) China restricts its artists andfilm workers from coming to Taiwan to take part in this grand occasion for the Chinese-speaking world's film industry, then of course it is not Taiwan's loss.
AsINTERPOL's third largest funder,(mainland) China has great influence on the organization's agenda and workings, which obviously presents us with a big challenge. Last year (2018), INTERPOL's secretariat asked us to deal with a case through (mainland) China's INTERPOL National Central Bureau inBeijing and even downgraded the Criminal Investigation Bureau under Taiwan's National Police Agency to the level of a local branch in China, disregarding our (Republic of China) sovereign status and our considerable contributions to tackling cross-bordercrime.
Taiwan does not trust China. Probably Taiwan knows better than any other country the nature of the Chinese Communist regime. Taiwan knows that you cannot rely on accurate information from China. So, from Day One, Taiwan acted to protect itself. ~Jianli Yang
Taiwan does not trust China. Probably Taiwan knows better than any other country the nature of theChinese Communist regime. Taiwan knows that you cannot rely on accurate information from China. So, from Day One, Taiwan acted to protect itself.
What matters most (for Taiwan in dealing with Mainland China) is exerting the positive influence of Taiwan and making (mainland) Chinese people envy life on the (Taiwan) island. This would be key to the survival of Taiwan.
We highly commend the right decision made by the Government ofNicaragua (to switch diplomatic relations from Republic of China to the People's Republic of China), which is in line with the prevailing trend of the times and people's aspirations.
Taiwan belongs to China.France, like most countries in the world including theUnited States as well as theEuropean Union, does not officially recognize Taiwan'sindependence, though it maintains unofficial bilateral relations with Taipei.
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