Taiwan Position On The One China Issue example essay topic

In this paper I am going to critically evaluate the issue of political relationship between China, Taiwan and the United States in America. Certainly, in era of globalization any event that occurs either in the sphere of politics or economics immediately spurs the chain of interrelated outcomes that are able to influence virtually any country on the globe. The time when the nations were separated by iron curtain are history and mankind has to face today the necessity of learning how to peacefully cooperate on the basis of just systems of politics and reasonable consideration of other nations needs and wants. That means that whenever we have a situation when one particular country proceeds to escalating the conflict over some issue it is always inevitable that others are going to be automatically involved due the fact that natural resources and areas of influence are tightly distributed and interrelated among nations. In this paper I will attempt to explore the theme of political interdependence using China, Taiwan and the United States as an example. In the 1990's Taiwan started to create a very complex challenge to the international community.

The issue was Taiwan attempt to reverse the one China policy. From Taiwan position on the one China issue is simple, it does not want to become part of Chinas Communist regime. It is not above reunification as long as the terms are formed on a mutual agreement. On the other hand, Chinas perspective on Taiwan is one of nationalism. China wants to bring Taiwan into its control through diplomatic mean.

So to address this problem as a singular issue would be pointless. To fully understand the problem one has to look at the history of the situation and make an informed decision relying on a set of historical facts. There are several important points that have to be considered. The first one is the United States promise to promote and help maintain all new democracies, and secondly is the threat to China, which is rarely examined.

If China gives in to Taiwan on the issue of independence it can initiate the movement in other provinces that might eventually destroy The Peoples Republic of China and leave it in the same situation as the former soviet bloc countries. This issue not only has ramifications in Far East, but also in the international community. The one China issue and how Taiwan fits into it is simple. Can Taiwan remain a democracy under Chinas rule or can China allow Taiwan to continue to operate independently of the mainland. This issue unfortunately is not restricted to Taiwan and China. It has deep influences in the United States, as well.

With China and the United States trying to maintain an active dialogue, the issue of Taiwan has and will continue to stress Sino-American relations for years to come. To better understand this issue and to find out what is at stake for the region and the world, you first have to examine the background closely. As Mao Tse-Tunes communist regime was vying for control of the mainland against Chiang Kai-sheiks nationalists, Mao gave an interview with an American reporter he stated we will extend the then (the Koreans) our enthusiastic help in their struggle for independence. The same thing applies for Taiwan. (Leng 38) This brings China and Taiwan to World War II and the next major event to affect the Taiwanese.

In 1943 the allied forces held a conference in Egypt, the Cairo Conference. There a decision was made with the purpose to accommodate a request by Caring Kai-seeks that Taiwan is returned to Nationalist China at the conclusion of the war. This text was put into the Cairo Declaration, but it was done so without any presence or agreement of the Taiwanese people. When the war came to an end in 1945 the allied powers agreed that Chaings troops would occupy Taiwan on behalf of the allied forces. The temporary agreement turned out to become rather permanent.

At first the Taiwanese were glad to be rid of the Japanese, but their feelings were soon turned to anger and hatred as the Chinese took control of the island. The Chinese were corrupt, repressive and barbaric in their methods. This was something the Taiwanese were not accustomed to while living under the very efficient Japanese rule. As China began to impose its social and political structure over Taiwan, the Taiwanese population lashed out at their Chinese rulers. The event that followed was the February 28th incident of 1947. This began with a little conflict in Taipei and led to a large-scale demonstration.

The KMT was initially taken aback by this event, but quickly rebounded and began to sneak troops in from the mainland to put down the unrest. When the troops arrived they started to round and execute a whole generation of leading Taiwanese figures. In all between 18,000 and 28,000 people were killed, and during the KMTs reign over the island thousands of more people were arrested, imprisoned, tortured and murdered by the KMTs police squad, the Taiwan garrison Command. In 1949 Mao had defeated Chaings in the war on the mainland. This led to the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. The capital of China was moved to Beijing and Mao was appointed Chairman and Z leu En lai headed the government up.

After Chaings defeat he fled to Taiwan with the remainder of his regime. He took control of the government and instituted martial law on the island. Which lasted for the next four decades. While operating on Taiwan the KMTs maintained that they would regain control of the mainland and regain control of all of China (Leng 42). The population that fled to Taiwan with Chaings constituted only 15% of the population, but they were able to maintain control of the remainder of the population through tight control of the political system, police, military and education system. The next major event to affect Taiwan was the San Francisco Peace Conference.

In 1951-52 the Allied coalition and Japan met to conclude World War II with signing the San Francisco Peace Treaty. This treaty is extremely important in the argument of One China, because Japan gave up sovereignty over Taiwan. Although it was not discussed at the conference that would obtain Control over Taiwan, it was concluded, the future stats of Taiwan will be developed in accord with the purposes and principles of the charter of the United Nations. (Leng 43).