China, Taiwan and US relationship

[Scruloose]

Is my knowledge on this subject accurate:
Taiwan claims to be its own nation, seperate from China;
China claims Taiwan as part of China;
The US is treaty-bound to defend Taiwan from Chinese attack.

If this is true, I would assume that the US recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state. However, while surfing the State Department website, I came across the following notes for Taiwan:

Note 6: Claimed by both the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the authorities on Taiwan. Administered by the authorities on Taiwan. (see note 3)

Note 3: With the establishment of diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1979, the US Government recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China.

So, if the US recognizes the Chinese claim of Taiwan, how can we be treaty-bound to defend her? Or are we?

[Neurotik]

The US is not treaty bound to protect her, AFAIK. It’s just understood that we will. For the record, the official US position is that we support the reunification of China with her renegade province, provided it is done in a peaceful manner, since the US doesn’t want to see a war in the area disrupt US trade interests. Or something like that.

[caveman]

Taiwan (the Republic of China, that is) has not declared its independence fromo the mainland (People’s Republic of China). In fact, I beleive the official position in Taipei (or at least of the KMT)remains that the government of Taiwan (the old national government on the run after the revolution) is, in fact, the legitimate government of all of China.

The reason for not declaring independence boils down to 1) if they did it, China might (and has said it would) attack, and 2) its biggest ally (the USA) would rather it not rock the boat and upset a major trading partner and nuclear power.

I spent about a year of my life debating this issue (back in high shcool), but I’m sure some folks with sites will be along with even better explainations.

[Whack-a-Mole]

*Originally posted by Neurotik *
**The US is not treaty bound to protect her, AFAIK. It’s just understood that we will. **

Yes…and no…well sort of…maybe

TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT Public Law 96-8 96th Congress

An Act

To help maintain peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific and to promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SHORT TITLE

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the “Taiwan Relations Act”.

FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2.

(a) The President- having terminated governmental relations between the United States and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized by the United States as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979, the Congress finds that the enactment of this Act is necessary–

(1) to help maintain peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific;and

(2) to promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan.

(b) It is the policy of the United States–

(1) to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland and all other peoples of the Western Pacific area;

(2) to declare that peace and stability in the area are in the political, security, and economic interests of the United States, and are matters of international concern;

(3) to make clear that the United States decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means;

(4) to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States;

(5) to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character; and

(6) to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.

© Nothing contained in this Act shall contravene the interest of the United States in human rights, especially with respect to the human rights of all the approximately eighteen million inhabitants of Taiwan. The preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States.

Then there is what President Bush said awhile back…

Then last week, after announcing a new arms package for Taiwan (see cover story), Bush appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” television show. In an interview with host Charles Gibson, the President strongly implied that the United States would go to war against the PRC if it used military force against Taiwan—a statement that infuriated Beijing. No previous American President had ever so forcefully voiced such a hard-line policy.

Later, however, in an interview with CNN, Bush portrayed his statement as wholly in keeping with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and the policies of previous Presidents. “Nothing has really changed in policy, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “This is what other Presidents have said, and I will continue to say so.”

SOURCE: Human Events Online

Interpret away…

[Scruloose]

*Originally posted by caveman *
**Taiwan (the Republic of China, that is) has not declared its independence fromo the mainland (People’s Republic of China). In fact, I beleive the official position in Taipei (or at least of the KMT)remains that the government of Taiwan (the old national government on the run after the revolution) is, in fact, the legitimate government of all of China.

The reason for not declaring independence boils down to 1) if they did it, China might (and has said it would) attack, and 2) its biggest ally (the USA) would rather it not rock the boat and upset a major trading partner and nuclear power.

I spent about a year of my life debating this issue (back in high shcool), but I’m sure some folks with sites will be along with even better explainations. **

Ohhhh kay. Now I’m starting to see - what I’m missing here is the history, and how this came about. This explains Note 3, which I thought a little odd.

Thanks all, and thanks for the cites Whack

I feel less stupider already.

[caveman]

Here’s a good history in a nutshell from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/china/china-taiwan.html