What’s the buzz about?
On December 2, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump accepted a phone call from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen congratulated him on winning the presidency, while Trump accepted the congratulations; it was a simple courtesy call.
Yet, ever since its initiation, the incident has stirred up much controversy. It has raised issues regarding relations between China and Taiwan that have been present since Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China government fled to the island nation. Is Taiwan a part of China? Nationalists in Taiwan are under the impression that Taiwan is its own independent country. However, China’s stance on the topic is firm: not only does China claim sovereignty over Taiwan, it also recognizes Taiwan as a province of China, meant to be reunified with the mainland. The events at the end of the Chinese Civil War have largely contributed to the current situation.
In an effort to appease the leaders in Beijing and establish diplomatic relations with the formidable country, the United States officially agreed to the “One China” policy in 1979.
The agreement formally stated that only one China exists and that Taiwan is part of that China. That means that the United States may only communicate with the mainland (leaders in Beijing), rather than the island nation itself. The future president’s phone call with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan has officially broken that decades-old policy.
What started it?
The implications of Taiwan-China relations have been under the spotlight since 1949, with a history that has been largely left in the past. Taiwan was officially annexed to China during the Qing Dynasty in 1683, but was then ceded to Japan after China’s loss in the First Sino-Japanese War. Taiwan remained under Japanese control until 1945.
After the Japanese surrendered to the United States in World War II, the United States placed Taiwan under Chinese administrative control.
The Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War shortly afterwards provoked the former Kuomintang government into escaping China and reestablishing themselves on the island. Since then, the democracy of Taiwan has been placed in juxtaposition with the repressive regime of communist China. Despite the apparent differences in ideology, China and Taiwan are still widely regarded as one country, with debate as to whether one belongs to the other. Hence, the “One China” policy is utilized in order to officially declare Taiwan as part of China, although Taiwanese nationalist beliefs say otherwise.
So what exactly do the Taiwanese think about this?
The majority of Taiwanese have welcomed the call as a chance for the island nation to become a formidable personality in politics.
Many of them have expressed the idea that establishing ties with the United States will enable Taiwan to finally take the stage in international politics and strengthen the nation’s authority as a country.
However, Lo Chih-Cheng, a prominent Taiwanese legislator, has stated that because of Taiwan’s status as a “small player stuck between giants,” the country will need to proceed cautiously.
The “One China” policy still remains and the United States has yet to negotiate a formal diplomatic treaty with Taiwan. Others, such as National Taiwan University’s Peng Yu-Chuan, have also argued that Trump’s phone call with Taiwan was merely a ploy to exploit the small country in an attempt to reach the United States’ own political goals.
What was the response of the Chinese government?
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has declared that despite recent events, the “One China” policy will not change. He denounced the phone call as a xiaodongzuo (Chinese for “little trick”) and has made evident that he views the action as dishonest behavior. The China Daily has said that the unprofessional phone call with President Tsai Ing-wen was only another example of Trump’s “inexperience” and inadequacy in dealing with foreign affairs.
The government of China has no desire to start a war. By downplaying the magnitude of the phone call, Beijing has made clear that under no circumstances does it want to enter a full-frontal dispute with the United States.
Despite this, many have claimed that China is internally seething over the incident. East Asia expert John Delury from Yonsei University states, “I think it would be a mistake to think he [Trump] got a pass. They are holding their fire but they are sizing him up.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has also bemoaned recent occurrences, claiming that the “One China” policy is an integral part of U.S.-China relations and to not follow it is a fatal misstep.
How has this affected the nationalism of those involved?
A conflict, both internal and external, has always been present when considering whether the inhabitants of Taiwan are truly Chinese or Taiwanese. However, in recent years, many inhabitants of Taiwan have come to define themselves as solely Taiwanese. The general attitude towards China has already been changing, and Trump’s phone call with Taiwan is only another spark to the fire.
In 1992, 25.5% of Taiwanese identified themselves as Chinese. Now, in 2016, only 3.6% of the surveyed individuals identify as Chinese, a far cry from the results two decades ago. It appears that although still in effect, the “One China” policy may be losing its significance as more and more Taiwanese start reconciling their dual heritage and adopting a cry for independence, one not unlike the United States’ own split from Britain in the American Revolution.
What’s next for Taiwan and the future of U.S.-China relations?
It’s still unclear what’s next for the future status of the island nation; however, it seems that Trump and China are on a collision course in terms of their opposing positions in foreign affairs. The U.S.-China relationship remains tentative, but there’s no telling Trump’s future actions regarding the diplomacy between the two countries.
In the political battle, Taiwan may seem like a scapegoat, but Trump’s unpredictability in foreign policy has proven that the small country may just get its long-needed recognition in the realm of international politics.
