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Let Taiwan Be Taiwan During the Past Months, the Question of Taiwan’S Identity Has Been at Issue on a Number of Separate but Related Occasions

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Let Taiwan Be Taiwan During the Past Months, the Question of Taiwan’S Identity Has Been at Issue on a Number of Separate but Related Occasions Published by: International Committee for Human Rights in Taiwan Taiwan : 1st Floor, No. 54, Alley 8, Lane 36, Min-sheng E. Road Sec. 5, TAIPEI Europe : P.O. Box 91542, 2509 EC THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Canada : P.O. Box 67035, 2300 Yonge Street, TORONTO, Ont. M4P 1E0 U.S.A. : P.O. Box 15275, WASHINGTON, DC 20003-5275 European edition, October 1992 Published 6 times a year 56 Let Taiwan be Taiwan During the past months, the question of Taiwans identity has been at issue on a number of separate but related occasions. First, in the beginning of August 1992 the Taipei authorities came up with a new definition of one China. Secondly, when South Korea announced at the end of August that it was establishing diplo- matic relations with Peking, and thirdly at the end of September 1992, when GATT member states were considering Taiwans membership at their meeting in Geneva. On all three occasions the Taipei authorities took a step backwards: The new definition proposed in the beginning of August for one China dates back to 1912 and was thus compared by the press in Taipei with a frog jumping back into the same old mud puddle. In the South Korea case, the Kuomintang authorities short- sightedly decided to break diplomatic relations, while in the discussions with GATT, they lamely accepted the Olympic non-formula Chinese Taipei. Taiwan Communiqué com- ment: the Kuomintang au- thorities should break loose from their old one China straitjacket and their outdated claim to be the rightful gov- ernment of all of China. The South Korea case shows that this is a dead-end alley: by presenting itself as Free China it forces the outside world to choose between Pe- Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui carrying king and Taipei. the "one China" burden. Taiwan Communiqué -2- October 1992 By presenting itself simply as Taiwan not more, but also not less it would give other nations the chance to recognize this new Taiwan as a sover- eign nation. A fully free, democratic and independent Taiwan has every right to be a full member of the international community. On the following pages we give further background on the three cases mentioned above; and also discuss two steps forward: First, the idea of working towards UN membership is increasingly gaining ground in Taiwan; Secondly, a group of main- landers in Taiwan courageously set up an organization for Taiwan independence. Defining One China In the beginning of August 1992, the KMT authorities announced that they had come up with a new definition of one China. During a meeting of the National Unification Council, headed by President Lee Teng-hui, the Taipei authorities reit- erated their claim to sovereignty over all of China, and asserted that the term one China referred to the Republic of China, as it was established by the Chinese Na- tionalists in 1912, although its rule at present only covers Taiwan and some nearby islands. Taiwan Communiqué comment: by continuing to make their claim of sover- eignty over all of China, the KMT au- thorities made themselves look slightly ridiculous. There is indeed only one China, but historic realism should tell them that China is ruled by the Commu- nist authorities in Peking. Present-day reality should also tell Peking that Tai- wan is not part of their China. Of course everyone hopes that China can become a prosperous, free, and democratic country, but this can only come from the Chinese people them- selves. The Kuomintang has no role to The KMT's "one-China" frog play on the mainland. Attempts at uni- jumping back into the same old fication of tiny Taiwan with giant China mud puddle. will only lead to further tensions in the area. Taiwan Communiqué -3- October 1992 The best chances for the future of Taiwan lie in being a democratic nation-state, which lives in peace and harmony with all its neighbors, including China. South Korea establishes relations with Peking On 24 August 1992, the South Korean authorities and the Chinese authorities in Peking announced that diplomatic relations would be established between the two countries. The move was a major blow to the Kuomintang authorities in Taipei, be- cause South Korea was the only country in Asia with which Taipei was maintaining diplomatic ties. However, besides strongly-worded protestations in Taipei and well-publicized tears at Taipeis embassy in Seoul, there was little the Taipei authorities could do. Di- rect airlinks by the respective airlines were cut, but this will probably be of short duration: the economic interests in the two countries will force a quick re-estab- lishment of the flights. In Taiwan itself, many people considered the break in relations the result of the Kuomintangs own shortsighted policies. This opinion is best represented by a statement issued on 24 August 1992 by the Church and Society Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Below follows a summary: Recently South Korea established relations with China and severed rela- tions with Republic of China. This diplomatic setback proves that the KMT regimes claim of sovereignty over China is absurd. The one China policy insisted upon by the KMT regime has caused a series of dip- lomatic setbacks and Taiwan is becoming an international pariah. Since Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations in 1971, the one China policy has proven to be a dead-end street. After the recent break of ties with South Korea, President Lee Teng-hui still proclaim to continue the one China policy and to pursue a so-called a substantive policy of dual recognition. This is self-contradictory. While the majority of na- tions of the international community recognize the Peoples Republic of China across the Taiwan Strait as the legitimate government of China, the KMT regimes one China policy is leading Taiwan into a dead-end street. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is strongly opposed to a one China policy. Taiwan Communiqué -4- October 1992 To safeguard Taiwans independence, security and freedom, we call on the people of Taiwan to demand that before important foreign policy deci- sions are made, they should first be openly debated in public forums and then decided in a referendum. The Presbyterian Church believes that only a realistic policy of one China, one Taiwan can help Taiwan break out of the current diplomatic quagmire. We also strongly believe that when Taiwan abandons the fiction of Re- public of China, and establish a new and independent country, it can re- turn to the international community and be accepted and respected by all the members of the international community. GATT: back to the Olympic non-formula ? At the end of September 1992, it was announced by the authorities in Taipei that the GATT member states would consider Taiwans membership at their meeting in Geneva on 29 September. The matter has been on the backburner for a long time: Taipei applied to become a member of GATT on 1 January 1990 under the name Independent Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. However, the matter was held up by China, which is also not a member of GATT yet, but which has insisted that Taiwan can only be admitted after Chinas own ad- mission. China has also objected to the name Taiwan used in its application, and has insisted on a name which implies that Taiwan falls under Pekings sovereignty. Until re- cently the Taipei authorities refused, but now they have apparently succumbed to the temptation, and accepted Chinese Taipei as title. If Taiwans application is accepted at the meeting, GATT will establish a working group to consult with the Taipei authorities on the liberalization of the Taiwan mar- ket, and on the removal of tariffs. Taiwan will initially become a GATT observer and be allowed to attend its meetings. If after the consultations end, two-thirds of the 104 GATT members endorse Taiwans membership, it will officially become a full member. At the time of this writing no GATT-decision had been made yet. Taiwan Communiqué comment: we endorse GATT membership for Taiwan, but emphasize that it should be under its own name, Taiwan. No other name should be imposed by outsiders. The title Chinese Taipei is a non-formula, and as incongruent as Americans Washington or French Paris. Taiwan Communiqué -5- October 1992 UN Membership for Taiwan The idea of working towards UN membership is increasingly gaining ground in Tai- wan: originally only the DPP dared to push this idea (see Taiwan Communiqué no. 52), but more and more members of the ruling Kuomintang are now rallying behind it. Also internationally the concept is gaining ground: in the United States Con- gress two resolutions are moving up through committees (see page 20). In June 1992, the Legislative Yuan in Taipei passed a resolution requesting the au- thorities to plan a return to the United Nations. In mid-August 1992, press reports in Taiwan indicated that the Foreign Ministry in Taipei had drafted a White Paper emphasizing the importance of joining the United Nations, and outlining a strategy to achieve this goal. Of course the authori- ties formally still state they adhere to the one-China concept, but this is de-em- phasized more and more, while they see themselves taking an aggressive yet flex- ible role in gaining international recognition. Increasingly this flexibility has been shown in the issue of name: Republic of China is used less and less, while a subtile shift towards Taiwan via a number of intermediate subvariations is clearly evident. The issue was again in focus in mid-September 1992, when a number of KMT and DPP legislators discussed the pros and cons with Foreign Affairs Minister Fredrick Chien at a seminar at the Institute of International Relations in Taipei.
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