TAIWAN ELECTIONS AND ONE CHINA POLICY
TAIWAN ELECTIONS and HONG KONG MACAO
TAIWAN ELECTIONS MEANING & CONTROVERSY
Taiwan elections one china policy significance:
News: Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) candidate lai ching te(both support Taiwan's separate identity) has won the presidential elections. He will be the new president but but his party has won 3rd consecutive term. The importance of this result lies in the fact that it is a setback to china whose candidate lost the elections.
lai ching te replaces current President Tsai Ing-wen who has completed constitutionally mandated a maximum two, 4 year terms.
Q. How is china involved in Taiwan problem?
Taiwan also know as nationalist china or ROC( republic of china), was the name given to china, was ruled by Japan till 2nd world war, when it was returned to nationalist forces in 1945. During the next 4 years there was power struggle when chinese communist forces of Mao-tse-tung defeated the nationalist forces of chiang kai shek with the sympathy of people because of extreme hyperinflation. The Nationalist government and armies fled to Taiwan, again resulting in the separation of Taiwan from China
Initially nationalist forces & govt. in Taiwan claimed control of mainland, but later it gave up claim. With china’s emergence, it aims for unification with Taiwan under its self declared one china policy.
ROC government & the People’s Republic of China are in dispute over control of paracels & Diaoyu islands
People in Taiwan are divided into 3 choices,
- Those who favour independent existence. (Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP), party that won presidential elections.
- Those who favour good relations with china.
- Those who favour equidistant from china & USA.
Q. Why china wants to unite with Taiwan?
Because of Taiwans superiority in technology, china wants unification to strengthen its industry. It sometimes use aggressive tactics so that elections and popular perception in Taiwan turns pro-china.
Q. What is one china policy?
It emphasizes that all old Chinese territories should re-unite
Q. Which countries have joined china under one china policy?
Hong kong joined in 1997 from Britain & Macao in 1999 from Portugal.
Q. Why Taiwan wants to remain independent?
Hong Kong after gaining independence was promised - one nation two systems principle, this meant it will remain a democracy even though china will remain one party ruled country, but it did not honour its commitment and a whole lot of protestors are in jail.
Q. What is US role in Taiwan tangle?
While USA agrees to one china policy, but wants the decision to be arrived via the peaceful approval by people to agree to unite. USA also wants to delay unification because that will allow its naval presence near Taiwan border, almost 100KM from china.
Key terms - one china policy, Hong Kong, ROC, POC,
Freedom of navigation (FON) & freedom of navigation operation (FONOP)
Taiwan elections one china policy significance:
Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states, apart from the exceptions provided for in international law. In the realm of international law, it has been defined as “freedom of movement for vessels, freedom to enter ports and to make use of plant and docks, to load and unload goods and to transport goods and passengers". This right is now also codified as Article 87(1)a of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS).
US has conducted FONOPs in areas claimed by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam since 2013 to challenge china’s claims against other small countries in south china sea via creation of artificial islands..