Taiwan, China

This article is about the term "Taiwan, China". For the state commonly called "Taiwan", see Republic of China. For the island of Taiwan, see Taiwan. For the Taiwan Province governed by the Republic of China, see Taiwan Province. For the hypothetical Taiwan Province claimed but not governed by the People's Republic of China, see Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China.

"Taiwan, China" or "Taiwan, Province of China" is a set of politically controversial and potentially ambiguous terms that characterize Taiwan and its associated territories as a province or territory of "China". However, the term is problematic and potentially ambiguous because since 1949, two states with the name "China" exist, namely the Republic of China (ROC, founded 1911 and now known as "Taiwan") and the People's Republic of China (PRC, founded 1949 and now known as "China"). Since the ROC no longer rules most of mainland China and subsequently became commonly known as "Taiwan", and the PRC, which is now commonly known as "China" by the international community and which has never controlled Taiwan but claims it as part of PRC's territory, "Taiwan, China" is a term that implicitly places the ROC/"Taiwan", which is sovereign, under the sovereignty of PRC/"China". Its use is usually politically promulgated by the Communist PRC government as a way to claim that the ROC/"Taiwan" is under its sovereignty, since the PRC claims to be the legitimate government of "all China", which, according to its definition, includes Taiwan also. The ROC government disputes the PRC position and it along with many ROC citizens consider this term incorrect and offensive and its use a purposeful false identification which denies the ROC's sovereignty, and object to its use. It is particularly offensive to those Taiwanese who believe in Taiwan Independence and want to disassociate Taiwan with "China" and a Chinese identity, and consider it a lie and an oxymoron. However, some Taiwanese may not necessarily oppose this term, particularly those who view themselves as "Chinese" and support eventual Chinese reunification.

Background and ambiguity over "China"

Further information: Chinese civil war

The dispute and ambiguity over which "China" resulted from the Republic of China's loss of its mainland territory in the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese Communists in 1949, when the Communists established the PRC on that territory. The ROC government relocated to Taiwan but both the ROC and the PRC still officially (constitutionally) claim both mainland China and Taiwan Area as part of their respective territories. In practice, the PRC rules Mainland China and has no control of but claims Taiwan as part of its territory under its "One China Principle". The ROC now only rules Taiwan and its nearby minor islands, hence its common name of "Taiwan".

The PRC, in 1971, subsequently won the United Nations seat as "China" and use of the name and expelled the ROC from the UN. Since then the term "Taiwan, China" is a designation typically used in international organizations like the United Nations and its associated organs under pressure from the PRC to accommodate its claim and to give the false impression that Taiwan belongs to the PRC. (The term "Chinese Taipei" was similarly created for the same purpose.) However, to whom Taiwan actually belongs is a complex issue and is currently unresolved, in large part due to the United States and the Allies of World War II handling of the surrender of Taiwan (then called "Formosa") from Japan in 1945, which was a temporary custodianship by the ROC troops under General Order No. 1, and the Treaty of Peace with Japan ("Treaty of San Francisco") in 1951, for which neither the ROC nor the PRC was invited, and left Taiwan's sovereignty legally undefined in international law and in dispute.

Ambiguity of "Taiwan Province"

The term "Taiwan, (Province of) China" is also potentially ambiguous because both the ROC and the PRC each has administratively a "Taiwan Province", Taiwan Province, Republic of China and Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China, and neither of these provinces covers the Matsu Islands, Wuchiu, Kinmen, the Pratas Islands and Itu Aba, all of which have retained by the Republic of China. Without more specific indication, it is unclear to which "Taiwan Province" is being referred.

Although the word "China" could also possibly be interpreted to mean "Republic of China", this interpretation is no longer common and "China" is typically understood after the ROC's loss of its UN seat in the 1971 as referring to the PRC and distinct from "Taiwan", the name with which the ROC has became identified. Also, only the ROC's Taiwan Province exists in reality and is under the ROC's actual territorial control, whereas the PRC's "Taiwan Province" exists only on paper, on the PRC's official administrative documents and under its official government administrative structure but without an actual provincial government. Instead, the PRC has an Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council to deal with issues and guidelines relating to Taiwan.

The ROC also does not refer to its Taiwan Province as "Taiwan, China" but rather "Taiwan Province, Republic of China". However, reference to the province is now rare since the Taiwan provincial government has largely been dissolved and its functions transferred to the central government or county governments since 1997. Therefore recent uses of the term "Taiwan, China" are usually promulgated by the PRC to convey the sense that Taiwan is part of its "China".

ROC/Taiwan government's objection

Although the Republic of China is not a member of the United Nations, the term "Taiwan, China" has sometimes been used by the U.N. to refer to the Republic of China. (The ROC is prohibited from using its official name internationally under pressure from the PRC and uses "Chinese Taipei" in other organizations.) The ROC sees its use as a denial of the ROC's status as a separate sovereign state, diminishing it under "China", which implicitly is the PRC. Various instances of the use of the term by international organizations or news media have been met with protest from the Taiwanese government officials and citizens. In the latest incident on May 10, 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the UN, referred to Taiwan as "Taiwan, China" in its documents. (The ROC particpates in the WHO under the name "Chinese Taipei".) Republic of China's president Ma Ying-jeou protested WHO's action and accused PR China of "pressuring the UN body into calling" the ROC "Chinese territory", and stated that Beijing's moves were "very negative" for bilateral ties. Ma, who took office in 2008, has taken many measures to improve Cross-Strait relations.

Taiwan independence viewpoint

Further information: Taiwan independence

The confusion and fight over use of the "China" name and the lack of name recognition of "Republic of China" itself and recognition as a country are part of the reason for the supporters of Taiwan independence to push for an identity apart from "China" and for renaming the ROC and gaining international recognition as Republic of Taiwan. Some supporters also reject the legitimacy of Republic of China's takeover of Taiwan from Japan at the end of World War II since 1945 (due to the lack of transfer of sovereignty in the Treaty of Peace with Japan). They view that Taiwan is no longer part of China since "China" is recognized by the UN as being the People's Republic of China, and so placing "Taiwan" and "China" together in one term is not only incorrect and an oxymoron but also offensively demotes the ROC's national sovereign status under China and causes unnecessary confusion with PR China.

Use in Vietnam

In Vietnam, although almost state media use the term "Taiwan" but most government documents and many state media usually use the forms Đài Loan (Trung Quốc) ["Taiwan (China)"] or Đài Loan, Trung Quốc ("Taiwan, China") to refer to Taiwan or Republic of China in many contexts, including in music and entertainment coverage. In other media, they often use the term "vùng lãnh thổ" ("territory") or "hòn đảo" ("island") to refer to Taiwan when wanting to avoid repeating the term "Taiwan" many times in their article. The term "Tỉnh Đài Loan" ("Taiwan Province") sometimes appear in media to refer to all of "Taiwan Area" (not only referring to the Taiwan Province of ROC). In general, Vietnamese state media never refer to Taiwan as a "nation" or a "state".

Use in the UN and other instances

The term "Taiwan, Province of China" also appears in the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 country codes because its information source, the publication UN Terminology Bulletin-Country Names, lists Taiwan as "Taiwan, Province of China" due to the PRC's political influence in the United Nations as a member of the UN Security Council. Since the ISO 3166-1 code is a frequently used data source for computer programs and websites to pull a list of country names, "Taiwan, Province of China" is sometimes seen on pull-down menus instead of "Taiwan" due to this reason.

See also

• Chinese Taipei
• Political status of Taiwan
• Cross-Strait relations
• Taiwan independence
• Republic of Taiwan
• Index of Taiwan-related articles
• Outline of Taiwan
• Oxymoron