Response: The Republic of China (Taiwan) meets the qualifications of statehood in the Montevideo Convention: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) a government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with other states. Article 3 stipulates, “The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states.” (1) The question of Taiwan is not one of independence or n... more

Response: This tug of war has been going on since the division of China in 1949. It is about the fate of Taiwan, whether it should become an independent country, unite with China, or maintain the current status quo of de facto but not de jure independence. On one end of tug stands China, determined, focused, and making every effort to pull Taiwan into China’s fold. For China, there is only one solution to t... more

Response: The Taiwanese people answered the question when they went to the poll on March 22. On the election day, the voters were tasked with two major decisions - selecting the next president as well as voting on the U.N. bid referendums. As predicted, they awarded the next presidency to the opposition party’s candidate Mr. Ma Ying-jeou over the ruling party’s candidate Mr. Frank Hsieh. And, meanwhile, the... more

Response: The question of Taiwan’s entrance to the United Nations is an extremely complicated issue. It involves controversies over multiple, delicate questions. First, the question of whether Taiwan is a sovereign state or not has to be resolved. Second, whether or not the membership of Taiwan signifies its formal independence and permanent separation from mainland China. Third, how Taiwan’s membership to ... more