Reflection (2)-- Taiwan's Future in Political Field

     In my last annotation, I found an article talking about Taiwan identification. According to the article, it seems that there is a growing tendency for Taiwan identification in the new generation. The younger generation identified themselves more with Taiwan this island, and think they are different from Chinese, because they grow up in Taiwan, sharing no common memory with those elders who came from mainland China with the Chinese National Party. Therefore, the identification is no longer a primary obstruction of whether Taiwan should be an independent country. I should try to conclude my issue paper from other aspects.

     Whither Taiwan should be an independent country is an issue too big and too complicated. If I try to discuss the issue from political aspect, I should briefly introduce the definition of politics. “The word comes from the Greek word from which the title of Aristotle's books Politics (politika) derives: "affairs of the cities", a dissertation on governing and governments.”(Wiki) H.D. Lasswell, a leading American political scientist and communications theorist, claimed that “The study of politics is the study of influence and the influential.” David Easton, a political scientist, said that “Politics is the authoritative allocation of values for a society.”

     In the situation of Taiwan and China, both the presidents of ROC and PRC are influential. Both governments seek for an international legitimate status since their division in 1949. From 1949 to 1987, there was no official interaction across Taiwan Strait. Some small-scale wars had occurred in this period, showing the resolute attitude of both sides. After Korean War broke out, Taiwan gained the military support from the U.S., the sole hegemony acknowledged at the time. Therefore, even Taiwan is not influential and powerful enough to hold its stance at the time, with the assistance of the U.S., Taiwan resisted the invasion of China. However situation changed after ROC withdrew from UN. Losing the support of the U.S., Taiwan’s international status became weaker and lost its influence to other countries. On the other hand, China became more powerful and seemed to have caught up the U.S. In terms of politics, China is the influential one now and Taiwan could not expect the other influential country, the U.S., to help us.

     When dealing with Taiwan problem, China government emphasizes the four principles: One China, Two systems, Autonomy and Peaceful negotiation. One China means that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is the sacred and inseparable part of China. Two systems: in the premise of one China, China’s socialism and Taiwan’s capitalism could exist together. Autonomy: Taiwan is a special administrative region, possessing high autonomy. Peaceful negotiation: in order to achieve unification, Taiwan and China should be in touch and negotiate as soon as possible.

     Taiwan’s situation is not optimistic in the foreseeable future. Confronting the rising China, Taiwan doesn’t have much advantageous chips to bargain with. Taiwan’s future depends on Taiwanese’ decision and the government’s wisdom. Different leaders have different idea and goal, but it seems at least both KMT and DPP don’t view Taiwan as part of China. Whoever achieves most of their goal and lose less should be the winner in the political field.