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Taiwan's Status
in International Relations
As mentioned, the state forms the primary legal 'person' in international
relations. In order for a political entity to be classified as a
state, it must display several characteristics that it shares in
common with other states. These are: (1) territory; (2) population;
(3) government (the political agent for the state); and (4) independence
of action (sovereignty). The term 'government' here can be defined
as 'a group of individuals sharing a defined responsibility for
exercising power'. A 'sovereign' government can be defined as 'a
group of individuals exercising legitimate authority, and protecting
and adapting the community by making and carrying out decisions'.
'Sovereignty' is usually associated with the concept of enjoying
'certain immunities and privileges' - such as sending out and receiving
diplomats and possessing immunity from the jurisdiction of other
states. The distinctions between whether a state enjoys sovereignty,
and exactly when a state's dependence on another undermines its
ability to act independently, is very hazy.
Differentiation occurs at the state level. On Taiwan resides the
KMT government, claiming to represent the 'state' of the Republic
of China, and on the mainland resides the CCP government, claiming
to represent the 'state' of the People's Republic of China. Both
governments claim to represent the same 'nation' - China, and for
the purposes of analysis, China can be assumed to consist of 'one-nation,
two-states'.
This article will use the example of the Australian Government's
changing of recognition from the 'state' of the ROC to the 'state'
of the PRC. Recognition can be defined as the discretionary function
exercised unilaterally by the government of a state officially acknowledging
the existence of another state or government. There exists two types
of recognition, namely de facto (express) or de jure (tacit). The
differences between the two reflect the differences between recognition
of a state and the recognition of a government. The recognition
of the existence of a state, but not its government or subsequent
governments, is defined as de facto recognition.
Before 1972, Australia granted de facto recognition to the PRC,
while the KMT government enjoyed de jure recognition that claimed
to be the legitimate representatives of the ROC. When in 1972, Australia
granted the PRC total de jure recognition therefore; the KMT and
the ROC no longer continued to exist in the eyes of the Australian
government. No longer a province of the ROC, Taiwan - in the view
of the Australian government - was literally transformed overnight
into a province of the PRC.
The Australian government's recognition of the PRC over the ROC
was essentially an official acknowledgment of its own agreement
of the legality and rights of the CCP to exercise control over all
China, and disacknowledgment of the sovereignty of the KMT government
to represent the ROC.
In defining the status of Taiwan then, one confronts a most contentious
issue. Ethnic Taiwanese opposition aside, both the governments in
Beijing and in Taipei recognise Taiwan as a province of China, but
any similarity of opinion between Beijing and Taipei regarding Taiwan's
position ceases here. Its basic assumption is that conflict has
its origins in people's socio-economic environment, and a major
precondition for the solution of political violence and the ultimate
elimination of war is the development of an ever-broadening infrastructure
of international economic and social cooperation. Functionalism
aims at bringing peoples together through collaboration in functionally
explicit activities, promoting over time a sense of common interests
and shared attitudes.
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