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Introduction The issue of Taiwan independence or reunification with Mainland China is very touchy and was once taboo to discuss. In recent years, the issue of cross-strait relations has emerged as one of the most important in national policy. Taiwan people remain far divided over this issue. According to a poll taken among 1019 people published in the July 23, 2000, edition of the Central News Agency, 12 percent want an early independence, 14 percent call for maintaining the status quo at the moment and pursuing independence in the future, 9 percent look forward to seeing an early unification, 20 percent prefer to maintain the status quo at present and pursue unification in the future, and 32 percent desire to maintain the status quo permanently. What is "China"? Much of the confusion surrounding the future of Taiwan involves the meaning of the word "China" and the concept of what is "Chinese". The mainland Communists uses "China" to mean the People's Republic of China (PRC), and "Chinese" means a PRC citizen. However, Chinese have traditionally used "China" to refer the geographic and historic region of the world that has been under Chinese sovereignty, and "Chinese" is any person whose ethnic background is of China. Thus, the statement "Taiwan is part of China, but is not part of the PRC is syntactically correct, but is awkward in international politics. Supporters of Taiwan independence would like to see a complete break from "China" by establishing a "Republic of Taiwan". |