Let me just say

... that China is delusional when it comes to Taiwan.

China has issued another strong warning that it is prepared to go to war, if necessary, to stop what it calls Taiwan's drive for independence. A senior Taiwan affairs official in Beijing, Vice Minister Wang Zaixi, said Wednesday that the communist government's main goal is to curb Taiwan's independence efforts. Mr. Wang said the use of force might be unavoidable if separatists on the island challenge Beijing's one-China policy. But he stressed that the government hopes to settle the question of Taiwan peacefully.

Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has launched an aggressive re-election campaign based on the assertion that Taiwan and China are two sovereign countries. He also has vowed to push for a new constitution for the island in 2006.

In an interview earlier this year with the Washington Post, Mr. Chen called Beijing's one-China principle abnormal thinking that should be corrected. China condemned those remarks as proof of the Taiwanese leader's desire for independence.

OK, here's the deal: Taiwan already is independent. They have their own (non-communist) government, their own military, and their own economy. All of that is completely seperated from the Chinese government on the mainland.

Despite all that, China continues with it's absolutely ludicrous "one China" policy. "One China" is just a legal fiction that has nothing whatsoever to do with fact. Everyone continues to pretend "one China" is the truth for the simple reasons that a) the Chinese government has insisted repeatedly that if Taiwan actually "declared independence" that war would follow, and b) China's continued insistence on "one China" doesn't seem to be hurting Taiwan very much. Consequently, every one seems to think that the best course of action is to just let them have their fantasy.j

Of course it says a lot about the Chinese government that they'd be willing to go to war just because someone punctured their fantasy world.

Comments

[Steve]

One could point out that the legitimate, elected government of China resides on the island of Formosa, and not on the PLA terrorist organization occupied mainland.

Formosa has -never- been under Red Guard terrorist control.

[Herman]

One China is a national pride issue for the Communist Party. It's one of the driving issues behind remaining in Xinjiang and Tibet. As Communism isn't quite a strong enough ideological pillar to retain popular support, the Party has been using a combination of Nationalism and regulated economic openess.

My grandfather was a legislator in the deposed Nationalist government, and for years he kept flying to Taiwan for annual legislative meetings. There he would represent a district he hadn't lived in for years and would have been arrested for visiting if he did go back.

[mark butterworth]

Yes, but it's the thought that counts.

[Jeffrey Collins]

Herman, I understand why they insist on holding on to the One China policy. (Probably not as much as you do,though.) Clearly a lot of pride has been wrapped up in the idea. My concern is that if Communist Party officials believe even 1/10th of their own rhetoric on the issue of Taiwan, then what started as a matter of pride has become a mass delusion. When government officials start using a delusion as the basis for policy, we're all in trouble.

Thanks for the information and perspective.

[Steve]

And, as they claim East Turkistan as part of China, and Formosa as part of China, (the latter due to race of the majority population, the minority population are the native Filipinos) will they not also claim indo-china (which they have sporadically fought for, and presently have a significant impact on internal policy, including the persecution of Christians) Indonesia and Australia?