Preface

Islands can raise unique questions on national sovereignty. They have clearly defined borders that mark them as separate; yet this separateness especially when combined with small size does not automatically confer sovereignty. They are more prone to be "discovered, claimed or annexed" by other countries seeking benefit from their strategic location or resources and ignoring the resident population.

The Spratly Islands, for example, are a series of small, barely habitable islands, reefs and cays that lie in the South China Sea between Vietnam and the Philippines. For strategic purposes, France (then governing Vietnam) occupied the islands between 1933 and 1939; the Japanese had a submarine base there during World War II. In 1951, however, Japan renounced all claims to the Spratlys. Six other countries, Brunei, Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, the Republic of China and Vietnam, all hundreds of miles from the islands, quickly staked a claim to sovereignty over the islands. Why? The reasons were simple, strategic influence and the possibility of oil and mineral deposits.

Most of these six nations have stationed military personnel on different islands of the Spratlys to claim de facto ownership; all are searching the past to support de jure claims. Several of the nations are negotiating on how to settle claims; two nations, the People's Republic of China and Vietnam have already had a military conflict over the nearby Paracel Islands.

The Falkland Islands (some 300 miles off the southern tip of Argentina) are another example though different in history. Here Argentina and Great Britain continue to dispute sovereignty rights. Argentina bases its claim on papal bulls of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas that ceded the islands to Spain. Since Argentina overthrew Spanish rule in 1816, it contends that it owns the islands. The British claim that they had settlements in the latter 1700's and have had de facto rule over the islands since 1833; they wish the sovereignty of the islands to be the result of self- determination as recognized in the United Nations charter. England and Argentina went to war over these islands in 1982 and their status is still in dispute.

Taiwan is a large island situated at the juncture of the Ryukyu Islands extending down from the islands of Japan and the Batan Islands extending up from the islands of the Philippines. In square miles, Taiwan is larger than the combined area of the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut or that of the country of Belgium. It lies 100 miles off the southeast coast of mainland China, a distance further than that of Cuba to the United States. Nevertheless, the Republic of China on Taiwan has had its own history of nations looking to utilize its position.

The population of Taiwan is larger than that of 75% of the countries in the United Nations. Countries like Liechtenstein with little over 32,000 people or the island kingdom of Palau (Belau) with approximately 19,000 people are voting members of the UN; Taiwan with over 23,000,000 people has lost its vote. How it lost its seat in the UN is part of its complex situation, but the irony remains that Palau with only 19,000 could vote on matters concerning the 23,000,000 of Taiwan.

In economy Taiwan has consistently ranked in the top 15 among all the nations of the world. Other countries gladly trade with Taiwan and treat it as a separate country economically, culturally and most other ways. Still, they will not give it political recognition and diplomatic status. The dispute lies with the claim that the People's Republic of China makes to Taiwan, and the fact that such countries do not wish to challenge this disparity and jeopardize their opportunities with the greater China market.

What defines a nation? When new countries and nations emerge from changing borders created by world war, by colonial-ism and by economics, historians face this repeating question. Is it historic possession? Ethnic background? De facto might makes right? De jure agreements? What makes a nation a nation and what confers national sovereignty? Does self-determination or democracy enter into the equation?

Ryotaro Shiba (司馬遼太郎), the Japanese historical novelist, addressed this issue in his work Kaido O Yuku-Taiwan-Hen. He further ponders the question of nationhood each time he travels to Taiwan, for Taiwan more than any other place has constantly had to adapt to the problem of defining its nationhood.

At least five different flags have flown over Taiwan in the past four hundred years. With each new regime, the people on the island have had to make adaptations. Whether it be to new tax laws, languages, religions, ideologies etc., the people of the island were compelled to change their life style to fit in with each new government. These changing circumstances of having a variety of new rulers can create confusion but can also create a unique identity.

Amidst all this change, has an incoming regime ever asked the people of the island what their aspirations are? This lack of consideration is the deep, underlying meaning of what Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the first directly elected president of Taiwan, conveyed in conversations with Mr. Shiba in 1995 as Lee spoke of the "Taiwanese Sadness."

The reality of Taiwan's ambivalent situation is still evident in its current struggles with democracy. At the end of 1945, after being a part of the Japanese Empire for fifty years, the island found itself with two distinct resident groups of people. One was the majority Taiwanese who had settled the island for more than one hundred years and aspired to self-government or at least self-representation. The other was the Kuomintang (KMT) the Chinese Nationalist government retreating from mainland China.The KMT did not exist when Japan acquired Taiwan, but had been given the island by the Allies after World War II in accord with the Cairo Declaration of 1943. At this conference in North Africa, President Roosevelt, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and Prime Minister Churchill issued the following general statement.

The three great Allies are fighting this war to restrain and punish the aggression of Japan. They covet no gain for themselves and have no thought of territorial expansion. It is their purpose that Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the first World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China. Japan will also be expelled from all other territories which she has taken by violence and greed. The aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent. (Cairo Declaration.)

Fleeing the communists with whom they were losing a civil war, the KMT settled and governed the island. By 1949 the KMT numbered some two million Chinese, including soldiers, public servants and refugees. Some Taiwanese have called it their most recent invasion. The end result was that people with two different ideologies found themselves living on one island, creating a sense of "Two Republics on One Island." One could be called the Republic of Taiwan, the other the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Taiwan has seen many governments; the aborigines were the original settlers, later came the Dutch, the Spanish, the Ming Loyalists, the Ch'ing Manchus, the Japanese and the KMT. Ironically, the People' s Republic of China, a government whose flag had never flown over the island, now claims the island.

Political power on Taiwan has been transferred so frequently in the past four centuries that the people of Taiwan are to be credited with a remarkable resiliency and capability to adjust to each new set of circumstances. A proverb states, "Policy is usually made by government, counter measures always come from the people." The recent elections of March 2000 represent a different changing of the guard. The people of Taiwan directly and freely chose their leader from the opposition party. It was a peaceful transference of power and one that may mark a new era between the Taiwanese and KMT.

The following brief work hopes to show that, though Taiwan has often been a pawn and/or a political football in its past, its people have their own perspective on this diverse history. It is their feelings on this issue that explain the reason why 70% of the population supported President Lee Teng-hui's directive that all dealings with the People' s Republic of China should be done on a "state to state within one country" basis.

This work will look at Taiwan and its history primarily from the sixteenth century when the European powers entered the picture and its diverse identity began to take shape. It will draw from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources.

The work can be read not only as a brief history of this controversial island, but also as a case study that presents the deeper complex questions and issues involved in nationhood and sovereignty. As such we hope it can be used as a reference, supplement or discussion source for history, political science, sociology and other courses. Probing questions will be raised at the end of each chapter to encourage further study and analysis.

At the end of each chapter, we provide a few works that interested readers can read if they wish more detailed information on the topics addressed. There is no attempt to be all-inclusive or to be evaluative on the vast amount of works available. Since our research has drawn from Chinese, English and Japanese sources we will list from all three languages. For those who read only English, we ask their indulgence.

The second edition contains an update on Chen Shui-bian's first year in office, and quotes from President Truman as regards Taiwan' s status in 1950. The statements from the Cairo Conference, Potsdam Conference and the San Francisco Treaty formerly presented in an appendix have been incorporated into the text.

As regards romanization of Chinese characters, the Pin-yin system will be favored, except for instances where the Wade-Giles system (used in Taiwan) has made such usage more commonplace. Chinese characters will be placed after the first mention of names for clarification.