Cross-strait Relations Research Articles

Independence or Reunification? The Evolving PRC–Taiwan Relations

Abstract The article attempts to examine the relationship between Taiwan, a de facto political entity, and the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China) since 1949, the landmark year when the then ruling party KMT (The Nationalist Party) was defeated by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in the Mainland. Essentially, the narrative is focused on the government policies by the two respective political entities. The PRC pledged to unify Taiwan again and subsequently its unification policies are delineated. A two-stage schema is proposed for the analysis, albeit the second stage can be further divided into three phases. As for Taiwan, a five-stage categorization is proposed. Moreover, three sets of factors influencing the cross-Strait relations would be discussed, namely the power dynamics within the PRC, internal development inside Taiwan and the role of the USA. Finally, the implications of the coming of Trump era are outlined.

ECFA and Taiwan from the Perspective of International Law

The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is an important milestone between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan; it is also the most critical achievement in improving the close cross-strait relations since President Ma Ying-Jeou took office in 2008. This article intends to use Guzman's rational choice theory of international law to analyze Taiwan's motivation for signing ECFA under East Asian regionalism, and to speculate whether Taiwan will abide by the relevant ECFA regulations. Signing the ECFA with China is mainly to break through the predicament of Taiwan's isolation under East Asian regionalism. As the first step in cooperation with East Asia, ECFA has a significant impact on Taiwan's credibility in East Asia. Regardless of whether there is a chance to cooperate with other East Asian countries in the future, if Taiwan gets off ECFA's relevant regulations, it will cause damage to Taiwan's credibility and may even obliterate the possibility of future cooperation with East Asian countries. Therefore, from the perspective of rational choice, in order to maintain Taiwan's good reputation and look forward to more cooperation possibilities in the future, complying with the relevant ECFA regulations is an obligation that Taiwan must fulfil.

마조(媽祖)를 통해서 본 중국의 통합 전략

This thesis aims to examine the integration strategy of Chinese Communist Party focusing on Mazu which is the god of the sea. Mazu is a god who deified Lin Moniang(960-988) from Meizhoudao of Fujiansheng, China, and the central divinity is to save people who fall into the sea. As the Mazu belief grew into the national belief, it became a god who could protect the state to be able to attack the other side by raising the waves for the believers in the Ming/Qing Dynasty. And today, the Chinese Communist Party gave Mazu the status of ‘goddess of peace’ for the cross-strait integration and concentration of the Great China region after exceeding the god protecting the state.BR Even though the Mazu belief disappeared in the Chinese mainland as it was removed during the Cultural Revolution, this belief has been maintained in Taiwan and overseas Chinese society. The Chinese Communist Party that captured this point, tried hard to restore the Mazu belief after the 2000s. In 1997, the Chinese Communist Party started building up the Meizhou Mazu Shrine in Meizhoudao, as the hometown of Mazu. In 2006, the Mazu Festival was selected as the 1st national intangible cultural heritage. The UNESCO registered the Mazu belief & customs in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.BR CCTV produced and broadcasted a drama Mazu(2012). This drama not only talks about the integration of Chinese mainland and Taiwan through Mazu, but also talks about the integration of the Great China region and the integration of the world. The drama targeting Mazu is produced based on the wholehearted support by politicians taking in charge of central roles in the cross-strait relations. Also, on top of showing the high ratings in the Chinese mainland, it could be easily broadcasted even in Taiwan or other countries in Great China region as the contents handle the belief shared by Great China region.BR This study examined the process in which Mazu as the god of the sea returned to Meizhoudao, and also revealed what the Chinese Communist Party aimed to tell through Mazu focusing on Meizhou Mazu Shrine and a drama Mazu of CCTV. In the results of this study, Mazu was not the god that was voluntarily returned by the Chinese Communist Party, but the god that was returned to meizhoudao in the Chinese diaspora society. Also, by capturing this point, the Chinese Communist Party revived the Mazu belief, and tried to show a sense of kinship of Great China region through culture. However, in this process, the Great China region was divided, and the necessity of integration was exposed.

A Bayesian Equal Part Regression Analysis of the Influencing Factors of Taiwanese People’s Regime Acceptance of Mainland China and U.S. Governments

This study utilized the newly-designed Bayesian equal part regression (BEPR) model to analyze the Taiwan National Security surveyed data from 2015 in order to construct a model of Taiwanese people’s regime acceptance of Mainland China and U.S governments. The study also used the Bayesian Regression model to make a comparison with the BEPR model results and attempted to explore the fluctuations of post mean and post probability of non-zero coefficients for each independent variable in the BEPR model. The major findings are as follows: First, the first equal part of respondents who believe that China would coerce Taiwan to make concessions have the lesser negative level of the regime acceptance of Mainland China, while the second equal part of the respondents who have the same attitude have the higher negative regime acceptance level. The second equal part of respondents who deem the higher possibility of unification have the lesser positive view on the regime acceptance level. Additionally, the first equal part of respondents who have higher evaluation of cross-strait relations have lesser positive impact on the regime acceptance of Mainland China. Second, we obtain the results that the second-third of Taiwanese respondents who have the optimistic household economic outlook or agree to reduce the purchase of U.S. military weapons if Mainland China withdraws its missiles have a higher negative impact on the regime acceptance of the U.S. However, the third equal part of Taiwanese respondents who agree with the current “R.O.C.” country name have a higher negative regime acceptance level of the U.S.

The ties that bind: mutuality of political destiny between Hong Kong and Taiwan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain how post-1997 Hong Kong has been perceived in Taiwan and to critically evaluate the demonstration effects of Hong Kong under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy on cross-strait relations. Design/methodology/approach “Today’s Hong Kong, Tomorrow’s Taiwan” has become a dominant discourse in cross-strait relations in recent years. The paper has adopted discourse analysis of selected texts during and after the 2014 Sunflower Movement to elucidate the disapproval of the developments of post-handover Hong Kong and the construction of the Movement’s self-identity. Findings It has observed the following arguments which shaped the prevailing perceptions among critics of the “One Country, Two Systems” policy: political infiltration of China in Hong Kong could be extended to Taiwan in the sense that the Beijing authorities would adopt the identical approach to manipulate Taiwan through the cross-strait trading agreements; negative perceptions and images of China and Chinese capitals as a collective aggressor and a threat, raising fear and worries in both Hong Kong and Taiwan; and Kuomintang, as a ruling party at that time under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeoh, was dismissed by protesters as an incompetent gatekeeper and defender of Taiwan’s interests. Originality/value The pervasive sentiments and perceptions about post-1997 Hong Kong has been articulated discursively by the young activists in Taiwan and Hong Kong into a statement – “Today’s Hong Kong, Tomorrow’s Taiwan” – which has brought about a somewhat unexpected bonding effect between Hong Kong and Taiwan through a strong disapproval of “One Country, Two Systems” and the China factor, which has be reproduced, delivered and circulated in both societies since 2014.

Taiwan’s ‘people-centered’ New Southbound Policy and its impact on US–Taiwan relations

Taiwan’s relations with South and Southeast Asia have become the focus of scholarly discussion since it proposed the New Southbound Policy (NSP) in 2016. Few touch on the NSP’s effect on Taiwan’s relations with countries outside the NSP targets. This paper argues that the NSP has a positive effect on US–Taiwan relations. The people-centered approach of the NSP helps the Taiwanese government create a credible commitment to a moderate foreign policy. It signals Taiwan’s resolve to uphold the US interests in Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s policy direction has received the US’s approval, resulting in cordial US–Taiwan relations. The public supports from the US have strengthened Taiwan’s confidence under tense cross-Strait relations. Recently, the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy provides Taiwan an opportunity to establish a closer tie with the US. But the prospect of bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region depends on a clear proposal.

Citizenship education and music education: exploring the crossroads between globalisation and localisation in Taiwan

ABSTRACTIn recent decades, the goals of education worldwide have included preparing students for the changing role of citizenship in a globally integrated world. With particular reference to Taiwan’s education, this paper will adopt a qualitative content analysis of official documents, selected music textbooks, and other relevant literatures to demonstrate the transmission of music cultures and extra-musical learning of song singing in Taiwan as it relates to citizenship in the local-global context. Despite the inclusion of traditional Chinese music and other world music in the school curriculum, music education for citizenship has placed more emphasis on the Taiwanese-centred narrative in line with the shifting cross-strait relationship between Taiwan and Mainland China. Given this complex context of the dynamics of local and global citizenship, songs from both local and foreign literatures have been selected for the learning of love, religion, and multiple relationships with family, friends, schoolmates, the local community, and the planet to demonstrate the development of citizenship education in a liberal and communitarian construction in the music curriculum.

Sustainable Reuse of Military Facilities with a Carbon Inventory: Kinmen, Taiwan

Military government was lifted from Kinmen in 1992. The opening-up of cross-strait relations transformed the island into a tourist destination. This transformation led to electricity and water shortages in Kinmen. With the reduction in the number of troops, military facilities fell into disuse and are now being released for local government use. The aim of this project was to monitor the carbon footprint of a reused military facility during renovation of the facility. The LCBA-Neuma system, a local carbon survey software developed by the Low Carbon Building Alliance (LCBA) and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, was used in this project. The system analyzes the carbon footprint of the various phases of the building life cycle (LC) during renovation and carbon compensation strategies were employed to achieve the low carbon target. This project has pioneered the transformation of a disused military facility using this approach. The carbon footprint of energy uses during post-construction operation (CFeu) accounted for the majority of carbon emissions among all stages, at 1,088,632.19 kgCO2e/60y, while the carbon footprint of the new building materials (CFm) was the second highest, at 214,983.66 kgCO2e/60y. Installation of a solar cell system of 25.2 kWp on the rooftop as a carbon offset measure compensated for an estimated 66.1% of the total life-cycle carbon emissions. The findings of this study show that the process of reusing old military facilities can achieve the ultimate goal of zero carbon construction and sustainable development.

“We are Not Your Enemies!” — Analyzing the Situation of Mainland Chinese Students (Lusheng) in Taiwan

The shortage of enrollment in Taiwanese universities has become more serious in recent years. To prevent their closure, Taiwanese universities have committed themselves to recruiting more students from mainland China (lusheng) as a way to increase financial income. However, due to national security reasons, specially designed restricted policies have been imposed on lusheng by Taiwanese government, leading to low rate of satisfaction toward their education experience and later the number of registered lusheng falling below the expected level. The changing Cross-Strait relation is also affecting the outcomes of the policies on lusheng’s recruitment. This article analyzes the reasons for the unsuccessful experience of recruiting lusheng in Taiwanese universities with a two-direction push-and-pull model. The primary data was collected through semi-formal interviews with the same group of 25 degree-seeking lusheng in Taiwan in two time periods (2014 and 2016). We argue that a fundamental reform is necessary for improving the current situation, and at the same time point out several misconceptions held by Taiwanese scholars and policy makers.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait

Despite China’s recent menacing rhetorical and military gestures, armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait remains unlikely in the near-term. Chinese military intimidation has failed to achieve its desired effects on the Taiwanese population, whose identity is increasingly distinct from that of mainland Chinese. It is possible, however, that a change of government in Taipei next year will lead to closer cross-strait relations.

US Taiwan Policy during the George W. Bush Administration (2001-2009)

The purpose of this article is to analyze the United States’ (US) Taiwan policy during the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009)—specifically, how Washington actively opposed Taiwanese independence during this period. After the Korean War (1950), the US’s official policy on Taiwan was to “neutralize” and prevent war across the Taiwan Strait, thereby maintaining the status quo in the region. During the 1950´s and 1960´s, the US successfully prevented Chinese attempts to invade Taiwan. However, the dynamic of the cross-strait relations changed drastically in the 1990´s, following Taiwan’s political liberalization and the emergence of the Taiwanese independence movement. During the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009), Taiwan was ruled by the pro-independence Chen Shui-bian (2000-2008), which increased cross-strait tensions. In order to satisfy its own geopolitical interests, the US actively denied support to this movement, boycotting Chen´s attempts to declare Taiwan´s independence. This paper concludes that the core of the US’s Taiwan policy is to prevent alteration of the status quo or threat of war in the region, while using the “Taiwan Card” as a bargaining chip in bilateral negotiations with China.

Jonathan Sullivan and Chun-Yi Lee, eds., A New Era in Democratic Taiwan: Trajectories and Turning Points in Politics and Cross-Strait Relations

Jonathan Sullivan and Chun-Yi Lee, eds., A New Era in Democratic Taiwan: Trajectories and Turning Points in Politics and Cross-Strait Relations

Personality Traits and Individual Attitude toward the Independence–Unification Issue in Taiwan

This study examines the effects of the Big Five personality traits on individual attitude toward the independence–unification issue in Taiwan. Using an original dataset, this study finds that extraversion and openness to experience are significantly associated with individual attitude toward the independence–unification issue. Specifically, a higher level of extraversion is associated with an increased likelihood of support for unification with China, whereas a higher level of openness to experience is associated with an increased likelihood of support for Taiwan independence. Moreover, higher levels of extraversion and openness to experience increase the likelihood of support for change in cross-strait relations. Also, there are no gender-differentiated effects of personality traits on individual attitude toward the independence–unification issue. Overall, this study concludes that personality traits can provide some explanatory power for individual attitude toward the independence–unification issue. Therefore, personality traits merit more serious attention in the analysis of Taiwanese peoples’ positions on cross-strait relations.

CONTEMPORARY CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS: A GLANCE AT THE PAST AND THE NEW RISING NATIONAL IDENTITY

Ever since Tsai Ing-wen came to power, the relations between People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, has been hitting a new low point. Now, China’s domineering stance towards the small island across the strait is stronger than ever. Before Tsai Ing-wen, under the rule of Kuomintang (KMT) the situation was not like this, it was calmer and more cooperative. The regime change brought about major changes towards Taiwan’s stance and opinion towards China. It is very important to understand what the main cause of this turning point is. This article looks back at the history between KMT and the now reigning party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to explain this phenomenon and has found that there is a fundamental difference between the two. Using the Social Identity Theory, this article tries to explain the difference between KMT’s and the DPP’s point of view on the Cross-Strait Relations. DPP has long viewed Taiwan as an independent nation, dating back to 1999 when the ‘Resolution on Taiwan’s Future’ was written. Now, as the elected president is from the DPP, their resolution is on full swing.

Hong Kong 2020: The downfall of «one country two systems»

The year 2020 started with President Tsai winning a second term and the DPP obtaining once again a parliamentary majority in the general elections held on 11 January. By the end of the year, Taiwan emerged as one of the few polities able to effectively put the COVID-19 pandemic under control. More impressively, it was able to do so without resorting to lockdown strategies, relying instead on timely decision-making and effective tracing, testing, and treating. Taiwan’s success, in turn, amplified the island’s relevance in Asia-Pacific international politics. Foreign support for expanding its access to international organizations, and especially the WHO in light of the pandemic, reached new heights, but it met Beijing’s vehement pushback. Chinese military pressure, a constant across the Strait since 2016, reached new heights, as the PLA Air Force routinized operations within Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone. The policies of the outgoing Trump administration, which accelerated the freefall of Sino-American relations and continued to dramatically expand the scope of Washington’s relations with Taiwan, further exacerbated cross-Strait relations. The worsening security environment, however, did not hinder a Tsai administration buoyed by the successful management of the pandemic, economic growth, and widespread refusal of China’s strategy for unification among the public. Conversely, the KMT, Taiwan’s major position party, after a brief flirt with populist politics with the failed presidential candidature of Han Kuo-yu, continued to struggle under the new leadership of Johnny Chiang. Post-electoral calls for reforming the party and move its China policy away from the 1992 Consensus did not produce any meaningful change.

Economic Implications Under Cross-Strait Exchanges -Take Taiwanese College Students as an Example

In the current development of cross-strait relations, Taiwanese college students are undoubtedly the most important ethnic group. In October 2015, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the CPC proposed to deepen Cross-Strait economic cooperation in a mutually beneficial and win-win way and benefit more ordinary Taiwanese young people as well as the small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2017, Yu Zheng Sheng, chairman of the Mainland Political Consultative Conference, mentioned at the CPPCC National Committee meeting: we will strengthen exchanges with Taiwan's grassroots people and young generations and build a solid foundation for the peaceful development of Cross-Strait relations. We can see that the fight for the goodwill and recognition of young people toward Mainland will remain the top priority of Mainland China s work on Taiwan. To win the recognition of Taiwanese youth for the Mainland has actually been implemented for years. In the past, Taiwanese students were invited to visit and explore Mainland China in summer and winter vocations, expected to enhance their feelings towards Chinese people and promote their recognition of the Mainland China. With the gradual opening up of Cross-Strait policies and the wide-and-deep exchange of views, the concrete result has become the focus of common concern across the Taiwan Strait. The empirical results from the questionnaire survey in this study explain the specific impact of Cross-Strait exchange on Taiwanese students. In particular, the study has indeed demonstrated its significant impact on many aspects of the college students' career and entrepreneurial awareness and willingness propositions.

Conflict and Integration of the Cross-Strait Relations : Building a New Model of Interaction?

Conflict and Integration of the Cross-Strait Relations : Building a New Model of Interaction?

Generation effects? Evolution of independence–unification views in Taiwan, 1996–2016

The landslide victory of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan's 2016 presidential and legislative elections is often interpreted as a persistent swing in attitudes toward cross-strait relations and Taiwan independence. Popular as this interpretation may be, it still runs the risk of mistaking a short-term reaction to a lame duck president's policy performance for a long-term change in attitudes.This study analyzes the evolution of independence–unification (IU) views in the Taiwan population from 1996 to 2016. After reviewing the literature on political generations in Taiwan, I hypothesize that a long-term cohort succession replacing older prounification generations accounted for the evolution toward proindependence views. By pooling six independent face-to-face surveys into repeated cross-sectional data, this study applies a comprehensive multilevel cross-classified random-effect model of age–period–cohort analysis. Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation results confirm that, besides age and period effects, younger cohorts and the 1999 Taiwan-centered high school curriculum have had significant effects on the change in trends in IU views.

Taiwan’s opening policy to Chinese tourists and cross-strait relations: The impacts on inbound tourism into Taiwan

This article aims to analyze the impact of Taiwan’s 2008 opening policy to Chinese tourists and the effects of cross-strait relations on both Chinese and non-Chinese inbound tourists into Taiwan, with controls in place for other factors. Using annual country-level panel data over the 2000–2016 period, along with the application of the generalized method of moments approach and several static panel data models, the empirical results suggest that while Taiwan’s opening policy to Chinese tourists has had an enhancement effect, there has been no crowding-out effect on either Chinese or non-Chinese inbound tourists into Taiwan. In addition, the cross-strait relations are found to have a negative effect on non-Chinese inbound tourists, but a positive effect on Chinese inbound tourists visiting Taiwan. We conclude that, compared to non-Chinese inbound tourists into Taiwan, the Chinese inbound tourists into Taiwan is both economically and politically oriented.

Reimagining Taiwan? The EU’s Foreign Policy and Strategy in Asia

The European Union’s (EU’s) Taiwan policies have been dominated by trade and economic concerns due to the absence of a security profile and China’s insistence on Taiwan belonging to China. This neglect of a political role of the EU in East Asia is often regarded as a central strategic weakness of the EU. With a new government in office in Taiwan since 2016, Cross-Strait relations have worsened; this challenges EU’s ambitions to become a strategic actor in the region. Apart from security and economy, other political aspects of bilateral relations have remained almost unnoticed in the literature. This article addresses EU’s Taiwan policies from a different perspective. Instead of a hierarchic foreign policy exploration with security issues predominating, here, a multidimensional mosaic of EU’s Taiwan relations is analysed breadthways. From this standpoint, one can see that EU’s profile in Taiwan has increased considerably in recent years. These broadened bilateral relations may also support the EU’s wider political and strategic interests in the region altogether. The EU could help Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy align with EU’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations strategy, and thus support a rule-based strategy in the Far East.