Taiwan

Why in news?

• Recently Taiwan has come under increased military and political pressure from Beijing to accept its sovereignty, but Taipei has pledged to defend their freedom and that only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
• China's air force mounted four straight days of incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone from October 1, involving close to 150 aircraft.
• The USA has reaffirmed its support for Taiwan following China's incursions

About Taiwan :

• Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island state in East Asia.
• Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the north-east, and the Philippines to the south.
• Taipei is the capital and largest metropolitan area.

Political status:

• The political status of Taiwan remains uncertain.
• People's Republic of China (PRC) claims Taiwan as part of territory of China which will be eventually reunified.
• PRC refuses diplomatic relations with countries that recognize the ROC/Taiwan.
• Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Asian Development Bank under various names like Chinese Taipei.

Historical background:

• China and Taiwan separated amid civil war in 1949 and China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be taken control of by force if necessary.
• But Taiwan's leaders say that Taiwan is a sovereign state.
• After decades of hostile intentions and angry rhetoric, relations between China and Taiwan started improving in the 1980s. China put forward a formula, known as "one country, two systems", under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification.
• Taiwan rejected the offer, but the government did relax rules on visits to and investment in China.
• Beijing considers Taiwan's Republic of China (ROC) government is illegitimate >> and hence government-to-government contact does not happen. But there were some talks between the two sides' unofficial representatives.
• China's implementation of a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 >> makes Taiwan more suspicious of China’s increasing assertiveness.

What is One-China policy:

• ‘One-China policy’ is a policy saying that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, despite the fact that there are two states, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC).
• While most countries acknowledge this policy, and does not recognize an independent Taiwan, they also establish unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan’s government.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Arrange the following cities in the map of world from south to north:

1. Taipei

2. Hong Kong

3. Shanghai

4. Beijing

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 2-1-3-4

(b) 1-3-2-4

(b) 4-3-2-1

(d) 1-2-4-3

Answer