My Country is a Country

Taiwan is a country, and it is a fact.

Matsu, Taiwan

Imagine if you were born in a country where the world did not recognize you as a state, and your national team was forced to compete in the Olympic games without your national anthem and flag (1), and due to another country’s suppression (2), your country was not able to become a member of United Nation — All of the terrible situations I mentioned above are the circumstances that Taiwan is encountering right now. (3)

There are two Chinas in the world (4)— The first one is the Republic of China (Taiwan (5)) which government is located in Taiwan and the other one is the People’s Republic of China (PRC) which controls mainland China. The PRC government twisted the facts so people are not aware of the actual history. The reason why there are two Chinas nowadays can be dated back to World War II (6). In 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-Sun established the Republic of China in Nanjing in order to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, which is the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, and to found a democratic and modern state. However, after World War II, the exhausted Republic of China was facing another war — the Chinese Civil War from 1945 to 1949 (7). The people’s Republic of China led by Mao Zedong started inciting farmers to challenge Chinese sovereignty (8) and the Republic of China’s government. In the end, the People’s Republic of China won the civil war and took over the entire mainland China while the original government, Republic of China, retreated to Taiwan switching its capital from Nanjing to Taipei. This was how two Chinas were formed. The Republic of China still exists but unfortunately due to militarily (9) and economic issues, the People’s Republic of China continues forcing the entire world to acknowledge Taiwan (10) is a part of the PRC (11) and compelling us to accept “One China Two Systems Policy” (12) which is what Taiwanese people don’t agree with. (13)

According to an entire population survey, 47.5% of Taiwanese are looking for independence. (14) We believe by re-entering (15) the United Nation, we would gain recognition from every nation instead of currently only 18 (16) recognizing us. If we could participate in any international organization (17), Taiwan could provide developing countries and the entire humankind help by utilizing our progressive medical level (18) and our world-ranked top 9 healthcare (19). Geographically speaking, because our location (20) is a transportation hub (21) between East Asian countries and we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the trade between different countries could be easier. Taiwan is desperate to share all the knowledge (22), skills (23), produce and human resources (24) to the whole world because we hope to contribute ourselves and make the world a better place.

As a younger Taiwanese generation, I find it difficult to speak up for ourselves or demonstrate who we are, what we can offer and where we are from to the world. Nonetheless, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and motivate (25) us to keep fighting for our nation (26). The younger generation (27) has been initiating countless activities physically or on the Internet to help promote our own country (28). I hope one day the world will accept who we are and treat us equally.

References/ Footnotes:

1. Catherine K. Lin (August 5, 2008). “How ‘Chinese Taipei’ came about”. Taipei Times.
2. Hsiao, Russell. “China’s Intensifying Pressure Campaign against Taiwan”. The Jamestown Foundation.
3. SYARU SHIRLEY LIN . “Taiwan’s China Dilemma” (2016). Stanford University Press.
4. Dreyer, June Teufel (17 July 2003). “The Evolution of a Taiwanese National Identity”. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
5. Jewel Huang (12 February 2007). “Analysis: Name changes reflect increasing ‘Taiwan identity’”. Taipei Times.
6. Loyd E. Lee. “ World War II in Asia and the Pacific and the war’s aftermath, with general themes : a handbook of literature and research.”(1998). Greenwood Press.
7. Webb, Jonathan. “The Chinese Civil War: 1945–49”. 20th Century History Review, April, 2012, Vol.7(4), p.12(4)
8. “Methods of Acquiring Sovereignty: PRESCRIPTION”. Related Topics: Sovereignty. Taiwan Documents Project.
9. Steven Jiang and Ben Westcott (24 Jul 2019) “China’s military warns against growing threat from Taiwan ‘separatists’.” CNN.
10. Blanchard, Ben (26 May 2018). “China wins back Burkina Faso, urges Taiwan’s last African ally to follow”. Reuters
11. Strong, Matthew (13 July 2019). “Taiwan forced to change name of office in Fiji due to Chinese bullying”. Taiwan News. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
12. Frank Chiang (2017). The One-China Policy: State, Sovereignty, and Taiwan’s International Legal Status. Elsevier Science.
13. Li, Thian-hok (April 15, 1956). “Our Historical Struggle for Liberty”. Free Formosans’ Formosa Newsletter. Free Formosans’ Formosa.
14. Survey of independence in Taiwan. (21 Jan 2019) Liberty Times Net.
15. United Nations General Assembly Session 26 Resolution 2758. Restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations A/RES/2758(XXVI) . 25 October 1971.
16. “Countries That Recognize Taiwan 2019”. World Population Review.
17. “International support for Taiwan’s ICAO participation gains momentum in face of China’s obstruction” (5 Oct 2019). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)
18. “Taiwanese medical team in the Solomons”. ABC Radio Australia, 28 July 2008
19. Matthew Strong (Sep 20 2018) “Taiwan rises to №9 on global list of healthcare efficiency”. Taiwan News
20. “CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS: THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF TAIWAN”(26 Feb 2018). University of Nottingham.
21. Joshua P. Meltzer (Feb 24 2014). “Taiwan’s Economic Opportunities and Challenges and the Importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership”. Brookings
22. “Taiwan and the European Union hold 2nd Human Rights Consultations” (15 May 2019). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan).
23. “SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY” Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan).
24. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s Twitter about Japanese’s gratitude for Taiwan (17 Oct 2019). Twitter.
25. Alice Su. “Must Reads: With each generation, the people of Taiwan feel more Taiwanese — and less Chinese” (15 Feb 2019). Los Angeles Times.
26. “Taiwanese people willing to fight for democracy: surveys” (19 Apr 2018). Focus Taiwan News
27. Ryan BRADING. “Taiwan’s Millennial Generation:Interests in Polity and Party Politics” (2017). Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
28. Rob Schmitz. “‘Born Independent,’ Taiwan’s Defiant New Generation Is Coming Of Age” (10 Jun 2018). NPR

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