Taiwan Independence

Taiwan Independence

Taiwanese independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China (ROC) (commonly known as Taiwan), strengthen Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China (PRC) (commonly known as China and mainland China) and a Chinese identity, and obtain international recognition as a sovereign state. The success of this movement would be one possible outcome for the resolution of the political status of Taiwan. There is only one international organization that formally recognizes Taiwan, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.

This movement is supported by the Pan-Green Coalition in Taiwan, but opposed by the Pan-Blue Coalition which seeks to retain the somewhat ambiguous status quo of the ROC under the 1992 consensus, or gradually reunify with mainland China at some point. Due to the PRC's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and repeated military threats made by the PRC, a formal declaration of independence could lead to a military confrontation between the Republic of China Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army of the PRC, escalating and involving other countries, such as the United States and Japan.

The use of independence for Taiwan can be ambiguous. If some supporters articulate that they agree to the independence of Taiwan, they may either be referring to the notion of formally creating an independent Republic of Taiwan, or to the notion that Taiwan is synonymous with the current Republic of China and already is independent, which is against the People's Republic of China's claim. (See Special state-to-state relations and One Country on Each Side.) Some supporters advocate withdrawing from Kinmen and Matsu, which are controlled by Taiwan but are closer to mainland China.

Prior to 1894, both Taiwan and mainland China were ruled by the Qing Empire. Following the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded by Qing government to the Empire of Japan via the Treaty of Shimonoseki. At the end of World War II in 1945, Taiwan was taken over by the ROC forces who, then, ruled most of mainland China. Since the defeat and expulsion of the ruling Kuomintang ROC government by the Communist Party of China from mainland China in 1949, the ROC government has controlled only Taiwan and its surrounding islands. Whether the current ROC makes Taiwan already independent or not is controversial in Cross-Strait relations.