Taiwan’s Democracy, Security, and Peace Can be Secured by Purchasing the State’s Independence from China

Abstract

Since the end of World War II, the status of Taiwan as an independent, sovereign state has been in a state of flux due to political machinations. For far too long the international community tolerated the political fiction that Taiwan was the “true China,” it was not. When Mao Zedong defeated Chiang Kai- Shek and retreated to Taiwan, Mao established the People’s Republic of China. Chiang Kai- Shek effectively established a new state in a different territory. The United Nations placed its imprimatur of approval on this act when it removed Taiwan and allowed the People’s Republic of China to assume representation of China in the organization. The time has come for the entirety of the global community to collectively recognize that Taiwan is its own independent state because Taiwan meets the accepted, established norms for statehood.

Moreover, the principles of international law do not support China’s assertions for reclaiming Taiwan as part of its inherent territory. To allow China to move forward in either the immediate or distant future to incorporate the territory into its land would amount to eradication of the Taiwanese culture and genocide. The Taiwanese culture is the product of influences from colonial explorers from the 1600’s and how those explorers interacted with the indigenous people already occupying the land. A reclamation effort by China would undoubtedly result in a bloody and costly genocide with substantial loss of life. The Taiwanese people have no desire to be reunited with mainland China.

Despite the economic persuasiveness of China’s purse strings, there exists strong support throughout the global community to erect barriers on the territorial expansion of China, especially when it comes to the naked land grab of Taiwan as the Inter-Pacific Alliance on China recently made clear. There is an historic opportunity to create a peaceful resolution to a problem that creates anxiety and threatens the security of more than 24 million people in Taiwan. Bring China and Taiwan together with the stated goal of allowing Taiwan to purchase its independence and sovereignty from China. If the end result is peace, then everyone in the region wins.

Keywords: Taiwan, China, United States, genocide, international law, independence, indigenous, sovereignty

JEL Classification: K33