JANUARY 2, 2016

The Politics of “Chinese Taipei”

Firstly, “Chinese Taipei”=Taiwan.

The title “Chinese Taipei” appears at international sporting events, conferences, and beauty pageants, carried largely by Mandarin-speakers of Chinese descent from the island of Taiwan. It was designed by the People’s Republic of China (mainland China) to deliberately cause confusion in its continued efforts to maintain international belief that Taiwan is a part of China.

Having personally experienced the “Chinese Taipei” situation and questioned at length about it, I decided to write this piece and shed some light on this politically-fueled situation.

In a nutshell, after the fall of the last dynasty, China was divided between a democratic Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) Party and a Communist Party. Civil war broke out. The KMT lost and retreated to Taiwan, establishing the Republic of China in Taiwan. The Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China in mainland China.

The People’s Republic of China (mainland China) refuses to acknowledge, or allow others to acknowledge, that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign nation, whereas the Republic of China (Taiwan), which has never been formally controlled by the PRC (mainland China), maintains that is it indeed a sovereign nation.

Note: I, the writer of this article, am of primarily Chinese descent. My grandparents on my mother’s side arrived in Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War from mainland China. My family on my father’s side has resided in Taiwan for at least 6 generations. I, personally, was born American and raised Canadian.

Terminology

Taiwan (臺灣) – historically known as “Formosa”, derived from the name Ilha Formosa(meaning “Beautiful Island”) given by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, currently the most well-known name of the country; often referred to as “Taiwan ROC”

Taipei (臺北) – the captial city of Taiwan; literally means “North of Taiwan”, officially known as “Taipei City” and is located at the northern tip of Taiwan

Republic of China (ROC) (中華民國) – the official name of Taiwan, also known as “Nationalist China” or “Free China”

People’s Republic of China (PRC) (中华人民共和国 or 中国) – also known as “Communist China”, “Red China”; often referred to as “Mainland China”

Kuomintang (KMT) (中國國民黨) – the democratic, Nationalist Party of the Republic of China; lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to establish the Republic of China in Taiwan

Communist Party of China (中国共产党) – the Communist Party of China; won the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China in mainland China

Chinese Taipei (中華臺北) – a title given by the PRC to representatives of Taiwan participating at international events; designed to be deliberately ambiguous about the political status and sovereignty of Taiwan ROC

A Brief History of the Island of “Taiwan”

Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish Formosa

Taiwan is historically referred to as “Formosa”, derived from the name Ilha Formosa(meaning “Beautiful Island”) which was given by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century.

The 17th century saw Taiwan under colonial rule by the Dutch East India Company to the south and Spanish colonialists to the north. The Spanish were quickly driven out by Dutch forces, giving the Dutch control over most of the island.

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Ming loyalists arrived in Taiwan, expelled the Dutch government and military, and established the Kingdom of Tungning.

Qing Rule

The Kingdom of Tungning fell after several decades and Taiwan was formally annexed into the Qing Empire in the late 17th century. Taiwan was also briefly occupied by the French during the Sino-French War.

By the late 19th century, the Qing Empire upgraded Taiwan’s administration from that of a prefecture to province and established its capital at Taipei.

Japanese Rule

The Qing Empire was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War and Taiwan came under the rule of the Empire of Japan.

Following the end of World War II and the defeat of the Japanese, the U.S. Navy ferried troops of the Republic of China (KMT) to Taiwan to accept the formal surrender of Japanese military forces.

A Tale of Two Chinas – The Chinese Civil War

The Republic of China was established after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, ending 4,000 years of imperial rule. Two sects of political ideologies emerged in within the Republic of China in the 1920s – a democratic Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) Party led by Chiang Kai-shek and a Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. The difference in opinion between these two parties as to how China should be governed moving forward plunged the country into civil war.

The KMT and the Communist Parties ceased fighting and joined forces to counter Japanese invasions during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and resumed a year following Japan’s surrender.

Eventually, the KMT Party was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, establishing the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The KMT declared Taipei the temporary “wartime” capital of the Republic of China and believed that they would one day return to take mainland China. The Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China, with Beijing as its capital.

Both the ROC and the PRC claimed to be the sole and legitimate China. The ROC was recognized as the legitimate government of China by the UN until 1971 when the UN expelled the ROC in favor of the PRC. The ROC has since lobbied on multiple occasions to regain a seat in the UN but with no avail, largely due to protests from the PRC.

My mother, who parents arrived in Taiwan with the KMT, recalls the death of KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek in 1975 in Taiwan. All of the Chinese who had fled the Community Party in China were in mourning, saying, “now that our leader is gone, who will take us back home?”

As the years pass, there is less and less recognition of Taiwan as the ROC, but rather simply as Taiwan, and the PRC as China. Both countries operate completely independently of each other with their own government and currency.

China maintains that Taiwan is a part of China whereas Taiwan maintains that it is its own sovereign nation.

To this day, no formal armistice or peace treaty has been signed, therefore it is debated whether the Chinese Civil War has legally ended.

My Personal Experience with “Chinese Taipei”

In November of 2015, I was sent to Poland to represent Taiwan at the 7th edition of the Miss Supranational pageant. While less well-known than the long-running Miss Universe and Miss World competitions, Miss Supranational is considered to be among similar ranks in terms of prestige. Taiwan does not typically send representatives to Miss Universe or Miss World.

My national director signed an agreement with World Beauty Association (WBA), the organizers of Miss Supranational, to send a contestant representing the country of “Taiwan” to the competition. When contestant photos were posted online, we noticed that I had been given the title “Chinese Taipei” and not “Taiwan.”

Following correspondences with WBA revealed that they were firm with their stance that I was to wear the name “Chinese Taipei” throughout the competition, because it is the name that the UN officially assigned to representatives of Taiwan at international events. We were given the option of dropping out of the competition.

After discussion, we decided to continue with the competition and wear the name “Chinese Taipei” with pride. Irrespective of the politics and mild annoyances of having to explain time and again to curious contestants and support staff, “Chinese Taipei” is still a symbol of my home country, which I was honored to have the opportunity to represent internationally. WBA was so kind as to provide me with a sash that read “Taiwan” as a personal keepsake. However, I was not allowed to wear it during the competition.

Throughout my time at Miss Supranational, I was often asked questions such as:

• “Why does your sash say ‘Chinese’? Are you a part of China?”
• “Where is ‘Chinese Taipei’?”
• “Is that a country? I’ve never heard of it.”
• “How are you different from China?”
• “Oh, it’s Taiwan. But why aren’t you wearing a sash that says ‘Taiwan’?”

It was too difficult to explain the situation so I usually simply answered, “Politics.”

At the competition, private interviews were conducted in groups of 5 so I was able to hear some of the questions the other contestants were asked. Everyone was requested to give a personal introduction and elaborate on some aspect of their lives. I was asked, much to my alarm, “Does it bother you to wear a sash that says ‘Chinese Taipei’?”

I believe that politics and international pageantry (as well as sporting events) should not be mixed, but nevertheless answered as eloquently as I could. Turns out my response impressed the judges so much I placed Top 3 for Best In Interview out of 82 contestants.

Miss Supranational private interviews

Top 3 for Best In Interview at Miss Supranational

My Personal Thoughts Regarding “Chinese Taipei”

Here is my answer to “Does it bother you to wear a sash that says ‘Chinese Taipei’?” that placed me Top 3 for Best In Interview at Miss Supranational.

I replied that I feel it is unfair that representatives of Taiwan must perform under a pseudonym imposed upon them by the People’s Republic of China. The “Chinese Taipei” name was created by the People’s Republic of China in an effort to convince the international community that Taiwan is a part of China, that Taiwan does not exist on an international front, and simply to cause confusion.

As previously mentioned, Taiwan, as the Republic of China was ousted from the UN by the People’s Republic of China in 1971 and has since been prevented from being reinstated due to diplomatic pressure by the much larger and more powerful PRC. I told the judges that I also feel this is unfair, because Taiwan is, by all respects, its own sovereign state and has never been controlled by the PRC.

Furthermore, I said that I believe Taiwan deserves to have its seat reinstated in the UN because Taiwan is able to offer a wealth of knowledge different than that of China. Taiwan is a well-governed democracy whereas China identifies itself as communist yet possesses a shockingly high Gini coefficient (income disparity between a nation’s residents). As a result, the knowledge base that can be offered by both countries to the UN, identified as an intergovernmental organization that promotes international cooperation, is drastically different.

I also said that I believe Hong Kong and Macau (both of which also had representatives at Miss Supranational, wearing sashes that read plainly “Hong Kong” and “Macau”) also deserve seats in the UN. Hong Kong was a British colony until its lease expired in 1997 (triggering a massive flood of emigration) and was returned to the PRC. Macau was administered by Portugal until 1999 when it was transferred also to the PRC. Both regions now legally belong to China but are each considered a “Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China” and formally referred to as “Hong Kong SAR” and “Macau SAR.” Both retain their autonomous governments, currencies, and cultures that are vastly different from that of the PRC. I also mentioned the Umbrella Revolution – a series of riots that occurred in Hong Kong in the latter part of 2014 in protest to the PRC attempting to impose pre-selected candidates for the upcoming Hong Kong presidential election. The way the protests were handled proved differentiation between Hong Kong and China.

I concluded by saying that I believe the PRC should loosen their hand on its surrounding states/nations of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan and work together to build a collective future for the Chinese people instead of inevitably dividing us through a forceful attempt at unification.

The many names of “Taiwan” I’ve worn at international events

I received two sashes but was only allowed to wear the one that says “Chinese Taipei”

2015 Controversies in Pageantry Associated with The People’s Republic of China

Throughout the month of November, when I was in Poland representing Taiwan at the Miss Supranational pageant, the People’s Republic of China became mired in controversial news associated with international pageantry.

Taiwan’s representative at the Miss Earth pageant was asked to leave the competition for refusing to wear a sash that reads “Chinese Taipei.” News reports say that she was told that she could either wear “Chinese Taipei” or leave the competition. She chose to leave.

A week prior, Canada’s representative for Miss World, held in Sanya, China, was denied a visa to enter China because she is a follower of Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual practice that faces heavy prosecution in mainland China. Her father, who still lives in China, was then threatened by Chinese security agents.

This continues to demonstrate China’s repression of any political, religious, technological (read: the Great Firewall of China), journalistic, etc. schools of thought, advancements, entities, or reports that do not align with their self-assigned government in Beijing. Powerful country as China is, both hard and soft power is exercised in an attempt to maintain their image and totalitarian authority.

In Summary

The Republic of China was founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1912 following the fall of Qing Dynasty, the last Chinese dynasty. Two branches of government surfaced: the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) Party led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zhedong.

Civil war broke out, eventually resulting in the defeat of the KMT. The KMT Party evacuated to Taiwan, and established the Republic of China in Taiwan while the Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China in mainland China.

Throughout history, Taiwan has been occupied by the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch, two Chinese dynasties, the French, the Japanese, and the democratic Republic of China. Taiwan has never been under the rule of the People’s Republic of China.

Regardless, despite whatever political tensions exist, mainland China and Taiwan maintain close economic ties. Chinese people do business, make friends, marry, etc. irrespective of which state/nation their allegiance is to.

http://www.girlgonewandering.com/the-politics-of-chinese-taipei/