ROC–Taiwan relations decoded

The relations between the Republic of China (ROC) and Taiwan may be the most complicated in the region. While president Ma and his supporters tend to believe that Taiwan is a part of a China called the ROC, it could be argued that more people, if not the majority, support the concept that the ROC is simply a part of Taiwanese history.

The Kuomintang brought the ROC government from the mainland in 1945. Then in 1949 the capital of the ROC relocated from Nanking to Taipei. For many pan-blue supporters, this seems to be the beginning of Taiwanese history. They probably believe that Taiwan, before the arrival of the Kuomintang government, was a barbaric island. Kuomintang brought order and democracy. Kuomintang brought wealth and modernity.

False. The ROC was not the first political settlement in Taiwan. Nor was it the start of Taiwanese history.

ROC is only part of Taiwan's 400-year history

When the Dutch ruled Taiwan, which was called Formosa at the time, they encountered aborigines who were believed to have established a supra-tribal regime now called the Kingdom of Middag by historians. The kingdom survived the rulings of not only the European colonists but also the Ming kingdom of Tungning led by Koxinga. The ROC was not the first political settlement in Taiwan, not even close.

The ROC entered much later in the history of Taiwan, after Qing rule, a short-lived 1895 Republic of Formosa, and Japanese occupation. What's interesting is that in the both the Qing and Japanese era, Taiwan was thought to be a colony of sorts by the Chinese and the Japanese. Under Qing rule, Taiwan was classified as "Huawaizhidi," a term used to describe barbarian territories outside the Han cultural sphere.

By the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Japan sought to turn the island into a "model colony" and much effort was made to improve the economy, industry, and public works. In both eras, the Taiwanese pushed for self-determination and rebelled numerous times.

The ROC administration was marked by corruption and lack of discipline. It did not bring democracy to Taiwan. Taiwan did not have a democratic government until the Tangwai movement of the 1970s. And no, the great Ma Ying-jeou was not part of the Tangwai movement.

Taiwan's relations with the ROC

So now, it should be clear that Taiwan's existence is not dependent on the existence of the ROC. However, without Taiwan, the Kuomintang regime would never have been able to survive the Chinese Civil War.

Different people have different interpretations of the relations between the ROC and Taiwan. The DPP has a clear position, as pointed out in its 1999 Resolution on Taiwan's Future, that Taiwan is an independent country that calls itself the Republic of China officially. This description, to many, is accurate because Taiwan has occupied the majority of the ROC's 100-year history.

Still to others, who believe that the ROC is the true China and that the People's Republic (PRC) is illegitimate, Taiwan is a province of China. But isn't it reasonably evident that those who support this point of view have a skewed perception of reality?

UPDATE: A recent editorial discusses the role of Taiwan's history in Taiwanese politics.