Taiwan Question and China's Reunification: Value of White Paper

Xu Tang,  Xinyu Luo and Fang Luo

    On August 10, 2022, the Taiwan Province Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Council Press Office jointly released the "Taiwan Province Question and the Cause of China's Reunification in the New Era" white paper (referred to as the "22nd White Paper"), marking the second time the Chinese government has published a white paper on the Taiwan Province issue. The previous two publications were "The Unification of Taiwan Province and China" in 1993 and "The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Province Issue" in 2000. It is worth noting that the 22nd edition of the White Paper is a document of great strategic significance and time value, issued at a critical moment when the People's Liberation Army organized a "round-the-island military exercise" after US House Speaker Pelosi's surprise visit to Taiwan Province on August 2^nd, 2022.

Firstly, The Strategic Significance of the White Paper "Taiwan Province Question and the Cause of China's Reunification in the New Era". It has provided a strong strategic guarantee for cracking down on Taiwan independence separatist forces and promoting cross-strait peaceful reunification. "Strive for peaceful reunification but don't promise to give up the use of force" is the strategic goal and fundamental bottom line clearly put forward in the 1993 and 2010 editions of the white paper around the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan Province issue. On this basis, before the expression "strive for peaceful reunification", the 22nd edition of the White Paper emphasizes "will continue to strive for it with the greatest sincerity and best efforts", and after the expression "but does not promise to give up the use of force", it adds "reserve the option of taking all necessary measures". The change of this expression and the firmness of its wording have greatly demonstrated the strategic determination and determination of the China government in dealing with the Taiwan Province issue. At the same time, the 22nd edition of the White Paper also clarifies the target of the necessary measures, that is, "it is aimed at the interference of external forces and a very small number of' Taiwan independence' separatists and their separatist activities, and it is by no means aimed at Taiwan Province compatriots. Non-peaceful means will be the last choice made as a last resort." This has not only shattered the illusion of Taiwan independence elements trying to split China but also pointed out the direction for the vast number of compatriots in Taiwan Province who promote and support the peaceful reunification of the two sides of the strait.

   It has injected a strong spiritual impetus into uniting compatriots on both sides of the strait to forge ahead and realize the great rejuvenation of the nation. Looking back, Taiwan Province was ceded to Japan only after the poor and weak late Qing government was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which humiliated the country. In order to recover Taiwan Province, the people of China fought tirelessly for it from generation to generation. It was not until the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Surrender Clause, and other documents were signed and came into effect one after another that China recovered Taiwan in law and fact. In this historical process, it is not difficult to see that opposing territorial division and pursuing peaceful reunification have always been the core values of the Chinese nation; achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has always been the greatest dream of the Chinese people in modern times. As summarized in the 22nd edition of the White Paper, the Taiwan Province issue is caused by ethnic weakness and chaos, and it will be solved with the national rejuvenation. Only by extensively rallying forces and peacefully solving the Taiwan Province issue can we continuously enhance the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the strait, create a happier and better future, and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This is undoubtedly a tonic and a stone for compatriots on both sides of the strait to unite and forge ahead.

It provides a practical action guide for efforts to promote cross-strait peaceful development and deepen exchanges and cooperation. On November 7, 2015, the leaders of the two sides of the strait met for the first time since 1949. On a common political basis, the competent departments of cross-strait affairs on both sides have established a normalized communication mechanism, and exchanges and cooperation between the government and the people in various fields have become increasingly extensive. However, after the COVID-19 outbreak, the Taiwan authorities unilaterally suspended the "mini three links", which seriously affected the economic development in the Jinma area and the normal cross-strait exchanges. In this regard, the 22nd edition of the White Paper points out that it is necessary to eliminate all kinds of interference and obstruction, deepen cross-strait integration and development, and lay a solid foundation for peaceful reunification. Action guidance has been given to restore normal cross-strait relations, close exchanges and cooperation, and promote peaceful development.

Secondly, The Time Value of the White Paper "Taiwan Province Question and the Cause of China's Reunification in the New Era". It has been systematically demonstrated that Taiwan Province is an inseparable part of China. According to the description in the 22nd edition of the White Paper, the earliest record about Taiwan Province is the Coastal Soil and Water Records of the Three Kingdoms Period. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, successive dynasties in China have begun to set up administrative offices in Penghu and Taiwan Province, and since then, they have not changed. Although there was a regime change when New China was founded, the subjects of international law, sovereignty, and inherent territory remained unchanged. In October 1971, the 26th United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 2758, which decided to restore all the rights of the People's Republic of China  and made it clear that the government of the People's Republic of China was the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Since then, the United Nations has called Taiwan Province "Taiwan Province, the Province of China", which has become a convention. These historical facts, legal documents, and political practices demonstrate that Taiwan and the mainland share the same roots and cannot be separated.

    It has enriched and developed new solutions to the Taiwan Province issue in the new era. With the ups and downs of the situation in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the 22nd edition of the White Paper has also optimized and improved the major policies for the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan Province issue on the basis of the previous two editions. First, the national policy has changed from "opposing independence" to "pursuing reunification". The 22nd edition of the White Paper changed the 93rd edition of "Never turn a blind eye to any act of creating' Taiwan Province independence"" to "The long-standing political differences between the two sides of the strait are the general root that affects the stability and far-reaching cross-strait relations and can never be passed down from generation to generation", which fully embodies the Chinese government's will and determination to pursue the complete reunification of the motherland. Second, strive to master more initiative and dominance through specific measures. Focusing on the core issue that Taiwan Province will implement a "high degree of autonomy" after peaceful reunification, the 93rd and 00th editions of the White Paper all indicate that any issue can be discussed on the political basis of one China. However, in the 22nd edition of the White Paper, it is only stated that "Taiwan Province can exercise a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region", and it is emphasized that it must be "on the premise of ensuring national sovereignty, security, and development interests", and the original statement that "the mainland will not send troops or administrative personnel to Taiwan" has been deleted, making the position firmer and the bottom line clearer.

   It fully demonstrates Chinese government's firm belief and core leadership in achieving complete national reunification. The 22nd edition of the White Paper systematically sorts out the unremitting efforts and contributions of previous leading collectives to easing cross-strait relations and promoting peaceful reunification after the founding of New China. At the beginning of the founding of New China, Chinese government crushed the Taiwan authorities' attempt to "counterattack the mainland" and promoted the international community to form a general consensus on the "One China" principle. Later, with the proposal of "one country, two systems", the conclusion of the "1992 Consensus" and the implementation of "two-way, three links", cross-strait relations also ushered in a new situation of peaceful development. Since the 18th National Congress, the Chinese Communists, mainly represented by Chinese president Xi Jinping, have comprehensively grasped the changing times in cross-strait relations, enriched and developed the theory of national unification and the policy towards Taiwan, and continued to push cross-strait relations in the right direction. Chinese government has always been the chief architect and pilot to peacefully resolve the Taiwan Province issue and promote the complete reunification of the country, which fully demonstrates his firm political belief and core leadership role.

(Xu Tang , lecturer, Baize Institute of Strategic Studies, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, P. R. China; Xinyu Luo , researcher at Baize Institute of Strategic Studies, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, P. R. China. Fang Luo, researcher at Kunming Frontier Information Research Center, P. R. China.)