Republic of Taiwan: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Proposed state in Taiwan}}

'''Republic of Taiwan''' can refer to either a historical, no-longer-existent republic or a proposed state.

{{Hatnote|For the short-lived republic on the island of Taiwan in 1895, see [[Republic of Formosa]]. For the current Taiwanese state, see [[Taiwan]].}}

{{Taiwan independence movement|Branch}}

[[File:台湾共和国.jpg|thumb|250px|Billboard calling for the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan]]

[[File:台灣護照.jpg|thumb|right|[[Camouflage passport|Privately produced State of Taiwan passport case]]]]

The "'''Republic of Taiwan'''" ('''ROT''', {{zh|t=臺灣共和國|p=Táiwān Gònghégúo}}; [[Pe̍h-oē-jī]]: ''Tâi-oân Kiōng-hô-kok'') means a proposed republican state that claims independence sovereignty based on the [[self-determination]] of [[Taiwanese people]]. It is closely related to the [[Taiwan independence movement]] in a radical or narrow sense, and should be distinguished from ''[[Huadu (Taiwan)|Huadu]]'', means Republic of China independence.

The "Republic of Taiwan" was advocated and circulated among Taiwan independence activists in the second half of the 1920s during the [[Taiwan under Japanese rule]]. After the end of the [[World War II]], [[Island of Taiwan]] was taken over by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (ROC), and after the impact of the [[February 28 incident]], Taiwan independence activists centered on Taiwanese [[Thomas Liao]] founded the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Taiwan]] (台灣共和國臨時政府) in 1956 in Tokyo, Japan.

== Historical: Republic of Formosa ==

== History ==

[[Image:Republic of Formosa 1895 flag.png|framed|The flag for the Republic of Formosa, 1895, depicting a tiger]]

Since the period of Japanese rule, the establishment of the "Republic of Taiwan" has been one of the main demands of the Taiwanese independents. The independence movement in Taiwan can be traced back to the defeat in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], when the [[Qing dynasty]] ceded Taiwan and [[Penghu]] to [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], and the people of Taiwan at that time established the "[[Republic of Formosa]]" on May 25, 1895, to resist the Japanese army.

Establishment of the Republic of Taiwan became an important demand of the [[Taiwanese Communist Party]] during the period of Japanese rule as a way to break away from Japanese rule and for [[national liberation]]. Much of the movement related to Taiwan's independence began with the Taiwanese Communist Party during the Japanese occupation. In the post-war Taiwan independence movement after the February 28th Incident, there were also those who advocated the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan, such as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Taiwan formed by Thomas Liao and others in 1956, and the [[World United Formosans for Independence]] established in 1970.<ref>洪博學，[http://www.peoplenews.tw/news/9c4b4bdb-c4f9-446f-8f78-a4e5fe460236 美國除蔣計畫和「兩個中國」] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129110951/http://www.peoplenews.tw/news/9c4b4bdb-c4f9-446f-8f78-a4e5fe460236}}，民報</ref>

The '''Republic of Formosa''' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: &#33274;&#28771;&#27665;&#20027;&#22283;, lit. "Taiwan Democratic State"; official English name: '''Formosan Republic''', '''Taiwan Republic''') was a short lived [[republic]] that existed on [[Taiwan]] in [[1895]], between the removal of [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] forces and the [[establishment]] of [[Japan]]ese control of the island following the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]]. It is sometimes mentioned as the first Asian republic to have been proclaimed, at least nominally.

== National flag and anthem ==

The republic was proclaimed by a group of pro-Qing high officials and members of the local gentry, many of whom fled the island upon Japan's invasion. On May 24, 1895 an English translation of its declaration of independence was sent to all the embassies on the island, followed by a ceremony the next day. It managed to issue stamps under the auspices of the republic.

{{See also:|Proposed [[Historyflags of Taiwan]]}}

No specific agreement has been reached on the flag, national anthem, and national coat of arms of the Republic of Taiwan. Since the 1980s, several of the various versions of the "Taiwan Constitution" proposed by the private sector have been referred to as "the national flag, national coat of arms, and national anthem are determined by law".<ref name="aa1">{{Cite journal |author =张文生 |date =2004 |title =《"台独"势力的"制宪"活动与主张分析》 |journal =台湾研究集刊 |issue = 2004年03期 |pages =8–15 |publisher =厦门大学台湾研究院 |___location =福建省厦门市 |issn =1002-1590 |url =http://rdbk1.ynlib.cn:6251/qw/Paper/247846#anchorList |language = Zh-hans}}</ref>{{Rp|11}}

In April 1993, {{ill|Cheng Er-yu|zh|鄭兒玉}} created the song "[[Taiwan the Formosa]]" and submitted the lyrics to a musician living in Los Angeles, [[Tyzen Hsiao]], who composed the lyrics and completed the score in October of the same year. The song was released in the early summer of 1994, and in order to meet the needs of various ethnic groups around the world, in addition to the [[Taiwanese Hokkien]] version, it was translated into six other languages, including [[Amis language|Amis]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]], [[Standard Chinese|Chinese]], [[English language|English]], and [[Japanese language|Japanese]].<ref name="新國歌國旗"/>

In spite of the similarity in name, modern-day proponents of a "Republic of Taiwan" tend to disavow a connection between the two, thus neither claiming a revival of that entity nor regarding themselves as political offspring of that movement. The reason for this is that the first Republic of Taiwan was created as an act of loyalty to a government on mainland China while modern supporters of the Republic of Taiwan tend to wish to distance themselves from mainland China.

<gallery>

See also: [[History of Taiwan]]

File:Flag of WTC.svg|Flag of the World Taiwanese Congress<ref name="新國歌國旗">{{cite journal | language =zh-tw | author =陳金萬 | title =九○八國慶日 新國歌國旗將亮相 | url =http://taiwanus.net/news/show.php?id=14163 | journal =《新台灣新聞週刊》 | volume =第594期 | issue = | pages = | year =2007年 | id = | access-date =2008-02-11 | archive-date =2018-01-02 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073332/http://taiwanus.net/news/show.php?id=14163 }}</ref>

File:Flag of Taiwan proposed 1996.svg|A proposed flag for an independent Taiwan designed by Donald Liu in 1996

File:Proposed flag of Taiwan the Formosa.svg|Flag of Taiwan the Formosa, designed by Chih-Hao Chen (陳致豪)

</gallery>

In the [[Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign]], the more commonly used name is "Republic of Taiwan". In various versions of the Taiwan Constitution, the country's name is often "Taiwan" or "Republic of Taiwan". There is also an example of Li Xianrong (李宪荣) using "Democratic Republic of Taiwan" (台湾民主国).<ref name="aa1"/>{{Rp|11}}

===Presidents of the Republic of Taiwan===

Since ROT, an abbreviation for the Republic of Taiwan, means [[decomposition]] of organic matter in English, some activists have proposed different names. The proposed names include: "People's State of Taiwan" (台灣民國), "State of Taiwan" (台灣國), "Democratic Republic of Taiwan" (台灣民主共和國), and "Chinese Republic of Taiwan" (中華台灣共和國).

*[[Tang Ching-sung]] ([[May 25]], [[1895]] - [[June 5]], [[1895]])

*[[Liu Yung-fu]] ([[June 5]], [[1895]] - [[October 21]], [[1895]])

== Territory ==

[[Category:History of Taiwan]]

Currently, the territory under the actual control of the Republic of China is the [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]], [[Penghu]], [[Kinmen]], [[Matsu Islands|Matsu]] and [[List of islands of Taiwan|some minor islands]], with the island of Taiwan as the main body. Among them, the Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands are "overseas islands" that traditionally do not belong to Taiwan. (Only Taiwan and Penghu belong to the '[[Taiwan Province]]', even under the current administrative district of the Republic of China.)<ref name="a1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thenewslens.com/article/149023 |title=中華民國台灣究竟擁有多少「不屬台灣」的「外島」？ |accessdate=2022-06-09 |author=黎蝸藤 |date=2021-04-09 |publisher=關鍵評論 |quote=兩岸形勢逐漸緊張。有傳言認為，中國或會攻占一台灣「外島」小試牛刀兼殺雞儆猴。這帶出一個有趣的問題，中華民國台灣究竟擁有多少「不屬台灣」的「外島」呢？[……]總結一下，以上五個地區，金門、馬祖、東沙、太平島和釣魚臺，可歸入在中華民國台灣統治下或聲稱擁有主權的領土，然而在傳統上不屬於傳統台灣（台澎地區）或「台灣本部」的「海外島嶼」。 |language=Zh-hant |archive-date=2022-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608182800/https://www.thenewslens.com/article/149023 }}</ref><ref name="a2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.storm.mg/article/4021017 |title=中国犯台先夺东沙试水温？郭正亮曝"不一定划算"：搞不好独派会很高兴 |accessdate=2022-06-09 |author=罗立邦 |date=2021-10-31 |publisher=风传媒 |quote=华府智库近日的模拟兵推报告指出，若中国攻占东沙岛，建议台湾应采取“毒蛙战术”，引起关注[……]郭正亮举例，中国要拿下太平岛、东沙岛非常容易，大概30分钟就结束，要拿东引、马祖也没有困难，金门驻军目前只剩3000人，讲白了这5个地方一直以来都不是台澎的一部份，而东沙如同金、马一直以来都有两岸主权重叠的争议。郭正亮指出，在国际法上，两岸真正没有主权重叠的地方只有台湾和澎湖，所以如果中国拿下外岛，搞不好独派会很高兴，这种论调中方也研究过，所以这不是能不能拿下的问题，而是拿到之后政治上有什么得分？[……] |language=Zh-hans |archive-date=2021-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101229/https://www.storm.mg/article/4021017 }}</ref>

For these reasons, how the territory of "Republic of Taiwan" should be defined is controversial. While some proponents of independence argue that the ROC's effective controlling territory should be inherited, others argue that areas other than Taiwan and Penghu are not "Republic of Taiwan" territory.

== Proposed State: Republic of Taiwan ==

== Use in a foreign ==

[[Image:Taiwan independence flag.png|thumb|right|Proposed flag, widely accepted in the independence movement, for the proposed Republic of Taiwan]]

In April 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed Taiwan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as “Taipei, Republic of China,” but also used the phrase "Republic of Taiwan".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.hi-on.org.tw/bulletins.jsp?b_ID=48326 |title= 歡迎加入WTO 布希說出Republic of Taiwan |accessdate= 2014-06-13 |authorlink= 台灣新聞報 |date= 2002-04-06 |format= |publisher= 台灣新聞報 |language= zh-tw |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000850/http://www.hi-on.org.tw/bulletins.jsp?b_ID=48326 |archive-date= 2014-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = China presses U.S. over Taiwan 'republic' comments | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/05/china.taiwan/index.html | publisher = CNN | author = CNN Staff | language = en | date = 2002-04-05 | accessdate = 2014-11-10 | archive-date = 2016-03-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305102344/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/05/china.taiwan/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media | title = Bush Taiwan gaffe at speech to State Department | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T3ql8Dtyw0 | publisher = AP (The Associated Press) Archive | date = 2002-04-05 | quote = "That's important to recognise and welcome both countries. Both the Republic of Taiwan and of course China into the World Trade Organisation" | access-date = 2018-07-03 | archive-date = 2021-09-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210924013048/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T3ql8Dtyw0 }}</ref>

On Jan. 11, 2017, [[Nicaragua]]'s President [[Daniel Ortega]] invited then-Taiwan President [[Tsai Ing-wen]] to his inauguration, referring to Taiwan as the "Republic of Taiwan" (República de Taiwán) rather than the "Republic of China" (República de China).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=215321 |title=尼加拉瓜總統奧蒂嘉就職 稱蔡英文是「台灣共和國總統」 |access-date=2017-01-13 |archive-date=2017-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118041737/http://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=215321}}</ref> When the [[Honduras]]'s government president or his officials visited Taiwan (2016) and other international events, the term "Republic of Taiwan" was often used.<ref>{{cite news | title = 宏都拉斯總統訪台 致詞稱我「台灣共和國」 | url = http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/1844433 | publisher = 自由時報 | language = zh-tw | date = 2016-10-03 | accessdate = 2018-07-04 | archive-date = 2020-10-25 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201025144318/https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/1844433}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.tvbs.com.tw/news/news_list.asp?no=blue20070926095736 |title= 宏都拉斯UN發聲 挺「台灣共和國」 |accessdate= 2014-06-13 |author= |authorlink= TVBS |date= 2007-09-26 |format= |publisher= TVBS |language= zh-tw |quote= |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131004232842/http://www.tvbs.com.tw/news/news_list.asp?no=blue20070926095736 |archive-date= 2013-10-04 }}</ref> The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of [[El Salvador]] used the term "Republic of Taiwan" to refer to Taiwan before it broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan on August 21, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.rree.gob.sv/index.php/component/k2/item/2510-taiw%C3%A1n-contribuye-al-fomento-del-deporte-y-de-la-actividad-f%C3%ADsica-en-centroam%C3%A9rica |title= Taiwán contribuye al fomento del deporte y de la actividad física en Centroamérica |accessdate= 2014-06-13 |author= |authorlink= TVBS |date= 2012-11-12 |format= |publisher= 薩爾瓦多外交部 |language= es |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20141110175447/http://www.rree.gob.sv/index.php/component/k2/item/2510-taiw%C3%A1n-contribuye-al-fomento-del-deporte-y-de-la-actividad-f%C3%ADsica-en-centroam%C3%A9rica |archivedate= 2014-11-10}}</ref>

The '''Republic of Taiwan''' (&#33274;&#28771;&#20849;&#21644;&#22283;; [[Taiwanese (linguistics)|Taiwanese]]: ''T&acirc;i-o&acirc;n Ki&#333;ng-h&ocirc;-kok'') is a goal of some supporters of [[Taiwan independence]] in creating a Taiwanese state unambiguously separate from [[China]], covering (at most) the areas currently controlled by the [[Republic of China]] (i.e., [[Taiwan]], [[Penghu]], [[Quemoy]] and [[Matsu Islands]]). In this sense, sometimes the '''State of Taiwan''' (&#33274;&#28771;&#22283;) is used to avoid prejudging a republican polity.

== See also ==

Historically the creation of a state by this name from Japan-ruled Taiwan was also a goal of the [[Taiwanese Communist Party]] of the late [[1920s]]. Unlike current formulations and in line with the thinking of [[Comintern]], such a state would be a [[proletarian]] one.

* [[908 Taiwan Republic Campaign]]

* [[National identity]]

* [[Taiwan Passport Sticker]]

* [[Taiwanese nationalism]]

== References ==

In the [[1950s]] a [[Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government]] was set up in Japan. [[Liao Wen-yih]] was nominally the President. At one time it held quasi-official relations with the newly independent [[Indonesia]]. This was made possible mainly through the connections between [[Sukarno]] and the Provisional Government's [[Southeast Asia]]n liason, [[Chen Chih-hsiung]], who had assisted in the colony's independence movement.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Taiwan independence movement|*]]

Since then several scholars have drafted various versions of a [[constitution]], as both political statement or vision and as intellectual exercise. Most of these drafts favor a [[bicameral]] [[parliament]]ary rather than presidential system. In at least one such draft, seats in the upper house would be divided equally among Taiwan's established ethnities. In the 1980s the Chinese Nationalist government considered publication of these ideas criminal. In the most dramatic case, it decided to arrest the pro-independence publisher [[Cheng Nan-jung]] for publishing a version in his [[Tang-wai]] magazine, ''[[Liberty Era]]'' (&#33258;&#30001;&#26178;&#20195;). Rather than giving himself up, Cheng [[self-immolation|self-immolated]] in protest.

[[Category:HistoryProposed of Taiwancountries]]

Other campaigns and tactics toward such a State have included soliciting designs from the public for a new national [[flag]] (see image) and [[anthem]]. More recently the [[Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign]] (&#21488;&#28771;&#27491;&#21517;&#36939;&#21205;) has played an active role. More traditional independentists have criticized name rectification as merely a superficial tactic devoid of the larger vision inherent in the Republic of Taiwan agenda.

<!--boring rehash of [[Taiwan independence]] follows-->

Initially, the Taiwanese Independence movement began as an attempt to overthrow the Republic of China government and replace it with a native Republic of Taiwan government. This was because the ruling party of ROC, the Kuomintang, was at first consisted essentially of mainland Chinese who fled to Taiwan at the end of the civil war in 1949. However, as economic successes overshadowed political concerns, and with the mainland Chinese gradually dying out, the general population became more and more tolerant towards the “alien” government. Following the impressively rapid process of democratization in the late 80s and early 90s, this movement by and large ended as the Taiwanese localization movement.

While democracy developed within Taiwan, abroad the situation had turned against the Republic of China government. Following its repulsion from the United Nations and severing of diplomatic relationships with the United States, Taiwan became increasingly isolated. In response to this situation, a modern movement for a Republic of Taiwan evolved from the original independence movement. The new movement claims that the current situation of Taiwan being ruled by a government officially named the [[Republic of China]] creates confusion internationally with [[China]], and is the principle obstacle in preventing Taiwan from becoming a normal nation, in the sense of participating in international organizations such as the United Nations. Taiwan had been forced to participate in international affairs under such obscure names as "Chinese Taipei" and the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kimmen, and Matsu"

Opponents of a Republic of Taiwan claim that rejecting the name [[Republic of China]] would almost certainly trigger a war with the [[People's Republic of China]] and that the both the Republic of China and the concept of China have a grand history and culture from which Taiwan should not separate itself. Furthermore, they argue that confused foreigners is hardly a good reason to change national identity, and that Taiwan's security lies with economic and cultural integration with [[mainland China]] rather than in drawing clear national identity distinctions between mainland China and Taiwan. Independence advocates counter this in saying that unless international support is achieved Taiwan can never be truly safe from an increasingly militant China, and that foreign powers are hardly likely to pledge support if Taiwan itself do not demonstrate a resolve.

The creation of a Republic of Taiwan is formally the goal of the [[Taiwan Solidarity Union]] and former President [[Lee Teng-hui]]. Although the ruling [[Democratic Progressive Party]] was originally also an advocate for both the idea of the Republic of Taiwan and [[Taiwan independence]], as it took power the DPP has tried taking a middle line in which a sovereign, independent Taiwan is identified with the Republic of China and its symbols. The [[pan-blue coalition]] tends to oppose the idea of a Republic of Taiwan and Taiwan independence, but most support a sovereign Republic of China which is currently separate from the People's Republic of China.

While many believe the formal declaration of a Republic of Taiwan would likely trigger a military response from the [[People's Republic of China]], some among the independentists believe such a response would be ineffective with or without subsequent involvement by the [[United States]].

See also: [[political status of Taiwan]]

[[ja:&#21488;&#28286;&#27665;&#20027;&#22269;]]

[[zh-cn:&#21488;&#28286;&#20849;&#21644;&#22269;]]

[[zh-tw:&#33274;&#28771;&#20849;&#21644;&#22283;]]