The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair by its very nature.
China has maintained the principle of peaceful reunification and has been working hard to solve the question and reunify the country.
Under the scheme of "one country, two systems" after reunification, Taiwan Province will maintain its current political, economic and social system and its own military. It will also maintain its current international economic links as an economic entity like Hong Kong and Macao.
But China also has ample reasons not to agree to renounce the possible use of force with regard to solving the Taiwan question.
Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times. No matter in terms of domestic law or international law, Taiwan is part of China.
Following its defeat in the Sino-Japanese war in 1895, the government of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki ceding Taiwan to Japan.
During World War II, the Allied powers committed themselves in the Cairo Declaration of 1943 to restoring to China all the territories Japan had seized which included Manchuria, Taiwan and Penghu. This was reaffirmed in the Potsdam Proclamation of 1945.
Japan later officially expressed its acceptance of the Cairo Declaration, in writing, following its surrender to the Allied forces.
These documents formed the legal basis of Taiwan's return to China at the end of the World War II.
Taiwan once again became a part of China's territory de jure and de facto after 50 years of Japanese colonial rule.
The island became an issue and was politically separated from the mainland following the defeat of the Kuomintang in the 1945-49 civil war against the Chinese Communist Party. Led by Chiang Kai-shek, the defeated nationalists, supported by the United States, fled to Taiwan.
In the following four decades, though they refused to recognize the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the legal government representing the whole China, the Taiwan authorities upheld Taiwan as part of China and that there is but one China.
The Chinese mainland for its part has always adhered to this one-China principle.
However, by advocating "Taiwan independence," some people in Taiwan trumpet that Taiwan is a "sovereign state" called the "Republic of China."
But Taiwan is not a sovereign state.
Taiwan's legal status as a part of China is clear.
In today's international community, the one-China principle and that Taiwan is part of China is widely recognized by the majority of nations worldwide.
The 164 countries that have established diplomatic relations with the PRC, including the United States and Japan, recognize that there is but one China, Taiwan is part of China and the government of the PRC is China's sole legal government.
All the countries, except the United States, which have diplomatic relations with the PRC, have abrogated their treaties with the Taiwan authorities signed previously and have not concluded any more new treaties with the island.
Taiwan's foreign exchanges have not gone beyond the level of a non-state entity.
Even the 248 bilateral agreements reached between Taiwan and 59 nations during 1986-92 are generally related to aviation services and co-operation in the fishing industry, and amount to no more than technical agreements.
Though many countries who have diplomatic ties with the PRC have maintained extensive links with Taiwan, their relations and exchanges are limited to unofficial ones such as trade and culture. Indeed, such ties are not opposed by the central government.
Similar links exist between Hong Kong and other nations.
Taiwan is a member only of some important international organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) and World Trade Organization (WTO), participating as a region of China in the name of "Chinese Taipei." Likewise, Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is also a member of these organizations.
The Taiwan authorities have tried hard to promote the so-called "expanding international living space."
Its attempts, since 1993, to be accepted into the United Nations have failed again and again, which shows that the majority within the international body acknowledge Taiwan as part of China's territory rather than a "sovereign state."
Throughout history the island has been seriously disturbed by external factors.
In particular since the 1990s, great changes in the world political and economic situation, coupled with changes in the political structure on the island have made the Taiwan question complicated.
To prevent the attempts by some of Taiwan's politicians to create "Taiwan Independence" and especially foreign forces from intervening in China's reunification, the central government has never agreed to renounce the possible use of force with regard to solving the Taiwan question.
This stance of the Chinese Government is related to a sensitive and crucial question. Regarding the Taiwan question, is the Chinese Government obliged to abide by the principle of non-use of force under international law?
Item 4 of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations stipulates that: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations."
This item demonstrates that the application of the non-use of force principle is restricted.
Generally speaking, this principle only applies to "international relations," that means relations between states. Obviously, this restriction excludes the circumstances relating to the internal affairs of UN member states.
In other words, it does not apply to the use of force by a nation to maintain law and order within their own countries.
This interpretation has been supported by international practices.
In particular, the international community's response to various separatist movements has further demonstrated that the territorial integrity of a nation is protected by international law.
For example, when Chechnya declared separation from Russia in 1991, the world communities expressed its support for Russia's territorial integrity and did not denounce Moscow's military action against separatist forces.
In some special circumstances, international relations can also be interpreted as the relations between nations and other international legal entities.
The non-use of force in the UN Charter can apply to national liberation movements to forbid nations from using force against the activities of colonial people to realize their right of self-determination.
Taiwan's question is simply not that case.
Some scholars raised the question of the "self-determination right of the Taiwan people" and argued that the Chinese mainland cannot use force to suppress Taiwan's self-determination.
Theoretically, the principle of national self-determination applies to the colonies or territories under foreign rule.
Taiwan has never been a country in its own right. Nor, since 1949, has it been a colony or been occupied by a foreign power. There exists no question of "national self-determination."
The Chinese Government, which has sovereignty over the island, should maintain the right to use force against any internal separatist activities. The Chinese Government's position of not agreeing to renounce the use of force neither violates the UN Charter nor international law.
Peaceful reunification is indisputably the best option for ensuring the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.
But the choice as to which approach is adopted to solve the Taiwan question is a solely internal affair of China's and the basic right of any sovereign state seeking to safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The author is an associate professor with the Guangzhou-based Zhongshan University.
(China Daily July 30, 2003)
