|
THANK YOU
for reading our ad in the Washington Post. We appreciate your taking
time to learn more about Taiwan by visiting this page specifically
created for concerned and foreign policy-oriented readers like you!
411 about Taiwan!
Geography:
Taiwan is situated in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and the
Philippines. This tiny nation, about 14,000 square miles, is
roughly the size of Delaware and Maryland combined (or that of
the Netherlands). Taiwan lies just 100 miles off China's
coast.
(Map: From BBC news)
Population:
Taiwan's population is about 23 million, larger than two-thirds
of the United Nations' member states. It has a relatively young
population with the median age of 35.5 years and a life
expectancy of 77.5 years.
(Source: CIA FACTBOOK.)
Languages spoken in Taiwan include Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka,
and aboriginal languages.
Small Wonder:
Despite its small size, the industrious people of Taiwan are
known for their worldly-renowned economic miracle from the 1960s
till the 1990s, joi ning Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong
as
"Asia's four little dragons" (also known as Asia's four little
tigers). Today, Taiwan is the world's 17th largest economy, the
eighth- largest trading partner of the US, and is among the top
holders of
foreign exchange reserves in the world.
While China's
economic boom is driven by labor-intensive
manufacturing, Taiwan
has transformed into a knowledge-based economy known as the Silicon
Valley of the
Far East. For example, Taiwan is the No.1 provider of LCD
flat-screen monitors, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
notebooks, and PCs. The launch of Apple's iPhone in 2007
prompted the international press to gush about Taiwan's role in
Apple's latest adventures - calling Taiwan "the silent hands
behind the iPhone"
(New York
Times, July 18, 2007).
Taiwan's Democratic Achievements:
Despite Taiwan's economic progress, the people of Taiwan
were deprived of political freedom. Enduring the longest period
of martial
law in history (1949~1987), the people of Taiwan persisted with their pursuit
of
freedom and liberty. The one-party Chinese Nationalist (KMT)
state in Taiwan, facing domestic
outcry and international pressure to open up, engaged in a
series of democratic reforms in the late 80s and early 90s.
In 1996, Taiwan
held its first direct and open presidential election. In 2000,
then opposition party candidate Mr. Chen Shui-bian won the
presidential election, marking the first transfer of power in
Taiwan's history. In 2004, coinciding with its third direct
presidential election, Taiwan held the first national
referendum. Taiwan is a young, fledgling multi-party democracy.
Freedom House, a U.S.-based prestigious human rights
organization, continues to rank Taiwan as one of the freest
democracies in the world.
Taiwan's
History in Brief:
Did you know that
Taiwan was a Dutch and Spanish colony in the 17th century and
was called "Ilha Formosa" (beautiful island in Portuguese)?
Did you know that Taiwan was a colony of Japan for 50 years in the 20th century? Did you know that when the Chinese
Nationalists lost the civil war to the Chinese Communists in
1949, they
fled to Taiwan overnight and governed the country with an iron
fist for 40 years?
To learn more about
Taiwan's history,
please click here.
Taiwan's
Quest for International Recognition:
In 1971, the
United Nations (UN) voted to expel the Chinese Nationalist
government in Taiwan led
by Chiang Kai-shek and replaced it with the Chinese Communist
regime. Taiwan's expulsion by the UN set off a domino
effect which triggered many countries to switch their diplomatic
allegiance to China. In 1979, the United States
broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognized the
People's Republic of China.
Click here for the
US-China 1972 communique.
Click here for the Taiwan Relations Act,
legislation passed by Congress in 1979 after President
Carter's breaking off of diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Click here for other important documents
that govern the US-Taiwan-China relationship.
Since the late-90s,
Taiwan's economic success along with its remarkable democratic
accomplishments led the people and the government of Taiwan to
seek greater international participation and recognition.
Because it lacks UN membership, Taiwan is also excluded from a
host of UN affiliated non-governmental organizations, such as
the World Health Organization. Taiwan's repeated attempts to join the
WHO and other UN-affiliated organizations were and still are met with
relentless Chinese obstruction. Following China's lead, many
countries have joined China in suppressing Taiwan's right to be an equal
member in the international community. Even after the SARS
pandemic took 80
lives in Taiwan in 2003, the WHO member states still
resoundingly rejected
Taiwan's application to join as an observer, a status which does not
require statehood.
It has been
37 years since the 23 million people of Taiwan have had
representation in the United Nations system. Given Taiwan's
remarkable economic, technological and political transformation,
it
is the greatest irony that the international
community rejectsTaiwan purely out of pressure and
intimidation by Beijing.
To assert Taiwan's
rightful place in the international community, Taiwan is
planning to hold a democratic referendum coinciding with the presidential
election on March 22, 2008 on Taiwan's UN membership.
Unfortunately, the Bush administration has continuously spoken
out again
Taiwan's UN membership and the March referendum, despite strong
support for the referendum and Taiwan's membership in
international organizations from Congress.
To learn more about
the Bush administration's criticism of this democratic mechanism and
Congress' support for the referendum,
please
click here.
(Two young FAPA members at a "UN for Taiwan" rally in
Taipei showing off their "TAIWANATION" wristbands in 2007)
Misconceptions
about Taiwan:
Misconception:
Taiwan is a renegade province of China.
WRONG!
Since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China,
commonly known as China, has never exerted control over Taiwan,
not even for a single day. A Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945,
Taiwan remained under Japanese sovereignty until the San
Francisco Peace Treaty went into effect in 1952. Under the
treaty, Japan gave up all sovereign control over Taiwan. No
power was named as the recipient of that sovereignty -- thus,
the island of Taiwan belongs to the people of Taiwan. Despite
propaganda from China which claims that Taiwan is the "sacred
national territory" of China, China's drive to annex Taiwan
dates entirely from World War II. Taiwan elects its own leaders,
has its own currency and laws, and enters into agreements with
other nations just as any sovereign nation might. It lacks only
the formal recognition of the international community.
You can help us obtain that.
Misconception:
Taiwan provokes Cross-Strait tension.
WRONG!
The mere fact that Taiwan is a vibrant democracy is intolerable
to the leadership in Beijing. China now targets Taiwan with over
1,000 missiles, a number that increases by another 100 missiles
each year. In 1995 and 1996, China fired missiles at Taiwan
hoping to intimidate voters in the first free election, an act
that threatened the stability of the entire East Asian region.
Taiwan's exercise of democracy has brought only a constant flow
of threats of force and coercion from the Communist government
in Beijing, which has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the
island's democratically-elected leadership. The international
community should respond strongly to Beijing's threats to incite
a war over Taiwan in the economically vital East Asian region.
Because Beijing threatens Taiwan, the island is often accused of
"provoking" China. In reality, it is China's threat of force,
not Taiwan's democratic aspirations, that is the real threat to
peace and stability in East Asia.
To learn more about
other common misconceptions about Taiwan,
click here.
THANK YOU so much for your interest in learning more about Taiwan.
We encourage you to join our campaign and send a quick message of
support to
Members of Congress or the Administration by visiting
http://capwiz.com/fapa
To
review the Washington Post ad,
please click here.
If you have any questions regarding our campaign
or our organization, feel free to
contact us.
Back to Home
page
Back to Library
page
Back to UN
Campaign page
|
