China Illegitamate Claims to Taiwan

[Guest guest]

The 21st century obsession of empire building

Prof. Dipak Basu

 

Expanding Empire of China

 

China's drive to be an imperialist nation started in 1949, when it

has occupied by force Tibet and Eastern Turkistan. Later, after a few

years, it absorbed Manchuria and Mongolia as gifts from Stalin.

However, that has not stopped the appetite of China. In 1962, China

invaded India. China occupies about 10 per cent of the State of Jammu

and Kashmir. In 1964, China invaded the USSR, in 1979 Vietnam. It has

already taken over the Spartley Island, a potentially rich island

with petroleum and natural gas, which belongs to Vietnam. Now it is

preparing for the invasion of Taiwan.

 

In 1949, Kuomintang forces of Chiang-Kei-Seik defeated by Mao-Tse-

Tung invaded Formosa, and massacred the local population, who are not

ethnic Chinese but a mixed population of Japanese, Chinese,

Portuguese, and the indigenous proto-Malays. Machu Empire of China

has ruled Taiwan only for eight years between 1887 and 1895.

Otherwise, it was never a part of China. However, now China claims

that Formosa, renamed as Taiwan, is an inalienable part of China and

China wants to reclaim it as soon as possible. History cannot support

that Chinese claim.

 

Not once has Communist China claimed either Vietnam or Korea as part

of its territory. Then how can Taiwan be an inalienable part of

China, when effectively Taiwan was never a part of China, except for

eight years from 1887 to 1895?

 

History of Taiwan and China's claim

 

China has no continuous history as a nation state. Before 1279, only

the central part of what is China today, was Chinese, i.e., inhabited

by the Chin or Han Chinese tribe. China is still called in Japan

Chugoku or the Middle Kingdom. During 1279 to 1368, China was a part

of the Mongolian Empire, and it ceased to exist as a sovereign state.

 

>From 1368 to 1644, China had the Ming Dynasty of the Chin or Han

Chinese tribe. At that time, Taiwan was occupied first by the Dutch

and then by the Portuguese. For a brief period from 1645 to 1662, a

half-Japanese general of the Ming Dynasty, Tei Seiko, after being

driven from China by the invading Manchus from the north, occupied

Taiwan. However, soon Portuguese regained control of the island ,

which they had renamed as Formosa, or the beautiful island.

 

During the Qing Dynasty of the Machu Emperors (1644-1912), the

Manchurians, not the Han Chinese, ruled the land. The main argument

of Sun Yat Sen, who had proclaimed China as a republic by driving out

the Manchu Emperor China Pu Yi in 1912 was that Pei Yui was not a

Chinese but a Machu.

 

The Manchurian government of China managed Taiwan for just that brief

period of time—from 1887, when it reluctantly adopted the island as

one of its provinces (Sheng), to 1895, when it gladly ceded it to

Japan. Despite earlier attempts by the Dutch and Spaniards to

colonize parts of the island, it was regarded during the Ming Dynasty

of China as barbarous, disease-infested, and dangerous, as it was

inhabited by ferocious head hunting tribes. When the Machu Empire

ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895, China had forfeited its rights to the

island permanently or until the signing of another international

treaty.

 

Defeated in its war with France, Machu Empire gave up its control

over Vietnam (Annam) in 1885; defeated in its war with Japan, it

allowed Korea to become a sovereign, rather than tributary nation in

1895. Not once has Communist China claimed either Vietnam or Korea as

part of its territory. Then how can Tiawan be an inalienable part of

China, when effectively Taiwan was never a part of China, except for

eight years from 1887 to 1895?

 

The present-day Beijing government claims that the 1943 Cairo

Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Declaration recognised China's

sovereignty over Taiwan. That is not factually correct. Cairo

Declaration adds nothing new on the question of Chinese territorial

sovereignty. Furthermore, both Cairo and Potsdam declarations were

not valid international treaty but to quote Justice Radha Binod Pal,

a "victor's justice", where Japan never took any part. The subsequent

1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty in which Japan formally

renounced "all right, title and claim to Formosa" was also not a

valid international treaty because Japan was then still under the

occupation of the United States and could not take part as a

sovereign nation, as required by any international treaty.

 

The People's Republic of China, which came into being in 1949, was at

war with the United Nations in 1951 over Korea and wasn't invited to

sign the San Francisco treaty; nor was the Republic of China or

Kuomintang for its inability to represent China. Accordingly, to

follow the UN principle of self-determination, Taiwan belongs only to

Taiwanese people; it cannot be a part of China according to the laws

regarding international treaty until Japan now renounces its entire

claim in a fresh international treaty as a sovereign nation. That is

the crux of the problem between China and Japan. That is the exact

reason for the current animosity of China towards Japan, which has so

far refused to accept Taiwan as a part of China, but recognises the

independence of the Taiwanese people.

 

Are Taiwanese Chinese or not?

 

>From the anthropological point of view, only 14 per cent of the 22

million people of Taiwan today are pure Chinese who came along with

Chiang-Kei-Seik in 1949. The rest are either the indigenous Taiwanese

related to the Malay races or a mixture of Chinese, Japanese,

Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch. During the time of the Ming Dynasty

(1368 to 1644) large-scale migration from China took place but only

Chinese men came to Taiwan as the migrations of the females to

Taiwan, a barbarian area considered by the Han Chinese, were

forbidden by both the Ming and the Manchu emperors of China. Thus,

the majority was the mixture of Chinese men and local proto-Malay

women, not pure Chinese in any way.

 

Japan during its rule from 1895 to 1945 has promoted interracial

mixture of Japanese and the local people as a means to wipe out

separate Taiwanese identity, the Kuomintang forces, after their

defeat in 1949, came to Taiwan along with thousands of Mainland

Chinese. They committed large-scale massacres of the local people

during 1950s and imposed a draconian dictatorial rule over Taiwan

until very recently. These minority Kuomintang Chinese are the most

vocal for the unification of Taiwan with China. The majority of local

population, only after they had democracy a few years ago, have

started asserting their rights very recently as a separate

nationality from the Chinese and now calling for an independent

status for Taiwan, which China resents.

 

The Kuomintang Chinese and China have the identical opinion that

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, which the local people

dismiss as a part of the China's imperialistic policy, which has

already absorbed both Tibet and Eastern Turkistan (in Chinese called

Xingkiang), both independent countries until 1949, but were colonised

by China.

 

>From the anthropological point of view, only 14 per cent of the 22

million people of Taiwan today are pure Chinese who came along with

Chiang-Kei-Seik in 1949. The rest are either the indigenous Taiwanese

related to the Malay races or a mixture of Chinese.

 

Analysis

 

The behaviour of the United Nations and major countries of the world

towards Taiwan, Tibet and Eastern Turkistan is shameful, to say the

least. The right of self-rule, a fundamental human right and the

aspirations of millions of people of Taiwan, Tibet and Eastern

Turkistan are sacrificed to the imperialist ambition of China.

Although anti-colonialism is part of the UN charter, the UN

disregards these lofty principles just to satisfy Chinese ego and

considers Taiwan a province of China which it never was.

 

If the behaviour of the Japanese Imperial Army 60 years ago is the

determining factor to deny Japan the menbership of the UN Security

Council, how can China, which itself denies basic human rights for

its millions of people and still maintains ruthless colonial rules

over Tibet and wants to incorporate Taiwan within its colonies, be a

member of the UN Security Council since 1972 and a leading member of

the UN Human Rights Commission?

 

The current demonstrations in China against Japan are smoke-screens

to hide the growing anger and frustrations of the Chinese people

against the economic reform policy of China implemented since 1989.

As a result of this policy, although China has become the dearest

country for the business community of the Western world, who are

taking advantage of the very low wages and inhuman working conditions

of the Chinese labourers, the growing unemployment, inequality

between different regions and people with different status, closure

of state industries, severe reductions of welfare measures are

causing increasing resentments among the Chinese people. In 1962,

China invaded India to divert the attention of its people from the

immense sufferings caused by the famines in 1960-1962 in which at

least 10 million Chinese perished. In the same way, now China is

trying to redirect the anger of its people against Japan and Taiwan.

 

The foreign policy of India towards China is both unethical and

cowardice. India has endorsed Chinese colonialism over Tibet and

Eastern Turkistan. India accepts Taiwan as an integral part of the

expanding Chinese empire. China has invaded India in 1962 and still

occupies about 10 per cent of Jammu & Kashmir; India has decided to

forfeit it. China since 1963 has supplied every type of weapons,

including nuclear weapons and missiles, to Pakistan. China was about

to invade India again during the 1971 Indo-Pak war but was deterred

only by the warning from the Soviet Union. China has opposed India on

every international matter. Chinese map of the world does not include

Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim and vast parts of northeastern India as parts

of India even today. China is opposed to the membership of India in

the UN Security Council. Chinese exports to India are causing

unemployment and closure of small manufacturing units in India.

Chinese exports are also driving out Indian exports from the world

market. However, Indian policy-makers still consider China

a "strategic partner".

 

Any other country in a similar position as India is, would have cut

off all links with China, banned Chinese imports, would have

recognised Taiwan as an independent country; would supply nuclear

weapons and missiles to both Taiwan and Vietnam to be used against

China, would have opposed the membership of China both in the UN and

particularly in the UN Security Council, and would have opposed China

on every intermational matters. However, India has taken no action at

all but extended the hands of friendship towards China.

 

Although, the US since 1949 has supported the separate status of

Taiwan, it is not clear how long it will have the desire to protect

the people of Taiwan. The US has never supported the aspirations of

the local Taiwanese but only the murderous Kuomintang regime in

Taiwan. US has always proclaimed the "one-China policy", which

implies subjugation of the Taiwanese by China in course of time.

Kuomintang party now wants incorporation of Taiwan to China. The

growing business interests of the Kuomintang Chinese in China have

turned them as the closest allies of the so-called communist regime

in China. Recently the leaders of the Kuomintang Chinese of Taiwan

were received with great honour and friendship by the Prime Minister

and the president of China.

 

The US will not support independence of Taiwan and has warned

Taiwanese leaders against the declaration of independence of Taiwan,

which would definitely invite the invasion of China and will test the

resolve of the US. Abnormally low wages, lack of any trade union

rights or even any human rights, and artificially low exchang rate of

China, have made China the most attractive destination for the

American companies to manufacture and export the final products back

to the US to maximise profit by minimising cost of productions,

 

Big corporations in the western world control the mass media. For

example, Wall Mart, the biggest retail chain stores in the US, which

receives most of its supplies from China, is owned by Rupert Murdoch,

who also owns some of the most important newspapers and television

channels in the US, UK, Australia, India, and East Asia. The result

is a continuous pro-Chinese propaganda in the media, which is blaming

the democratically elected Taiwanese leaders for provoking China by

not accepting the Chinese colonialism. When the interests and

ambitions of the Kuomintang Chinese and China have now merged, it

will not take long for the US to discard Taiwan to its fate in order

to please China and to protect the commercial interests of the

American companies in China.

 

(The writer is Professor in International Ecomomics, Nagasaki

University, Japan, and can be contacted at Bose66)