The Communist Party of China (CPC) views reunification as a matter of national sovereignty and territorial integrity and has conducted serious propagandic operations to influence its domestic population into consenting a forceful reunification, if needed
Ever since the Communist Party of China (CPC) declared the birth of a new communist nation on 1st October 1949, the party has been driven by its unwavering quest to take over the island nation of Taiwan. The CPC has always considered Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has historically stated its intentions to reunify the island as part of mainland China.
The Party’s claim, which is based on its interpretation of history, views the separation of Taiwan as a national disgrace as a result of the Chinese Civil War which continued until 1949. The Communist Party of China views reunification as a matter of national sovereignty and territorial integrity and has conducted serious propagandic operations to influence its domestic population into consenting to a forceful reunification if needed.
Historically, the root of the dispute goes back to the Chinese civil war between 1927-49 when the Communist Party of China violently took control of the country under its leader Mao Zedong. The war, which was fought between the CPC and the Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang or KMT, resulted in the formation of the Republic of China (ROC) when the KMT was pushed to present-day Taiwan. Although the KMT declared itself to be the legitimate government of mainland China, the Communist party was the one with control of mainland China as it came to be post-civil war. With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the mainland, the civil war was all but over, without the inclusion of Taiwan as part of the mainland under the CPC’s control.
Since then, the CPC has always maintained that Taiwan, which declared itself to be the ROC at the behest of the KMT party, falls under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the PRC. The perils of an incomplete victory for either side have resulted in one of the most debated disputes international stakeholders have ever witnessed.
The CPC’s intentions of a complete takeover have also begun gaining strength given its increasing stature in the international arena in the past decade. Analysts worry that a violent takeover can directly result in a migration crisis over and above the significant loss of life as part of the takeover process. Amongst the central issues of the dispute is the contestation regarding the political status of Taiwan. The CPC has always maintained that its international partners adhere to the ‘One China Policy’ which signifies the fact that there is indeed only one China and that Taiwan is not a separate entity away from the PRC ruled by the CPC. Taiwan on the other hand, which follows a democratic set-up where political parties contest elections for electoral victories, has officially claimed itself to be a separate sovereign state from the PRC with its own administrative structures and territorial boundaries.
A significant worry among stakeholders and analysts has been the constant threat of an oncoming war that the Communist Party has peddled domestically as well as internationally to stroke tensions and fear among Taiwanese citizens. The PRC not only maintains a strong military and naval foothold around Taiwan but has been rigorously testing new military technologies in and around the sovereign boundaries of Taiwan in order to intimidate the island nation. These actions have often been interpreted to be a show of force and a cruel reminder of the Communist Party’s willingness to use brute military force in order to assert its claims over the island nation.
These devastating reminders of an onset of a pending war have however been deterred by the fact that despite the political tensions and differences there are cultural ties between Taiwan and China which are led by family members crossing over to meet each other regularly. Such cross-strait relations have evolved gradually with limited economic exchanges and people-to-people interactions allowed between the two sides. However, with China’s growing position as a regional hegemon, its intentions of forging a complete military takeover cannot be dismissed given the cultural ties people share with their families in the island nation.
Advocates of peace in Taiwan have constantly raised the growing importance of peaceful dialogue and negotiations, while some others have emphasized the importance of maintaining the status quo. However, within mainland China, the calls have been somewhat contrary. The growing misconception of China’s international power has led many within the country and more dangerously within the Party to believe that a takeover of the island is impending. Such a growing perception only seems to be increasing in the past decade and leading to the misconception that such a strategy will prevail without consequences.
Not only will it go on to cost the integrity of the country internationally, but will also have ghastly effects all across the globe. Any action taken to alter the prevailing status quo will prove to be detrimental to China’s international identity and will cost it the isolation of the global community above and over the involvement of the United States which is expected to come in support of the Taiwanese side. Thus, it is important that the world constantly assert its boundaries and red lines to the CPC in order to prevent a misconceived power assertion by the Chinese military. For if not, an advent of a global disaster is certain.
