A (very) Brief History

The argument for Taiwanese independence is wrought with what some would consider legalese mumbo-jumbo and is controversial in the very language that would define the current status of Taiwan's place on the world stage.

It is easy to recognise that Taiwan is caught in the middle of a policy tug-of-war between the West (the United States "US") and the East (the Peoples Republic of China "PRC"). Basically, it all comes down to definitions and interpretations of numerous treaties that have been in place since the end of the second world war.

A little background. Until the mid 1600's, Taiwan was a Dutch colony and at the time -and even in some circles today- known as Formosa, a name the Portuguese gave the island when it was in their control. Then the island came under the Qing dynasty's juridiction until 1895 when the Japanese took over control. After the Japanese surrendered to the Allies in 1945, control was given to the Allies, namely the US which in turn gave administrative control over to the Republic of China ("ROC") until 1949, when they established the ROC government in exile in Taipei.
Then, in 1952 the San Francisco Peace Treaty ("SFPT") outlined what was to become of the territories that the Japanese were forced to surrender in 1945. The "Taiwan Question" was never formally addressed, and due to a war in Korea, the whole mess would simply sit on the backburner of debate for decades to come.

Until 1972, the ROC government was viewed as the sole legitamate government of China. After US President Richard Nixon went to China and in 1979 when then President Jimmy Carter switched allegiances from the ROC to the PRC and the ROC lost their United Nations ("UN") seat to the PRC. During the 1980's, Taiwan's economy boomed and the island moved from developing to developed status. A series of treaties and communiques were established between Taiwan, the US and PRC about what to do about this problem that should have been solved 30 to 40 years ago at the time.

The PRC has been adamant that Taiwan is a province of the PRC and any declaration of independence would be tantamount to secession and will be met with military opposition. The US takes a more ambiguous stance: Taiwan is neither independent OR a province of the PRC.

This is where "defenitions" and "interpretations" of treaties comes in to play. This is where my argument will begin. I will go through all the documents, and using the opinions cast down on other treaties and how they have been enforced or interpreted under international law and how they hold up here. (and i will clean this up as well over time, as i am really tired as of writing this)