ABSTRACT
Cross-Taiwan Strait relations play an important role in defining Taiwan politics. The main political divide in the country has long been between the Blue Camp (pro-unification with the Chinese mainland) and the Green Camp (pro-independence). The national identity of the Taiwan people is torn between being exclusively Taiwanese – that treats China as another nation, and Chinese–Taiwanese – that views the Chinese across the Taiwan Strait as kinsmen. Two historiographies compete for dominance in Taiwan: one adopts a jus soli approach and views Taiwan’s history as a process of melting immigrants from different origins into Taiwanese, and the other takes a jus sanguinis view that treats Taiwan as a frontier province of the Chinese nation. Economically, mainland China has become Taiwan’s largest trading partner and the main destination of the island’s outbound investment. Foreign relations of Taiwan have been hampered by Beijing, which insists that there is only one China, and Taiwan is an integral part of it, thus denying the island of representation in the UN and most other important international organizations. The main goal of Taiwan’s defense policy is to thwart a possible invasion by the People’s Liberation Army from across the Strait. We can go on and on endlessly for the impact that mainland China exerts on Taiwan. In short, Taiwan is overshadowed by its relationship with China, and it would be impossible to understand the development of Taiwan without taking a deep look into cross-Strait relations.
