Panlileo, Jann Ranniel

Quito, Frank
Mendi, Jake Wendell

a. What is the existing relationship between China and Taiwan? (10 points)

To restore China's ancient glory, Xi Jinping unveiled his "China Dream" as

soon as he was elected president. He grounds his argument for Taiwan's
national reunification on the notion of one nation with two distinct political
systems. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), which has been
governed separately from mainland China, formally the People's Republic of
China (PRC) since 1949, does not believe in China's promises. So now
Taiwan, which has several political parties and is not ruled by the communist
party like China, elected Chen Sui Ban as president in 2000. He belonged to
the Democratic People's Party, a group that openly supported Taiwan's
independence. China was taken by surprise and in reaction established a new
law known as the anti-secession law, which essentially said that China may
use force to keep Taiwan together. Since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-
victory went in 2016 and was reelected in 2020, cross-strait tensions have
risen. She is from the Democratic Progressive Party, is critical of China, and
wants to maintain Taiwan's independence. The legal status of Taiwan, which
is currently a self-governing island with its flag, anthem, and currency as well
as being the world's chip manufacturer, is still unclear since only 14 nations
recognize it.

B. Explain why the US is involved in this tension. (15 points)

The breakdown of the PRC-Soviet communist alliance was viewed by the

United States as a great opportunity to advance ties with China. The
necessity for normalization of ties, which included diplomatic recognition of
the PRC by the US, was the first topic on the agenda. By doing so, the United
States recognized that there is only one China, and Taiwan is a part of China.
Later on, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, regulating
relations between the American people and Taiwan. Furthermore, it declares
it to be the policy of the United States to maintain and develop close and
friendly ties between the people of the United States and Taiwan, as well as
the people of the Chinese mainland and all other Western nations. Therefore,
the Chinese see Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan to meet with government
representatives as a breach of the agreement. However, the United States
considers China's escalation of military activity and aggression against the
island to be a breach of their side of the agreement, and every time China
takes an aggressive stance, the United States feels compelled to demonstrate
its commitment to Taiwan.