Difference perception regarding the “One-China Policy” in Taiwan’s political parties
Regardless of China and Taiwan relation crises, the aim of Taiwan’s political policy is also influenced by domestic politics which is dominated by the KMT and DPP. The two main political parties in Taiwan today, the KMT and the DPP, dominate the political landscape of this fledgling democracy. However, the DPP and KMT vary primarily in their views of Taiwan’s political status, as well as the nature of suitable relations with neighboring China. After being defeated by communist-led Mao Zedong, the ROC government led by Chiang Kai-shek of the KMT fled to Formosa in 1949.
The KMT dominated the island with an iron grip for the next four decades, claiming to be the legal government of China as a whole, including both the mainland and Taiwan. Its leaders pursued an adversarial posture toward the new Communist government in Beijing (People’s Republic of China), attempting to transform Taiwan into a base for ‘recovering the mainland’ (guangfudalu).
It was not until the 1980s that the KMT began to relax its anti-Communist stance and convert itself into a regional party. Throughout the 1990s, the KMT, led by President Lee Teng-hui, maintained tepid ties with Beijing by only mentioning “reunification with the mainland” verbally and imposing limitations on Cross-Strait commerce and exchange. Those become a signal of the re-establishment of warm relations between China and Taiwan.
Whilst, the DPP is a native political party that emerged from Taiwan’s democracy movement in the late 1980s. Over the next decade, the DPP became the dominant opposition group pressing for democratic changes by contesting the KMT’s authoritarian leadership and greater China fantasy. The DPP as the opposition party, is considered to be the separatist movement’s seed that poses a threat to China’s sovereignty wherein DPP goals are very contrary to the One China Policy and more likely desire to establish a western-style democratic state. Unlike KMT leaders who saw Taiwan as a part of China, the DPP party program and constitution saw Taiwan as an independent country and advocated for Taiwan’s political status to be determined by referendum.
Based on the 1992 Consensus, the One China Policy should be recognized by Taiwan as Cross-Strait Relations between China and Taiwan at that time. Yet, as the Taiwan leader changed, the policy aim and the 1992 Consensus interpretation also changed. Taiwan’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen, who now leads the independence-leaning DPP that unfortunately, has against perception of the One China Policy.
Opportunity for US intervention in Taiwan
The DPP presently controls Taiwan’s internal political influence, making it an ideal target for the US to spread its ideological wings and a chance to antagonize China. As has already been mentioned, Pelosi’s entry has increased the animosity between those two nations.
The US “recognized” that Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait believe there is only one China in the world during the normalization of Sino-US relations, and the US has no problem with this, according to the US one-China policy. The United States “recognized” the Chinese principle that the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government in China when it announced the opening of diplomatic relations with China. This was stated in the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations jointly issued by China and the United States.