Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

ASEAN held its regional forum last week in Bali, Indonesia, against a background of sharply escalating territorial disputes in the South China Sea. On July 23, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was present at the forum, called on all parties to these disputes to abide by international law and “clarify their claims in the South China Sea in terms consistent with customary international law,” rather than just basing them on historical precedent. China has always stressed that its territorial claims in the South China Sea are based on historical fact.

If any country could claim sovereignty over any place based on historical precedent or fact, and if Mongolians and Manchus are counted as part of the great Chinese nation, then the big swathes of European territory once ruled over by the Mongolian empire and the parts of Siberia formerly occupied by the Manchu-ruled Qing Empire would all belong to China, so why doesn’t China claim sovereignty over those territories?

The results of the next presidential election will be known on Jan. 14. Whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wins again or Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is elected, it is hard to say what will happen to Taiwan politically. This topic has recently received a lot of attention.

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has suggested that during the presidential election debate, Tsai should ask Ma whether he will peacefully hand over power if he loses the election.

However, the problem is more complex than that. What Taiwanese, both the pan-blue and pan-green camps, should focus on is whether the move toward unification with China will be accelerated if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wins and whether the KMT will do everything in its power to invite China into Taiwan if it loses.