The Republic of China (Taiwan)

Republic of China 1912

• First republic in Asia

• First president: Sun Yat-sen (1866 - 1925)

ROC Constitution (1946)

• First constitutional president (1948 - 1975): Chiang Kai-shek (1887 - 1975)

• Defeated by CCP in 1949

• Retreated to Taiwan

• Authoritarian rule for a quarter century

ROC Government

• President (4-year term after 1996)

• The Five ``Yuan”:– Executive Yuan– Legislative Yuan– Judicial Yuan– Examination Yuan– Control Yuan

• 2 Provinces and 18 counties

Taiwan before 1949

• Immigration from mainland China for centuries (Fujian and Hakka)

• 1885, Qing government promoted Taiwan from prefecture to province

• 1895, ceded to Japan

• 1945, returned to Republic of China

• ``Taiwanese” versus ``mainlanders”– Fujian 70%, Hakka 15%, ``mainlanders” 13%

Taiwan & Islands

• Area: 13,900 square miles

• Population: 23 million

Chiang Kai-shek’s Rule

• Popular elections at the basic level

• Land reform

• 9-year compulsory education

• Economic take-off from 1960s– Export processing zones attract foreign direct

investment– Industrialization strengthens manufacturing

sector

Chiang’s One-China Policy

• ``Mainland was temporarily usurped by communist bandits”

• ``Gloriously retake the mainland”

• Refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognized PRC

• ROC was a permanent member of UN Security Council until 1971

Lee Teng-hui (1923 - )

• Succeeded Chiang Kai-shek’s son as president of ROC and chairman of GMD in 1988

• Became the first popularly elected president of ROC in 1996

• Helped Democratic Progressive Party gain power in 2000

Chen Shui-bian (1950 - )

• Leader of the pro-independent Democratic Progressive Party

• President of ROC 2000-2008

• Prisoner #2630 since 2008-11-12

Taiwan & Mainland's GDP Growth Rate

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

Taiwan's Unemployment Rate

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Diplomatic Tug of War

• 162 countries recognize PRC (Beijing) as the legitimate government of China– 8 (’49) 32 (’59) 49 (’69) 113 (’79) 129 (’89)

• 29 countries recognize ROC (Taipei) as the legitimate government of China

US Official Policy

• US government shifted diplomatic recognition from ROC to PRC in 1979

• US congress passed Taiwan Relations Act in 1979

• American Institute in Taiwan• Taipei Economic and Cultural

Representative Offices in US

Economic Ties

• Trade and investment expanded rapidly despite restrictions by ROC government

• Workaround: Hong Kong and Macau

• ``Three links”:– mail, transportation, and trade

• Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed in 2010

Taiwan's Export to Mainland China (billion US$)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

In 2012, Taiwan’s exports to Mainland China was $132 billion, and imports from Mainland China was $37 billion.

Taiwan's Investment on Mainland China (billion US$)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005