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1 1 (August 19, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbky0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. p\w -- , gnom go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LULANJILiN, Updated August 19, 2020 Taiwan: Select Political and Security Issues Taiwan, which officially calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), is an island democracy of 23.6 million people located across the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. U.S.-Taiwan relations have been unofficial since January 1, 1979, when the Carter Administration established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and broke formal diplomatic ties with self-ruled Taiwan, over which the PRC claims sovereignty. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA, P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), enacted on April 10, 1979, provides a legal basis for this unofficial bilateral relationship. It also includes commitments related to Taiwan's security. For discussion of issues related to Taiwan's economy, see CRS In Focus IF10256, U.S.-Taiwan Trade Relations, by Karen M. Sutter. Taiwan's Modern H istory In 1949, after losing a civil war on mainland China to the Communist Party of China, the Kuomintang (KMT), the ruling party of the ROC, moved its seat of government to Taipei. For decades after, the KMT continued to assert that its ROC government was the sole legitimate government of all China. In 1971, however, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 recognized the PRC's representatives as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and expelled the representatives of Chiang Kai- shek, the ROC's then-leader. Taiwan remains outside the United Nations. Taiwan today claims effective jurisdiction over Taiwan, the archipelagos of Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, and some smaller islands. It also claims disputed islands in the East and South China Seas. Figure I. Taiwan ............. ....... ............ ....... ........ ....... ............... ................ ....... ............. ...... ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ............................... ................... ......... ................... ............................... ............................... ... ........................ ............. .. .................. ................ ................ ................ ............. ................... N. ........................................ ................................... ............................................ ............................................ ...................... ........................... . ............. ............. ................... . ........... . 4 ............. kO k .......... .. ............ ...... .. ................ ........... ------ ........... ........ ............. ................ ....................... K .............. X .................... ................. , \ N X v: ................................ % ................ ............ ................... .. ........ ............ ......... ....... ............................... . .............. .................. ................................ ................. ......................... ............................... ......................... ::::::::: 1,0 .......... . .. . ....... ............... . ......... . . ............... .......... \ ............ ............. N AtWLE a The KMT maintained authoritarian one-party rule on Taiwan until 1987, when popular pressure forced it to allow political liberalization. Taiwan held its first direct parliamentary election in 1992 and its first direct presidential election in 1996. The May 2016 inauguration of current President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) marked Taiwan's third peaceful transfer of political power from one party to another. In January 2020 elections, President Tsai was reelected to a second four-year term with 57.1% of the vote. The DPP lost 7 seats in the 113-seat legislature, but retained its majority, with 61 seats. The KMT now controls 38 seats, a gain of 3. The results empowered Tsai to move forward with an agenda includes demanding respect from China for what she calls Taiwan's separate identity. Taiwan's widely lauded response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID- 19) pandemic has bolstered Tsai's public support. Taiwan has recorded seven COVID-19 deaths. U . Com m itments Relaed to Taiwan Four documents underpin the U.S. one-China policy and U.S. relations with Taiwan: joint communiqu6s concluded with the PRC in 1972, 1978, and 1982, plus the TRA. The U.S. one-China policy is distinct from the PRC's one- China principle, which asserts that Taiwan is part of China. In the three communiqu6s, the United States recognized the PRC as the sole legal government of China; acknowledged, though did not affirm, the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China; and pledged to maintain only unofficial relations with Taiwan. The United States does not take a position on Taiwan's future political status, except that it be resolved peacefully, without resort to threats or use of force. Key provisions of the TRA include the following: * Relations with Taiwan shall be carried out through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private corporation. (AIT Taipei performs many of the same functions as U.S. embassies elsewhere and is staffed by U.S. government personnel assigned or detailed to AIT.) * It is U.S. policy to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan. * The United States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. The TRA does not require the United States to defend Taiwan, but states that it is U.S. policy to maintain the capacity to do so, creating strategic ambiguity regarding the U.S. role in the event of a PRC attack on Taiwan. hips!!-----po-----ong-ess gov Sources: Graphic by CRS. Map generated by Hannah Fischer using data from NGA (2017); DoS (2015); Esri (2014); DeLorme (2014). ....................... ...................... ...... --- .... ................. ............ ------- ..... ................. ........... ........ - ................ .......... ................ . ...................... .. ... ...................... ..... ..................... .................... ...................... ....................... ...................... ........................

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