User:PalaceGuard008/China

China (Wade-Giles (Mandarin): Chung¹kuo²) is a country in East Asia.[insert references with "China is a country in East Asia"] Due to its complex history, the precise identity and extent of "China" is the subject of varying, and often conflicting, views; see below.

China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilization. It is the product of the agglomeration of a variety of cultures and political entities over the past six milleninia.[some kind of ref about the diversity of origins of Chinese culture and the modern nation] It has the world's longest continuously used written language system, and the source of a number of major inventions, including what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.[A Needham ref needed here]

The stalemate of the last Chinese Civil War has resulted in two political entities using the name China: the People's Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as China, which controls mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; and the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan, which controls the island of Taiwan and some nearby islands.

What constitues "China"
[to be inserted perhaps after "Names"] Due to the complexity of China's history and modern political reality, there are many views as to what constitutes "China" today, both in terms of its representative government or governments, as well as the territories that comprise "China" as a country.

View of the People's Republic of China
[official position]

The People's Republic of China (PRC) regards "China" as a state with an undivided sovereignty. It regards itself as the sole representative of that sovereignty, having succeeded the Republic of China to that sovereignty in 1949. It regards the territories under its effective control, including Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, as well as the territories under the effective control of the Republic of China, such as Taiwan, as under the same, single sovereignty of China which it represents. It also claims as Chinese territory disputed areas such as Aksai Chin (PRC effective control), Arunachal Pradesh (Indian effective control), and various South China Sea islands (PRC, ROC, Vietnam and others exercising effective control). It does not claim Mongolia as a part of China, nor various other former disputed territories such as Tannu Uriankhai.

[acceptance]

Most other governments either recognize or acknowledge without endorsing the People's Republic of China's view that Taiwan and other territories under the effective control of the Republic of China are part of the same, "undivided sovereignty" of China. However, they either pass no opinion on, or dispute, the People's Republic of China's other territorial claims, especially along its disputed border with India. The claim of the People's Republic of China as the sole representative of the sovereignty of China is recognised by most other governments around the world, and is the official view of various international bodies such as the United Nations. This is reflected in common usage by references to the People's Republic of China as "China".

[dispute]

The view of the People's Republic of China as to its position as representative of the sovereignty of China is disputed in various forms by the Republic of China and its supporters. The view of the PRC as to the extent of China's territories are disputed, on the one hand, by various independence and separatist movements (see below ), who dispute the PRC's claims, and on the other hand by the supporters of the constitutional position of the ROC (see below ) and Chinese irredentists (see below ).

[Readin: The use of the word movement is a bit problematic here. It is not those who consider Taiwan separate who are moving, they are recognizing establish fact. It is those who wish to see Taiwan change to become a part of the PRC who are moving.] [PG008 reply: "movement" does not necessarily mean "move". It just means a group of people with a common cause - see dictionary definitions of "movement" in the political sense]

View of the Republic of China
[constitutional]

The constitutional position of the Republic of China (ROC), as contained in its constitution, is that "China" is a state with an undivided sovereignty, and that the Republic of China is the sole representative of that sovereignty. Under this view, the Republic of China succeeded the Qing Empire to the sovereignty of China, and was never replaced as it has continued to function in Taiwan despite the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in mainland China. The People's Republic of China is thus an illegitimate regime. Accordingly, the territories that comprise China include the territories under the control of both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, including Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang, all territories claimed as part of China by the People's Republic of China, as well as territories whose de-facto alienation from China was traditionally viewed as illegitimate by the Republic of China, such as Outer Mongolia (Mongolian effective control), Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River (Russian effective control), the Pamir Mountains (Tajikistani and Afghan effective control), and Kachin State (Burmese effective control).

[non-constitutional official]

While this remains the constitutional position of the Republic of China, recent governments in official and unofficial statements have adopted a more ambiguous position. Under this position, the ROC no longer pursues its territorial claims outside of the areas of its effective control, with the possible exception of Senkaku Islands (Japanese effective control). It neither sees Taiwan as independent from China nor unified with mainland China. Its position on the relations between the ROC and the People's Republic of China has ranged from an acceptance of the "One-China principle" under the 1992 Consensus, to a view that there are two political entities in special state-to-state relations, and a rejection of the One-China principle. While no government has out-right stated that Taiwan was independent from China, however defined, the government of President Chen Shui-bien has equated the ROC with Taiwan, and emphasised the sovereignty of the ROC. There is significant support amongst both voters and politicans in Taiwan for either seeking or formalising the independence of Taiwan from China (see below ). The official view, as enunciated by the Mainland Affairs Council, is that Taiwan and mainland China have been separately administered since about 1949. The two governments constitute separate political entities, neither of which is subordinate to the other.

[acceptance]

The official position of the Republic of China that it represents the undivided sovereignty of China is not accepted by most countries in the world nor by major international organisations such as the United Nations. 23 states currently maintain diplomatic relations with the ROC rather than the People's Republic of China on the basis that it is the sole legitimate government of China. The ROC and the PRC continue a diplomatic tug-of-war, competing for the recognition and support of foreign governments. The gifting of large sums of money and other forms of support by the ROC government in this "money diplomacy" has been controversial in Taiwan in recent years.

[dispute]

The constitutional position of the Republic of China that Taiwan, mainland China, and other territories including Mongolia constitute one, undivided and sovereign "China" is generally consistent with the view of the People's Republic of China on that point. However, the People's Republic of China recognises the independence of Mongolia, and also recognises the incorporation of certain territories into neighbouring countries, such as that of Tannu Uriankai into Russia. Neighbouring countries such as Mongolia, Russia, Myanmar, India and Tajikistan also dispute the boundaries of China as drawn by the Republic of China. However, these are not active disputes as the Republic of China does not currently pursue these territorial claims. The only area of relatively active dispute are in the South and East China Seas, where the Republic of China - like the People's Republic of China - actively claim as part of its territory certain islands in the South and East China Seas which are also claimed by countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and the Phillipines.

The constitutional and official position of the Republic of China that it represents the sovereignty of all China is disputed by the People's Republic of China, which claims that the PRC is the legitimate government representing that sovereignty instead. In the international diplomatic arena, the PRC's claims, rather than the ROC's, are usually recognised in this regard.

The non-constitutional official position of the Republic of China that the two sides of the Taiwan strait are separate "political entities" of some description is disputed by the People's Republic of China. The PRC recognises that the two sides are "not yet unified" but rejects any description of the situation that sees the two sides as politically separate.

Views of supporters for the separation or independence of Taiwan
[present separation] There is significant support among both voters and politicians in Taiwan for a range of views which either see Taiwan as already separate or independent from China, or advocate for Taiwan to become separate or independent from China.

Among views recognising the current separation of Taiwan from China, at the most moderate end of this spectrum of views is that of the Republic of China government as enunciated by the Mainland Affairs Council, which states that Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since around 1949, and are separate political entities, neither of which are subordinate to the other. Under this interpretation, Taiwan is separate from mainland China, but the question of whether Taiwan and mainland China are both part of a broad concept of "China" is left ambiguous.

In actual usage, politicians and others vary to both sides of this official line. Pan-Green politicians tend to assume that "China" and "Taiwan" are separate and distinct[insert examples of usage treating China and Taiwan are separate and distinct]. Pan-Blue politicians have, on the other hand, made statements that "there is only one China, which is the Republic of China".

Other versions of this view include that Taiwan is already an independent country; that Taiwan is a sovereign state separate from China; or that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are two separate sovereign states.

More extremist views question the validity of claims of both the People's Republic of CHina and the Republic of China. These includes arguments that Taiwan is still part of Japan, or, less commonly, part of the United States.

[future independence] A separate stream of argument advocates the formal independence of China, usually via the declaration of a "Republic of Taiwan". [flesh out details]

[level of acceptance] Government polling have in recent years shown a significant but not overwhelming level of support the indepence of Taiwan. Out of the options of "independence", "unification" and "maintain status quo", the option of maintaining the status quo has consistently enjoyed majority support.

On the other hand, the recognition of the separation of Taiwan from mainland China is attested to polls which show a majority of people viewing themselves as "Taiwanese" rather than "Chinese". [need to dig out poll figures]

Views of other separatist or independence movements
[views] Apart from Taiwan, there are movements which agitate for the separation or independence from China associated with several other regions in China. The most prominent of these are the Tibetan independence movement in Tibet, and the East Turkestan independence movement in Xinjiang. Other, more marginal groups including those advocating an independent Manchukuo in Manchuria, [any others?]

[level of acceptance] None of the separatist movements discussed currently receives support from a foreign government or international body. The level of sympathy amongst the general community outside China varies from movement to movement.

The most high-profile of the movements is that of Tibet, which is almost unique in that it receives support from a significant community of ethnic non-Tibetans. Support for the cause of the Tibetan government-in-exile is such that some groups openly advocate for Tibetan independence, despite the rejection of that goal by the Dalai Lama himself. The Tibetan Government-in-Exile enjoys the tolerance of the government of India, and has its headquarters at Dharamsala, India.

By contrast, the East Turkestan movement in Xinjiang has received less sympathetic treatment. While it previously enjoyed the support or tolerance of some governments in Central Asia and beyond, the association of members of the movement with the Taliban and Al Qaeda has resulted in its proscription as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and most countries such as the United States.

Irredentist views
Depending on definitions, both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China officially maintain irredentist policies. In particular, constitutionally the ROC maintains claims over Mongolia, and territories now administered by Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, and Burma. However, the ROC's claims are not active. The PRC's major active territorial disputes are along the border with India and in the South China Sea.

Outside official contexts, Chinese irredentists advocate for the "recovery" by the government of their choice of the various territories officially claimed by the Republic of China, as well as other territories such as other parts of Siberia. More extreme views argue that China should exert control over formal vassal states such as Nepal, Vietnam, and Korea.

The level of acceptance of such arguments in the general community whether in China or outside is minimal, although they have a disproportionately high presence on the internet.