Explained: The ‘One China’ policy which is at the crux of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday became the first senior US official in 25 years to visit Taiwa n, in what is being deemed as a break from the ‘One China’ policy. Beijing warned of grave consequences and also deployed military jets and tank s as the US House speaker landed in Taipei, after it accused Washington of “playing with fire”. In a statement, Beijing said, “These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it.” In response to China’s show of strength and stark warnings, US National Security coordinator John Kirby said that the United States is clear about its One China policy and does not support “Taiwan independence”. “We are clear that nothing has changed about our one China policy which is guided by Taiwan Relations Act. We do not support Taiwan’s independence,” Kirby said while addressing a media briefing. But, what is this ‘One China’ policy? Why does it exist? Firstpost Explainers tells you everything about the US’s delicate balancing act on the dispute between China and Taiwan. First, some history To understand the ‘One China’ policy, one needs to go back in time, as the policy can be traced back to 1949 and the end of the Chinese civil war. In 1949, when civil war broke out between the Mao Zedong-led Communists and the Nationalists, led by Mao’s arch rival and chief of the Kuomintang (KMT) party Chiang Kai-shek, the defeated Nationalists retreated to Taiwan (also known as Republic of China) and made it their seat of government while the victorious Communists began ruling the mainland as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The two sides have been governed separately since, though a shared cultural and linguistic heritage mostly endures — with Mandarin spoken as the official language in both places. For over seven decades, Beijing has continued to view Taiwan as a Chinese province and vows to “unify” it with the mainland. Beijing’s stance is that there is only “one China” and that Taiwan is part of it, a view that is not held by all within the island nation. Initially, many governments, including the United States recognised Taiwan as they shied away from Communist China. However, diplomatic winds shifted and the US seeing a need to develop relations with China — recognise the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and derecognised the Republic of China (ROC) in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. The US also moved its embassy to Beijing from Taipei. [caption id=“attachment_11002901” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Taiwanese president President Tsai Ing-wen wave during a meeting in Taipei. This the first visit by a senior US official to the island nation in 25 years. AP[/caption] What does the ‘One China’ policy say? The policy that forms the basis of Chinese diplomacy and determines Sino-US relations, is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government. Under the policy, the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan. The policy is clearly explained in the US-PRC joint communique of December 1978: “The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America have agreed to recognise each other and to establish diplomatic relations as of 1 January 1979. The United States of America recognises the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.” It added: “The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.” Does this mean US has no ties with Taiwan? The short answer to this question is no. As per the ‘One China’ policy, US maintains formal ties with China, it also has unofficial ties with Taiwan. This has been facilitated as US Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) in 1979. Basically, this Act notes that US must help Taiwan defend itself — which is why the US continues to sell arms to Taiwan. The US has also said it insists on the peaceful resolution of differences between the two sides and encourages both sides to pursue “constructive dialogue”. It maintains an unofficial presence in Taipei via the American Institute in Taiwan, a private corporation through which it carries out diplomatic activities. The TRA came into being because while US follows the ‘One China’ policy, it doesn’t ascribe to the One China principle, whereby China insists Taiwan is an inalienable part of one China to be reunified one day. [caption id=“attachment_11002941” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  In 1979, the US accepted the One China policy under President Jimmy Carter. AFP[/caption] How does ‘One China’ policy affect Taiwan? It is obvious that China has been a huge benefactor of the ‘One China’ policy, as it casts Taiwan out into the diplomatic wilderness. Taiwan doesn’t have nation status at the United Nations and at most other international bodies. China has also had Taiwan excluded from World Health Organization (WHO) meetings about the coronavirus pandemic — even though Taiwan has been held up as a poster child for its response to the pandemic. It competes at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei. As China has grown richer, it has used its economic might to convince, though some might say coerce, countries into not accepting Taiwan’s country status. Beijing has steadily been picking off Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, many of them in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Taiwan is left with recognition from only 14 out of 193 United Nations member states: Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Tuvalu. Does India subscribe to ‘One China’ policy? India does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan yet, as it follows the One-China policy. However, there have been shifts and changes and in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra invited Taiwan’s Ambassador Chung-Kwang Tien, along with Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration to his swearing-in. India also has an office in Taipei for diplomatic functions — India-Taipei Association (ITA), which is headed by a senior diplomat. However, after the Galwan attacks in 2020, India has played up its ties with Taiwan. In May 2020, the BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi and Rahul Kaswan attended the swearing-in of Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen through virtual mode. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.