The basic theme of Mainland China Taiwan policy in recent years has been to insist on its version of "one China," calling for a "peaceful unification under the 'one country, two systems' principle. " However, it has manipulated the use of the term "one China" as a united front tactic. Its purpose is to rationalize the linkage between "the People's Republic of China" and "one China." Four tactics for achieving this can be described as follows:
1. To Imply Ambiguously, But Purposely That "One China" Means "the People's Republic of China"
The first example would be Deng Xiaoping's 1984 "Guidelines on Actions toward Taiwan, " in which he introduced the concept of "one country, two systems." He referred to communist China as "China" or "the central government", trying to ambiguously imply that "one China" is no other than "the People's Republic of China" and create a false impression in the world community that "the People's Republic of China represents the whole of China."
On January 30, 1995, Mainland China President Jiang Zemin delivered his speech to Taiwan, titled "Issues on Developing Cross-strait Relations and Advancing Peaceful Unification at the Present Stage" (commonly referred to as Jiang's eight points). He elaborated on Deng Xiaoping's unification concept of "one China, two systems, " by stressing that "There is only one China, Taiwan is part of China, and neither 'two Chinas' nor 'one China, one Taiwan' will be allowed." Jiang also ambiguously implied that "one China" is "the People's Republic of China."
Targeted by these united-front tactics, we need to be very careful when reading Mainland China's documents, in order not to be misled. Otherwise, we will be the ones to lose, not the other side.
2. To Mislead by Faulty Inference
Mainland China President Jiang Zemin, in a press interview about the Taiwan issue during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, stated, "There is only one China, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China." He also said, "The People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China."
Jiang is thus setting a trap to lead people to draw the faulty inference that "one China" is "the People's Republic of China." Mainland China Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen, in a comment at the 50th United Nations General Assembly, also followed the same tactic, claiming that "one China" is "the People's Republic of China." Qian even downgraded Taiwan to a province or a region of the People's Republic of China -- an overt attempt to block us out of the international arena.
This tactic of faulty inference is a common practice among leaders at all levels of Mainland China government, including Vice Chairman of Central Military Commission Liu Huaqiu and Minister of Defense Chi Haotian. Such is their common rhetoric on the meaning of "one China," which is worthy of note.
3. To Make a Straightforward Claim That "One China Is the People's Republic of China"
This practice is common among officials of Peking's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially in their remarks overseas. Chen Jian, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented at an August 22, 1995 news conference, "There is only one China and the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing this China." Later, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Shen Guofang, replying to a reporter's question at a September 2, 1996 news conference on South African leaders' call for dual recognition, stated that "The People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the entire China, which is recognized by the United Nations and a great majority of countries in the world."
Such is the most common model, citing other countries in support of its claim to make it sound more convincing. Other than remarks by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Li Ruihuan, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, at a meeting with South African representatives on July 10, 1995, stated clearly, "There is only one China, and that is the People's Republic of China. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory." He equated "one China" with "the People's Republic of China."
4. To Solicit Our Acceptance of Its "One China" With No Reservations
In recent months, concerned Mainland Chinese have repeatedly emphasized that the so-called "one China" simply means "There is only one China, and Taiwan is a part of it." They claimed that they have never mentioned that "the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing China." They keep selling the idea that once our side accepts the "one China" term, cross-strait relations can be revived.
This is a relatively new tactic that Mainland China has adopted. It is worthy of note that a small number of people have regarded this development as its bona fide response in terms of its policy toward Taiwan. But these people have overlooked the fact that Mainland leaders have continued to claim that Mainland China represents the whole of China on different occasions. In other words, if we should accept Mainland China's supposedly sincere suggestion without objection, they would then be able to announce to the world that Taiwan has joined the more than 100 countries in "recognizing" its claim that China is represented by the People's Republic China.
We must not be deceived by such trickery. It runs against the established consensus of November 1992, namely, that "the one China definition is subject to respective interpretations by each side."