DBWI: Taiwan Has Officially Declared Independence

Anaxagoras

Banned
I'm watching CNN right now, and it looks like the expected has occurred. The Taiwanese government has officially declared that the country is "completely independent from China and fully asserts its rights as a completely sovereign state." I guess future history books will mark July 20, 2006, as Taiwanese independence day.

This is no surprise, really. Ever since the assassination of Chen Shui-bian back before the 2004 election, pro-independence sentiment among the people of Taiwan has increased steadily.

Hmm. . . they're now reporting on the Chinese reaction. The government has condemned the move as the actions of "power-hungry renegades" and says that they "preparing a powerful response." That doesn't sound good, does it?
 
Declare independence from what, the Republic of China?
The Peoples Republic never had control over Taiwan.

Jim
 
While an aggressive step, I doubt nothing will be done other than a few more missiles pointed at that isle.
 
OOC: China will complain, Taiwan will probably not be invaded though, as that would risk war with NATO, and destroy the nice rich industrialised country China wants..... that is why they want Taiwan okay? It's rich, and modernised, and the boom it would get with free access to the Chinese market! As long as Bejiing doesn't treat them as badly as Tibet, I don't see most people in Taiwan complaining about reunification in a more liberal China, or a semi-autonomous Taiwan of course, quicker that way.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
OOC: China will complain, Taiwan will probably not be invaded though, as that would risk war with NATO, and destroy the nice rich industrialised country China wants..... that is why they want Taiwan okay? It's rich, and modernised, and the boom it would get with free access to the Chinese market! As long as Bejiing doesn't treat them as badly as Tibet, I don't see most people in Taiwan complaining about reunification in a more liberal China, or a semi-autonomous Taiwan of course, quicker that way.

OOC: But China has said, over and over again, that a declaration of independence by Taiwan will be grounds for a military invasion to assert China's claims by force. If Taiwan were to declare independence and China does nothing in response, China will look like the village idiot in front of the whole world. I believe that a full-scale war would be inevitable.
 

Bearcat

Banned
Afraid you're right

OOC: But China has said, over and over again, that a declaration of independence by Taiwan will be grounds for a military invasion to assert China's claims by force. If Taiwan were to declare independence and China does nothing in response, China will look like the village idiot in front of the whole world. I believe that a full-scale war would be inevitable.

The PRC's repeated statements paint it into a corner. This is going to be bad for Taiwan, the PRC and the US. Probably a very dystopian outcome.
 
OOC - In a war between the PRC and Taiwan if the US came to Taiwans help then Russia might get involved since China and Russia did sign a treaty. Its called the "Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation" in July of 2001. With the return of one island and the half of another to China last year that treaty is in full affect. But it does have a void date.

Article 25

The term of validity of the present treaty is twenty years. If neither side of the contracting parties notify the other in writing of its desire to terminate the treaty one year before the treaty expires, the treaty shall automatically be extended for another five years and shall thereafter be continued in force in accordance with this provision.
The following are some more articles of the treaty:
Article 4

The Chinese side supports the Russian side in its policies on the issue of defending the national unity and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.

The Russian side supports the Chinese side in its policies on the issue of defending the national unity and territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China.

Article 5

The Russian side reaffirms that the principled stand on the Taiwan issue as expounded in the political documents signed and adopted by the heads of states of the two countries from 1992 to 2000 remain unchanged. The Russian side acknowledges that there is only one China in the world, that the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Russian side opposes any form of Taiwan's independence.

Article 9

When a situation arises in which one of the contracting parties deems that peace is being threatened and undermined or its security interests are involved or when it is confronted with the threat of aggression, the contracting parties shall immediately hold contacts and consultations in order to eliminate such threats.
 
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