China Taiwan Rapprochement

This book examines how since about 2008 the economy of Taiwan has become ever more deeply integrated into the economy of China. It goes beyond a consideration of trade and investment flows, and discusses also the large population flows, the growing integration of the two financial systems and the nature of the deep economic integration at the industry and firm level. It considers the impact of growing economic integration on society and politics, assesses how China-Taiwan economic integration is affecting the East Asian region more widely, and explores the implications for international relations, including the United States dominance in the region. Overall, the book presents a comprehensive analysis of all the issues.

The future of the Taiwan Strait is more wide open than at any other time in recent decades. Tensions between China and Taiwan have eased since 2008. But the movement toward full rapprochement remains fragile. Whether the two sides of the Strait can sustain and expand a cooperative relationship after years of mutual distrust and fear is still uncertain. The waters of the Strait are uncharted, and each side worries about shoals beneath the surface. The current engagement between Beijing and Taipei may make possible a solution to their six-decade-long dispute. Whether, when, and how that might happen is, however, shrouded in doubt. China fears the island's permanent separation, by way of either an overt move to de jure independence or continued refusal to unify with the mainland. Taiwan fears subordination to an authoritarian regime that does not have Taipei's interests at heart. And the United States worries about the stability of the East Asian region. Richard Bush, who studied issues surrounding Taiwan during almost twenty years in the U.S. government, explains the current state of relations between China and Taiwan, providing the details of what led to the current situation. And he extrapolates on the likely future of cross-Strait relations. Bush also discusses America's stake, analyzing possible ramifications for U.S. interests in the critically important East Asia region and recommends steps to protect those interests. "At the heart of the [Taiwan conundrum] is a question of definition. Does the dispute stem from the protracted division of the Chinese state after World War II, or does the Republic of China on Taiwan in some sense constitute a successor state of the old Republic of China (ROC), one on a par with the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland? Whether and how the unification of the two entities might occur hinges on the answer. Indeed, I have argued that the core of the dispute between the two sides has been their

Relations between mainland China and Taiwan have improved markedly in recent years, giving rise to the key question, How far can the current rapprochement go? This book focuses on how mainland China-Taiwan relations are likely to develop in future. It considers economic relations, including the many recent trade agreements, the political sphere, where there has been little progress, the impact of increasing personal, social contacts, and the role of international actors, especially the United States. The book concludes by arguing that the present "circulatory dialogue" is likely to continue, without a transformative breakthrough.

Relations between mainland China and Taiwan have improved markedly in recent years, giving rise to the key question, How far can the current rapprochement go? This book focuses on how mainland China-Taiwan relations are likely to develop in future. It considers economic relations, including the many recent trade agreements, the political sphere, where there has been little progress, the impact of increasing personal, social contacts, and the role of international actors, especially the United States. The book concludes by arguing that the present "circulatory dialogue" is likely to continue, without a transformative breakthrough.

Ever since Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang evacuated to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China and Taiwan have been divided by a fundamental and irreconcilable sovereignty dispute over Taiwan’s international status. In addition, the United States has played a central role in the rivalry between Beijing and Taipei. Despite the immutable nature of this sovereignty dispute between China and Taiwan, the triangular relations among Beijing, Taipei, and Washington have changed quite considerably over time. Over the last three decades, for example, relations in the Taiwan Strait were fairly tranquil during the 1980s and early 1990s, became much tenser from 1995 to 2008, and then reverted to amicable relations among China, Taiwan, and the United States after the election of a new Taiwanese President in 2008. This book seeks to understand and analyze the relations among China, Taiwan, and the United States in the early twenty-first century. In particular, it explores what causes change in the relations among Beijing, Taipei, and Washington and how stable the new era is likely to be. Consequently, special emphasis is placed on the factors promoting change or stability in the interactions among these three countries and upon the policy choices facing their governments. The major topics include the dynamics of the “strategic triangle” that defines cross-Strait relations (Chapters 2 to 4 and 8), the domestic politics and policies of Taiwan and China (Chapters 3 to 8), and the growing economic integration across the Taiwan Strait (Chapters 9 to 12). Overall, the future of this trilateral relationship appears to be fairly open-ended. Despite the current rapprochement, the ultimate goals of China and Taiwan remain incompatible; cross-Strait relations remain a viciously polarizing issue in Taiwan’s domestic politics; and there is profound scholarly disagreement over the broader implications of the growing economic ties across the Strait.

"Based on extensive original research including interviews with key participants, this book examines how, following Richard Nixon's famous visit to China in 1972, Japan established formal diplomatic relations with China, doing so before the United States and other western countries. It considers the key personalities - prime minister Tanaka and foreign minister Ōhira on the Japanese side, and Zhou Enlai on the Chinese side, outlines how the discussions unfolded, and discusses the key issues which divided the two sides and how these issues were resolved: Japanese war reparations to China, how the two countries perceived their past, how Taiwan should be treated, and possession of the Senkaku Islands. The book also shows how Tanaka and Ōhira sought to reconcile China-Japanese relations with the US-Japan Security Treaty and to continue non-governmental exchanges with Taiwan following the severing of relations. Overall, the book emphasises that the nature of the relationship established in 1972 continues to be very important for understanding present day China-Japan relations"--

This book examines how since about 2008 the economy of Taiwan has become ever more deeply integrated into the economy of China. It goes beyond a consideration of trade and investment flows, and discusses also the large population flows, the growing integration of the two financial systems and the nature of the deep economic integration at the industry and firm level. It considers the impact of growing economic integration on society and politics, assesses how China-Taiwan economic integration is affecting the East Asian region more widely, and explores the implications for international relations, including the United States dominance in the region. Overall, the book presents a comprehensive analysis of all the issues.

"Adopting a critical political economy perspective this book sheds new light on the social and political struggles that shaped the political dynamics of Taiwan-China relations and cross-Strait rapprochement between 2008 and 2014. Presenting a careful analysis of primary sources and interviews, the book reconstructs the historical, political and socio-economic factors that shaped Taiwan's path to the Sunflower Movement of 2014, reinterpreting this process as a struggle over Taiwan's role in the global economy. It challenges received wisdoms regarding the rise and fall of the rapprochement: First, the study argues that the rapprochement was not primarily driven by political elites but by capitalist conglomerates within Taiwan, which sought a normalisation of economic relations across the Taiwan Strait. Second, it finds that Taiwan's social movements during that period were not homogeneous but rather struggled to find a common vision that could unite the critics of the rapprochement. The insights provided not only offer a deeper understanding of Taiwan's protest cycle between 2008 and 2014, but also serve to recontextualise the political dynamics in post-Sunflower Taiwan. As such it will appeal to Students and scholars of Taiwan Studies, East Asian Politics and Social Movement Studies"--