China And Taiwan Coming Closer Can Further Strengthen The East

China and Taiwan held their high-leveltalks for the first time after the end of thecivil war. In 1949, the civil war ended andChina and Taiwan joined the oppositecamps. The meeting was held in Nanjing.Nanjing was the capital of Chiang kaishek, the President of the Republic ofChina. After the defeat of his forces bythe Communist forces led by Mao, theRepublic of China forces moved to theisland of Formosa which is now calledTaiwan. After the civil war, China joinedthe Soviet camp and Taiwan joined thewestern capitalist block led by the U.S.During the Cold War they acted as adversariesand enemies. Taiwan was givenpermanent Security Council membershipseat while China was not allowed to jointhe United Nations. Finally, in 1971, thePeople’s Republic of China assumedChina’s seat in the UN.Taiwan (officially, the Republic of China)constitutionally claims sovereignty overall of China. China (the People’sRepublic of China) also claims to be thesole legal representative of China andclaims Taiwan as its 23rd Province. ThePRC has also declared that it can use militaryforce if Taiwan formally declaresindependence or if the peaceful solutionis no longer possible, then it can use militaryforce.Taiwan experienced rapid economicgrowth and industrialization. Taiwan isone of the four Asian Tigers; the otherthree are Hong Kong, Singapore, andSouth Korea. It is the 19th largest economyin the world. It remains one of theclosest allies of the US in Asia. The UScontinues to sell Taiwan weaponsthrough the Taiwan relations Act of1979. In 2010, the Obama administrationannounced its intention of selling 6.4 billiondollars worth of military hardware.China is very unhappy about the US sellingweapons to Taiwan. With theenhanced status of China in the world,Taiwan is losing the recognition and thestatus it once enjoyed in the world. Manycountries in the world are afraid to makeChina angry. China is the second largesteconomy of the world. In the nextdecade, it is likely that the Chinese economywill surpass the American economy.Many countries do not want to take therisk of antagonizing China.China and Taiwan can have a complementaryrelation. Taiwan is a highlyindustrialized part with high-tech industry.China is a vast country which hassome highly industrialized and developedareas, but still has vast areas which needmore development. At present China’sdevelopment is relatively limited to thecoastal and urban areas. The interior andrural areas still need to be developed toreduce the gap in the development.Taiwan can help China with this development.In return, Taiwan can have accessto the vast natural resources of China.Another benefit for Taiwan can be thatmany tourists can visit China. Taiwan is avery small area whereas China is a verybig country with many places to see.Moreover, many Taiwanese have anational affinity for China and will like tovisit places in China. It is not only a feelingof nostalgia but it is also a matter ofnational pride. They want to see thetremendous progress made by China.At present, China is a rising countrywhile America is on the decline. Americais siding with Japan in its conflict withChina. Many patriotic Chinese will sidewith China in this conflict. Taiwan wasoccupied by Japan and the Taiwanesewere treated as second and third-class citizens.About 2,000 Taiwanese womenwere forced into sexual slavery forImperial Japanese troops. These womenwere called Comfort Women. Comingtogether of Taiwan and China will furthertilt the balance in the area towardChina and away from America and Japan.After the defeat in the Second WorldWar, Japan practically gave up its Asianidentity and joined the West economically,politically, militarily, and culturally. Thedefeat shook its self confidence and selfrespect and it became an Americancolony.Many Japanese patriots were uncomfortablewith the new slavish identity ofJapan and wanted to reassert its Asianheritage. At one time, it appeared as ifJapan was coming back to the Asian fold.Japan improved its relations with China.However, the pro-American forces inJapan staged a comeback and Japan hasreverted to its subservient and slavishrole. The Japanese leaders have not onlyspoiled their relations with China, butalso with South Korea and other neighborswho suffered the consequences ofJapanese occupation. If Taiwan andChina come together, Japan may beforced to reconsider its policies.Everybody has to understand that it isAsia’s century, the East is rising, and theWest is on the decline. Those who do notunderstand these facts will have to sufferthe consequences of their ignorance orbelligerence.Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is theChairman of the Washington State Networkfor Human Rights and Chairman of theCentral Washington Coalition for Social Justice.He can be reached [email protected].