Key Issues in the Cross-Strait Relationship

KEY ISSUES

The core issues for China are not the same as the core issues for Taiwan and as a result the two sides talk past each other. China and Taiwan have each identified issues that are the most important to them. The central issue for China is the degree of autonomy that Taiwan will have after some form of unification. The key issues for Taiwan have to do with creating conditions now for later talks about unification and the degree of autonomy. Taiwan wants to be considered an equal "political entity" during the negotiations; a time that is considered a "temporary, transitional phenomenon." By not agreeing on a core issue, negotiations fail to make progress.

Strait Talk, Chapter Five: The Issues

Key Issues

Many issues affect the dynamic of the cross-strait relationship. Chapter 5: The Issues examines the issues that seem to have the greatest impact on the cross-strait dynamic. Not only does Strait-Talk provide an in-depth analysis of these issues but also we provide additional information on these issues in order for journalists, policymakers, and the public to have a greater understanding of them.

For us, we perceive that the Key Issues include the concept of One China, which contains five interpretation; China's determination to reunify with Taiwan under the one country, two system formula; the refusal of China to renounce the use of force against Taiwan to resolve issues; the passage of the 2005 PRC Anti-Secession Law; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; the long-standing position of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Taiwanese Independence; the DPP's interpretation of the status quo which compels the current DPP president, Tsai Ing-wen, to refuse to verbalize the 1992 Consensus.

Against this backdrop, we provide researchers with access to a wide range of resources, with a priority on providing you with the official documents collected from reliable sources.