One China principle
The One China 'principle' is the official position of the People's Republic of China on the political status of Taiwan and cross-strait relations. The standard statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the One China Principle is as follows:
The Chinese Communist Party and the government of the People's Republic of China pursue Chinese unification based on this principle and have established it as a national policy through the CCP constitution, state constitution and the 2005 Anti-Secession Law. Guided by the principle, the government of the PRC opposes the Republic of China from developing diplomatic relations with other countries in the world, or any relations of a state-to-state nature, and opposes Taiwan from participating in the United Nations system and other intergovernmental international organizations. It requires that Taiwan can only participate in non-governmental international organizations under names that do not carry national characteristics, such as "Chinese Taipei" or "Taiwan, China".
This proposition is different from the "One China Principle" of the Republic of China, and has therefore long been not accepted by the government of the Republic of China. Before the 1970s, the ROC government used its "One China Principle" to implement a policy of "no coexistence between Han and traitors" and a closed policy against the government of the People's Republic of China, believing that it had the right to represent China and suppress the international space of the People's Republic of China. However, with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 in 1971 and Nixon's visit to China in 1972, the ROC's international diplomatic recognition decreased. With the change of the international situation after the end of the Cold War, the ROC government has stopped actively competing with mainland China for the right to represent China with the "One China Principle" since the 1990s, and instead emphasized the equality between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait; in contrast, the government of the People's Republic of China has suppressed the international space of the Republic of China with its own "One China Principle".
History
On 1 October 1949, the People's Republic of China was established. On 2 October 1949, the Soviet Union recognized the PRC and became the first country to establish diplomatic relations with it. The Republic of China subsequently severed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. In 1950, the United Kingdom, a member of the Western Bloc, took the lead in recognizing the PRC and severed diplomatic relations with the ROC. After that, both sides did not accept dual recognition in the diplomatic field. The ROC government severed diplomatic relations with countries that recognized the PRC as representing China. On the contrary, the PRC government would never establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognized the ROC as representing China.In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, in which the PRC replaced the ROC as China's representative in the United Nations. In the international community, more countries established diplomatic relations with the PRC and broke off diplomatic relations with the ROC. In the communiqués on the establishment of diplomatic relations, all countries agreed to the one-China policy proposed by China, that is, "there is only one China in the world, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legal government of China." The attitudes towards the status of Taiwan were different in both text and practice.
Since 1982, the preamble of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China stated that "Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China. It is the sacred duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great cause of unifying the motherland." In 2005, the Anti-Secession Law was enacted to codify the one-China principle. In 2022, during the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party was amended to include opposition to Taiwan independence.
The "One China Principle" of the People's Republic of China has been expressed in different versions, namely the "old three sentences" and the "new three sentences".
Old Three Sentences
The old three sentences adhere to the "representative theory of this government", which includes the sentence "The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing all of China." This version is often used in diplomatic occasions, such as when establishing diplomatic relations with other countries and participating in international organizations. The order of the following three clauses varies slightly in different situations.The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Issue states: "Foreign countries recognize that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing all of China and that diplomatic relations with the Taiwan authorities shall be severed or not established. These are the principles upon which New China establishes diplomatic relations." It also states that this version of the proposition "constitutes the basic meaning of the One China Principle, the core of which is to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Usage
Since the 2000s, whenever the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations with other countries, the other governments would "recognize" this version of the "One China Principle" in the communiqués establishing diplomatic relations. On August 4, 2000, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations also used this version of the "One China Principle" in a letter to the UN Secretary-General.On August 4, 2022, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying also used this version of the "One China Principle" during a regular press conference, and stressed that "the One China Principle has only one version and one meaning," and "no private insertion of any premise or suffix is allowed, nor is any misinterpretation or distortion." On May 10, 2024, Yang Tao, Director General of the Department of North America and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also used this version of the "One China Principle" during a briefing, criticizing the United States for "claiming to adhere to the One China policy, but adding the "Taiwan Relations Act" and "Six Assurances to Taiwan" as prefixes and suffixes."
New Three Sentences
The new three sentences replaced "this government representative said" with "they all belong to China". After the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin delivered a speech entitled "Continue to strive for the completion of the great cause of national reunification," the "One China Principle" had a new expression. In January 1998, the government of the People's Republic of China proposed the "One China Principle" to Taiwan as follows:The "One China Principle" adopted in the 2000s is expressed as follows:
This version gradually changed the sentence "The government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China" to "China's sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be divided" and changed the sentence "Taiwan is a part of China" to "Mainland China and Taiwan belong to one China." Lawyer Chen Changwen believes that the new version changes the relationship from subordinate to equal. This version is mostly used in dealing with cross-strait relations.
The Taiwan Affairs Office believes that this version of the statement is "a new elaboration of Comrade Jiang Zemin's personal statement on upholding the one-China principle. It not only upholds the consistency of the one-China principle, but also demonstrates the sincerity of striving for peaceful reunification and respect for Taiwan compatriots. It is very inclusive." The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Issue states that the purpose of this version is "to seek and expand the political foundation for cross-strait relations" and that its application is "before reunification, in handling cross-strait affairs, and especially in cross-strait negotiations".
On the anniversary of Jiang Zemin's speech "Continue to Strive to Promote the Completion of the Great Cause of National Reunification", Vice Premier Qian Qichen used this version of the "One China Principle" in his speeches. In August 2000, Vice Premier Qian Qichen also used this version of the "One China Principle" when meeting with a delegation from the United Daily News Group of Taiwan. In November 2002, Jiang Zemin also used this version of the "One China Principle" in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. This version of the "One China Principle" was also used in the Anti-Secession Law passed on March 14, 2005.
1992 Consensus
The principle
Taiwan
The white paper released by the government of the People's Republic of China states that the Chinese government "resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan" on October 25, 1945, and China has therefore legally and factually recovered Taiwan; after its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China replaced the Republic of China's rule over China, completing the regime change in the sense of international law. Therefore, the government of the People's Republic of China, as the sole legitimate government of China, has the right to exercise sovereignty over Taiwan.The preamble to the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China. It is the sacred duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great cause of unifying the motherland." The 2005 Anti-Secession Law stipulates that: