How should it be understood that "the Taiwan question should not be placed on a par with the German question or the Korean question"?
2004-08-18 00:00

The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China and is different from the German question and the Korean question, which were brought about at the end of the Second World War. The Taiwan question is left over by a civil war in China and is the outcome of the intervention of foreign forces, but the division of Germany and Korea was caused by international factors at the end of the Second World War and is based on international accords. Although the two sides of the Straits have not yet unified, the sovereignty of China is not divided. The absolute majority of countries in the world recognize that there is only one China, Taiwan is a part of China and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The Taiwan question is completely an internal affair of China.

The leaders of the Taiwan authorities intend to copy the German model on the relationship between the two sides of the Straits by advocating division before reunification. In fact, their purpose is not to proceed to reunification but to permanent division. Because there is a difference in the historical background for their coming into being, in the nature of the questions, and in the internal factors and concrete circumstances, the question of the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits cannot be placed on a par with the question of two Germanys. The Chinese Government and people are resolutely opposed to the application of the German or Korean formula to the handling of the Taiwan question.

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