The Four-Stage Theory of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

or the Theory of the Four Stages of the Republic of China is a viewpoint proposed by

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

, the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had ...

from 2000 to 2008, in 2005. It is a viewpoint regarding the political status of the Republic of China, whose government retreated to the island of Taiwan after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

in 1949. The main idea of the theory is that the time line for the development of the Republic of China can be classified into four stages, which are: # The

''on'' the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

(; ), 1912–1949 # The Republic of China ''arrival to''

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

(; ), 1949–1988, before

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...

's presidency # The Republic of China ''on'' Taiwan (; ), 1988–2000, during Lee Teng-hui's presidency # The Republic of China ''is'' Taiwan (; ), 2000–now, during Chen Shui-bian's presidencyChen says name variance is simply an expedient
''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and the third established there. Online competitors include the state-owned '' Focus Taiwan'' and '' Taiwan News''; '' The China Post'' was formerly a compet ...

'', 2005/8/3Chen urges unity to deal with China
''

'', 2005/8/3

Illumination

By this

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may ...

, Chen pointed out that the Republic of China was at the 4th stage after the first ruling party rotation of the central government in 2000. That is, Taiwan, with the official name called the "

", is already an independent sovereign state separate from

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. This theory is welcomed by the mainstream of the

Pan-Green coalition The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union ...

(led by the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majorit ...

) in Taiwan, which supports eventual ''de jure''

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

; but is not welcomed by most members of the

Pan-Blue coalition The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...

(

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

), which supports the eventual reunification of Taiwan with mainland China as part of a single " Chinese nation". Some members of the more strongly pro-independence

Taiwan Solidarity Union The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 and is considered part of the Pan- ...

also oppose this view since they deem the ROC to be an illegitimate foreign and colonial regime that should be replaced by the proposed " Republic of Taiwan". The Pan-Blue Coalition agrees with the first three stages, but disagrees with the fourth stage, and prefers to maintain the distinction between the "Republic of China" (the polity) and "Taiwan" (part of the territory the polity governs). The government of the

has also voiced opposition against the fourth stage on the grounds that such an interpretation is a step closer to ''de jure'' Taiwan independence. (Officially, the PRC claims the existence of the ROC only until 1949.)International Business Publications, USA
Position of the Republic of China (ROC)
''Taiwan Country Study Guide: Strategic Information and Developments'', 2012/3/3, p45

Development

Both the ''

Free China Journal ''Free China Journal'' () was a periodical sponsored by the Kuomintang that was published in Taiwan after the Kuomintang retreat following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. The first issue appeared on 20 December 1949. The publisher was H ...

'' and the '' Free China Weekly'' often referred to the polity as the "Republic of China on Taiwan" prior to

taking office as the first Taiwan-born president of the Republic of China. During Lee's administration, the term remained in use, and he used the term in his speech at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States in June 1995. It was used to identify the

with its remaining major component – the

island of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territor ...

, as opposed to its decades-long claim to all China since losing the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

in 1949. Prior to this speech, the government officials used "Republic of China" when the name of the state was used. Lee's usage is considered as a departure from the convention, as this usage can be interpreted in the sense that the Republic of China's sovereignty does not extend to

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

, which the People's Republic of China controls. The

's 1999 Resolution on Taiwan's Future, which is accorded equivalent status as the Party charter, serves as the baseline of debates toward the "

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

". According to the 1999 Resolution: "Taiwan is a sovereign and independent state and that its national title is the ROC." In other words, "Taiwan is the ROC".DPP’s Cross-Strait Policy Consistent with “Status Quo”

Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, wh ...

, 2011/12/20 During the

(DPP) administration under

, he directed that all government publications and websites to use the form "Republic of China (Taiwan)." These two variations have been used under their respective administrations for the ROC/Taiwan petition to join the United Nations. Unlike the Cold War era when the KMT-controlled ROC competed with the PRC as the legitimate representative of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(including Taiwan), during Chen Shui-bian's presidency, the ROC did not seek to be the representative of China (i.e. it does not seek the PRC's seat on the Security Council or its ouster) and stresses in its petitions that it was only seeking to represent the people of the land under its effective control (i.e. UN's principle of universality). On October 8, 2011, the eve of the centennial celebration of the founding of the Republic of China on

October 10 Events Pre-1600 * 680 – The Battle of Karbala marks the Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. * 732 – Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. *1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with ...

, the

(DPP) Chairperson

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

and the presidential candidate for the 2012 Taiwan presidential election explained her stance on the existence of the

Republic of China on Taiwan Republic of China on Taiwan () is a political term as well as discourse regarding the present status of the Republic of China. It is proposed by former President of the Republic of China Lee Teng-hui, the first locally-born president (i.e., t ...

as "...the Republic of China has lost the land on which it was originally established. It only exists in Taiwan. It has merged into the land and people of Taiwan. Today, the majority of the people in Taiwan can agree that Taiwan is the Republic of China, and the Republic of China is Taiwan.", "Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country", and "...after we began directly electing our president, the current Republic of China government is no longer a foreign government. It is now the

government of Taiwan The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the " free area". Governed by the De ...

."Tsai presents “ROC is Taiwan” stance on eve of centenary
Formosa News, 2011/10/09Tsai affirms recognition of the ROC

, 2011/10/10 Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an associate researcher at the Institute of Modern History at

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging fro ...

, said "many are aware that the ROC and Taiwan are two faces of the same coin" and Tsai's ROC was an extension of the ROC from former presidents

and

. While some understood "elections have their own languages", many Taiwanese, including former DPP Chairman and former president of the

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch, in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, ...

Yao Chia-wen, are absolutely against the ROC and insist "we need to promote the rectification our nation's name to the Republic of Taiwan". Tsai won the 2016 Taiwan presidential election and sworn in as first female

President of Taiwan The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...

on May 20.

References

* Peter Kien-Hong Yu
Chapter 5: The LEE Teng-hui March: A Zig-Zag Line / Chapter 6: The CHEN Shui-bian March: A Forced, Untrodden Split Line with Sideroads
''The Second Long March: Struggling Against the Chinese Communists Under the Republic of China (Taiwan) Constitution'', 2011/11/3

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Four-Stage Theory Of The Republic Of China Taiwanization Taiwanese nationalism Taiwan independence movement Democratic Progressive Party Politics of Taiwan 2005 in Taiwan 2011 in Taiwan Political theories

Illumination

Development

See also

References

External links