Pro-Taiwanese sentiment () refer to feelings or attitudes in favor of Taiwan. It should be distinguished from "

pro-Republic of China Pro-Republic of China () or simply pro-ROC is a political alignment that supports the Republic of China (ROC) in terms of politics, economy, society, and culture. Pro-ROC is sometimes synonymous with pro-Taiwan in context. However, " pro-Taiwa ...

", as they often appear to be more favorable to Taiwanese national identity (similar position to

Pan-Green 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), Social Democratic Party ( ...

) than ROC legalism (similar position to

Pan-Blue 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 Youn ...

) in cross-strait relations.

By region

Japan

Although "pro-ROC" and "pro-Taiwan" are strictly distinguished today, "pro-Taiwan" meant "pro-ROC" in the period of the KMT one-party system before Taiwan was democratized. At the time, Japanese conservatives generally had figures in favor of the Taiwanese government led by Chiang Kai-shek in an anti-communist stance. Some former

Japanese imperial army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

soldiers became military advisers to the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces ( zh, t=中華民國國軍) are the national military forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), which is now based primarily in the Taiwan Area but Republic of China (1912–1949), formerly governed Mai ...

(see: 白団); In October 1949, when the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA) attempted to invade

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from wh ...

Hiroshi Nemoto was a lieutenant general for Japan who served in the Second World War and the Battle of Guningtou. Born in Fukushima Prefecture, he served in the Imperial Japanese Army and the Republic of China Armed Forces. He was awarded the Order of the Gold ...

and others from the former Japanese army operated and defeated the PLA.中村祐悦著『白団 : 台湾軍を作った日本軍将校たち』芙蓉書房ほか With the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1949, Japan was forced to recognize only one of the governments of Taiwan (ROC) and China (PRC). The outbreak of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in 1950 greatly worsened the relationship between the PRC and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and Japan chose Taiwan in 1952 to sign the

Treaty of Taipei The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty ( zh, t=中日和平條約; ), formally the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan ( zh, t=中華民國與日本國間和平條約, links=no; ) and commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei ( zh, t=� ...

. At that time, Japan was friendly to the Chiang Kai-shek regime because many people respected the generous post-war measures of the Chiang government in mainland ROC right after Japan surrendered. In 1972, Japan established diplomatic relations with China (PRC) and severed ties with Taiwan, but Japan continued nofficiallyfriendly relations with Taiwan. In the 21st century, pro-Taiwan factors in Japan mainly advocate "" (価値観外交), which focuses on the fact that they see Taiwan as a country that shares

liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

like Japan, unlike China, an authoritarianism.

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis, Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the Far-right politics, radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan ...

said on May 20, 2000, when he was visiting to attend the inauguration of President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

, who is serving as governor of Tokyo: . On June 28, 2021,

Yasuhide Nakayama is a former Japanese politician who served as the Senior Vice Minister of Defense of Japan. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he was elected in December 2012 as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and re-elected in th ...

, a

State Minister of Defense State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, said in a lecture at the

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

, "people say we are like

friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Although there are many forms of f ...

s, but we are not, we are

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

", referring to Taiwan as "

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

In culture

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(2015–2017) *

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New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; 1975–present)

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* Minoru Kihara *

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* Drew Pavlou *

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References