The Republic of China (Taiwan)

Republic of China 1912

• First republic in Asia

• First president: Sun Yat-sen (1866 - 1925)

ROC Constitution (1946)

• First constitutional president (1948 - 1975): Chiang Kai-shek (1887 - 1975)

• Defeated by CCP in 1949

• Retreated to Taiwan

• Authoritarian rule for a quarter century

ROC Government

• President (4-year term after 1996)

• The Five ``Yuan”:– Executive Yuan– Legislative Yuan– Judicial Yuan– Examination Yuan– Control Yuan

• 2 Provinces and 18 counties

Taiwan before 1949

• Immigration from mainland China for centuries (Fujian and Hakka)

• 1885, Qing government promoted Taiwan from prefecture to province

• 1895, ceded to Japan

• 1945, returned to Republic of China

• ``Taiwanese” versus ``mainlanders”– Fujian 70%, Hakka 15%, ``mainlanders” 13%

Taiwan & Islands

• Area: 13,900 square miles

• Population: 23 million

Chiang Kai-shek’s Rule

• Popular elections at the basic level

• Land reform

• 9-year compulsory education

• Economic take-off from 1960s– Export processing zones attract foreign direct

investment– Industrialization strengthens manufacturing

sector

Chiang’s One-China Policy

• ``Mainland was temporarily usurped by communist bandits”

• ``Gloriously retake the mainland”

• Refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognized PRC

• ROC was a permanent member of UN Security Council until 1971

Lee Teng-hui (1923 - )

• Succeeded Chiang Kai-shek’s son as president of ROC and chairman of GMD in 1988

• Became the first popularly elected president of ROC in 1996

• Helped Democratic Progressive Party gain power in 2000

Chen Shui-bian (1950 - )

• Leader of the pro-independent Democratic Progressive Party

• President of ROC 2000-2008

• Prisoner #2630 since 2008-11-12

Diplomatic Tug of War

• 162 countries recognize PRC (Beijing) as the legitimate government of China– 8 (’49) 32 (’59) 49 (’69) 113 (’79) 129 (’89)

• 29 countries recognize ROC (Taipei) as the legitimate government of China

US Official Policy

• US government shifted diplomatic recognition from ROC to PRC in 1979

• US congress passed Taiwan Relations Act in 1979

• American Institute in Taiwan• Taipei Economic and Cultural

Representative Offices in US

Economic Ties

• Trade and investment expanded rapidly despite restrictions by ROC government

• Workaround: Hong Kong and Macau

• ``Three links”:– mail, transportation, and trade

• Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed in 2010

Taiwan's Export to Mainland China (billion US$)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

In 2012, Taiwan’s exports to Mainland China was $132 billion, and imports from Mainland China was $37 billion.

Taiwan's Investment on Mainland China (billion US$)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Hong Kong

Hong Kong SAR

Land & People

• 422 square miles– Hong Kong Island– Kowloon Peninsular– New Territories– Outlying islands

• 7 million residents– 95% Chinese

Brief History

• HK Island was occupied by UK in 1841

• New Territories on 99-year lease in 1898

• Occupied by Japan during World War II

• Shanghai enterprises fled CCP forces in late 1940s– industrialization of Hong Kong

• One of the four ``Asian Tigers”

Negotiations with UK

• Deng Xiaoping: “1 country, 2 systems”

• PRC Constitution of 1982: S.A.R.

• PRC & UK Joint Declaration in 1984

Handover to PRC

• 7th National People’s Congress adopted Basic Law of HKSAR in Beijing in 1990

• Became Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of PRC in July 1, 1997

Basic Law of Hong Kong SAR

• Stipulated in PRC-UK Joint Declaration in 1984

• Drafted by a committee with members from both Hong Kong and mainland

• Adopted by 7th NPC in Beijing in 1990

• Came into effect on July 1, 1997

• Constitutional document for HKSAR

3 Principles in the Basic Law

• ``One Country, Two Systems”– Capitalist system and way of life shall remain

unchanged for 50 years (B.L. A5)

• ``High Degree of Autonomy”

• ``Hong Kong People Running Hong Kong”

``One Country, Two Systems”

• Legal system (British common law) shall be maintained, except for any law that contravene the Basic Law and subject to amendment by the legislature (B.L. A8)

`` High Degree of Autonomy”

• HKSAR enjoys executive, legislative, and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication (B.L. A2)

``HK People Running HK”

• executive authorities and legislature shall be composed of permanent residents of Hong Kong (B.L. A3)

• public servants must be permanent residents of Hong Kong, with some exceptions

Central People’s Government

• responsible for defense and foreign affairs relating to HKSAR (B.L. A13-14)

• authorizes HKSAR to conduct relevant external affairs on its own (B.L. A13)

• HKSAR shall be responsible for the maintenance of public order

• 11 PRC laws apply to HK (B.L. A18)

Rights and Freedoms

• freedom of speech, of the press, of publication, of association, of assembly, of procession, of demonstration, of communication, of movement, of conscience, of religious belief, of marriage..

• the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike

3 Branches of Political Structure

• Chief Executive– C. Y. Leung

• Legislative Council

• Court of Final Appeal

S/election of CE & Legco

• Shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress (B.L. A45 & A68)

• The ultimate aim is the election of the Chief Executive and all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage (B.L. A45 & A68)

S/election of Chief Executive

• 800-member Election Committee– industrial, commercial, and financial sectors

1/4– the professions 1/4– labor, social services, religious, & other 1/4– Legco, HK deputies to NPC, etc. 1/4

• C. Y. Leung (2012 - 2017)– no more than two consecutive terms

S/election of 60-member Legco

Since 1997

• Freedoms and rights substantially intact– dissident groups– Falun Gong

• Judicial system remains the same

• Weak executive and strong civil service

• Lack of political skills

• Multiple political parties

Hong Kong’s Competitiveness

• Geographic location– one of the best deep-water ports in the world

• hardworking well-educated workforce– literacy rate 94%

``World’s Freest Economy”

• exports and imports each (>US$400b) greater than GDP

• GDP per capita: US$50,700 (PPP)

• no VAT, sales tax, or capital gains tax

• only 3 types of income are taxed:– profits, salaries, and property

• but– 31% live in public housing

Influence on Mainland China

• US$400 billion direct investment each way

• Hong Kong bodies of law and expertise

• Hong Kong attracts talents from mainland

• Hong Kong radios, TV, newspapers, magazines, and Internet on mainland