The Taiwan Question and the One-China Policy: Legal Challenges with Renewed Momentum

Abstract

The question of Taiwan's status has faced legal challenges from the one- China policy under both domestic law and international law. The article argues that the state status of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has never ceased to exist as a result of either the loss of diplomatic recognition or the United Nations Resolution 2758, which transferred the UN seat from the ROC to the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the past decades, the ROC and the PRC possess separate statehoods and have co-existed under the "de jure roof of China." The evolvement of state practice of Taiwan and China, as well as foreign states, indicate a more pragmatic approach to the divided state formula. Moreover, recent cross-strait economic agreements and Taiwan's observership at the World Health Assembly show the significant improvement of Beijing-Taipei relations. Yet, the article cautions that the one-China policy will continue to pose renewed challenges to Taiwan's bid to join other UN-affiliated agencies, which condition membership on states.