Foreign relations of Taiwan
The foreign relations of Taiwan, constitutionally and officially the Republic of China, are the relations between the Republic of China and other countries. The Republic of China is recognized by 21 United Nations member states, as well as by the Holy See. The ROC maintains diplomatic relations with those countries, as well as unofficial relations with other countries via its representative offices and consulates.
The Republic of China participated in the Moscow Conference, the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and was a charter member of the United Nations. In 1949, the Nationalists lost the Chinese Civil War in mainland China and retreated to Taiwan. Despite the major loss of territory, the ROC continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of China by the UN and by many non-Communist states. In 1971, the UN expelled the ROC and transferred China's seat to the People's Republic of China. In addition to the ad tempus recognition of ROC by majority of countries before UN Resolution 2758, the Republic of China lost its membership in all the intergovernmental organizations related to the UN. As the UN and related organizations like International Court of Justice are the most common venues for effective execution of international law and serve as the international community for states in the post-World War II period, a majority of the countries aligned with the West in the Cold War terminated diplomatic relations with the ROC and recognized quid pro quo of the PRC instead. However, the Republic of China fulfills all the requirements in Article 3, 4, 5, 6, 110 and Chapter V of the United Nations Charter. The ROC's de jure seat is currently occupied by the People's Republic of China in the United Nations under the UN Charter. The ROC continues to maintain de facto relations, including with most of the non-governmental organizations at the United Nations, in addition with the concern from UNESCO. Exclusively, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which is entitled by the founding of the United Nations as the cornerstone of modern-day diplomacy since the Vienna Congress, was signed and ratified by the Republic of China on 18 April 1961 and 19 December 1969 including Optional Protocol concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes. Due to ROC's insecurity and intolerance in the 1970s and 1980s after being expelled by the UN and the termination of official US-ROC diplomatic relations, but by the American persuasion Taiwan has been gradually democratized and adopting universal suffrage from the one party-military rule under the leadership of President Chiang Ching-kuo. The first direct presidential election was held in 1996 and the incumbent President Lee Teng-hui was elected. As of May Fourth 2015, ROC nationals are eligible for preferential visa treatment from 142 countries and areas. In the context of Superpower and influential diplomacy, ROC's traditional and sober allies includes United States of America, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video