With Taipei claiming that Taiwan and Mainland China are two regions of one country, many Western observers are left puzzled about how Ma Ying-jeou’s government manages the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The fact is Ma’s official stance on cross-Strait relationship remains unchanged. He has long maintained that his is a “Constitutional One-China” Principle (xianfa yizhong). That is, according to the Constitution that governs Taiwan, Taipei is the seat of the Republic of China (ROC), whose territory includes Taiwan as well as the Mainland of China.
Under this Constitution, Taiwan and its isles are the “Free Region” of the ROC, while the Mainland, the area under the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is the “Mainland Region” of the ROC.
Within this constitutional framework, Taiwan is a region of the ROC and so is the Mainland. Hence it can hardly be disputed that Taiwan and Mainland are two regions of one country.
The confusion arises only because many observers have a limited understanding of the term “China,” which they take to mean the People’s Republic of China. They therefore find it surprising that Ma claims Taiwan is a region of the ROC, and at the same time a part of the PRC.
