Taiwan’s constitution, inherited from the ROC’s 1947 charter, does not include any clause or mechanism for declaring independence. Moreover, any such declaration raises unresolvable questions around what is being declared: that the ROC no longer exists, or that the PRC has no claim? These are political statements, not legal acts. Taiwan, whose people elect their own leaders and whose government controls a defined area of territory with its own military, passport and currency, enjoys de facto independence even if that is China says it will not renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Partly for fear of triggering a military response, Taiwan hasn’t formally declared itself to be a new, legally independent state. Since the shift at the UN in 1971, the United If Taiwan were to declare independence in the future, its success in becoming a state depends on whether it can maintain control over its territory and people, to the exclusion of China, and be accepted by the international community. Taiwan doesn't need to declare independence, incumbent vice president and presidential hopeful Lai Ching-te told a press conference ahead of Saturday's general election, as the Ministry of Defense Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its sacred and inalienable territory, condemned Lai’s remarks as a “Taiwan independence declaration,” calling them distorted and provocative. Taiwan's government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it given the People's Republic of China has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan. COULD TAIPEI DECLARE A "REPUBLIC OF TAIWAN"? Taiwan independence activist Su Beng pushes the timeline back even further, arguing in his seminal 1962 work, Taiwan’s 400 Year History, that Taiwan has been a distinct nation and society since large-scale Han immigration to the island began in the early 1600s. Despite lacking formal recognition, Taiwan functions independently. Polls indicate that most Taiwanese prefer to maintain the status quo rather than pursue formal independence or reunification with China. Declaring a “Republic of Taiwan” would be complex. Taiwan's government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it given the People's Republic of China has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan. COULD TAIPEI DECLARE A "REPUBLIC OF TAIWAN"? The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations. Into the 21st-century, Taiwan's political status is ambiguous. As a result of the surrender and occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the governance of the Republic of China (ROC), [note 1] ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), on 25 October 1945. Following the February 28 massacre in 1947, martial law was declared in 1949 by the Governor of Taiwan, Chen Cheng, and the ROC Ministry of National Defense Taiwan’s government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it given the People’s Republic of China has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan. Could Taipei declare a “Republic of Taiwan”? China has warned Taiwan that any attempt to seek independence "means war". The warning comes days after China stepped up its military activities and flew warplanes near the island. According to opinion polls, only 4.5 percent of Taiwan's public supports an imminent declaration of independence, while 88 percent support preserving the status quo, at Is Taiwan already an independent country? Taiwan, whose people elect their own leaders and whose government controls a defined area of territory with its own military, passport and currency, In May, Taiwan will inaugurate a new president. Lai Ching-te's victory met with strong approval in Washington, but many harbor concerns about his pro-independence rhetoric. Previously known as Formosa, the island has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years, before the Dutch and Spanish briefly ruled parts of it in the 1600s. The Qing dynasty incorporated Taiwan as part of Fujian province in 1684 and only declared it a separate Chinese province in 1885 IS TAIWAN ALREADY AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY? Taiwan, whose people elect their own leaders and whose government controls a defined area of territory with its own military, passport and currency,
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