President Chen: Taiwan is already independent

“Taiwan is already a sovereign independent country. Our sovereignty does not fall under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). There is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait. This is the status quo and this is the reality.”

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian made the remarks above when he was asked in an interview with the BBC if Taiwan would declare independence. Namely in his view, Taiwan does not have to declare independence, since it is already independent.

BBC: ….Can, then, Taiwan ever become independent? Such a move would be suicidal, and it might even provoke a war between China and the United States.

President Chen:
Taiwan is already a sovereign independent country. Our sovereignty does not fall under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC). There is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait. This is the status quo and this is the reality.

Taiwan, being a sovereign independent country, has a population of 23 million and covers an area of 36,000 square kilometers. Its sovereignty belongs to, and is vested in, the 23 million people of Taiwan. Taiwan's sovereignty does not belong to the PRC, nor does it belong to the 1.3 billion people of China.

If Taiwan were not a country, how come we will be electing our next president, the leader of this nation, in the year 2008? Furthermore, at the end of this year, we will hold an election for members of the Legislative Yuan. Taiwan has its own president and parliamentary representatives who are directly elected by the people; we form our own government; we have our own sovereignty and our own military; we have our own currency and our own independent judiciary. How can anyone say that Taiwan is not a country?

Currently, Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with 25 countries. Even though most countries in the world do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, that does not negate the fact and status quo of Taiwan's being a sovereign independent country. Even though Taiwan may not be a full member of the United Nations (UN) or the World Health Organization (WHO), this does not constitute a negation of the existence of Taiwan as a sovereign independent country.

Taiwan and its people will continue striving until we become a normal country that is accepted by international society.

BBC: You talk about membership of the United Nations, membership of the World Health Organization; what is the next step for Taiwan in achieving that status as a normal state, as you call it?

President Chen:
We will continue to make efforts towards ensuring the voice of our people is heard around the world, so that our aspiration and decades of longing will be heeded internationally. In this process, we must further consolidate the consensus of our people and gather together their collective force for all the world to see.

We have continued to knock at the doors of the UN and WHO, hoping that one day they would be opened to us. We know our missions will not be fulfilled easily but we will not be discouraged by current setbacks and will continue to work hard. We want to make sure that one day, the voice of our people will be heard in all corners of the world, if not today, then maybe tomorrow. This time we were unsuccessful, but we hope to succeed next time round. However long it takes, we will continue striving until we become a normal country that is accepted by international society.

(For the full contents of the interview, kindly see http://www.president.gov.tw/en/)