Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping asked U.S. President Joe Biden last year to toughen the language he used when discussing the U.S. position on Taiwan independence, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the private conversation.

Below are some questions and answers about what the term “Taiwan independence” means:

WHAT IS THE HISTORY AND OFFICIAL NAME OF TAIWAN TODAY?

The island formerly known as Formosa was home to indigenous people for thousands of years before the Dutch and Spanish briefly ruled parts of the island in the 1600s.

The Qing dynasty incorporated Taiwan as part of Fujian province in 1684 and declared it a separate Chinese province only in 1885.

It became a Japanese colony in 1895 after the Qing was defeated in the war with Japan. It was transferred to the government of the Republic of China at the end of World War II in 1945.

After being defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist forces in 1949, the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan, where the Republic of China remains the official name of the island. Mao founded the People’s Republic of China and, as the successor state of the Republic of China, claimed it as the sole legitimate Chinese government for the entire country, including Taiwan.

WHAT IS TAIWAN’S INTERNATIONAL STATUS?

For decades, the Republic of China in Taipei also claimed to be the legitimate Chinese government, but was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 in favor of the Beijing government. Only 12 countries currently maintain official ties with Taipei; most of these are smaller and poorer developing countries such as Belize and Tuvalu.

Most major Western countries and U.S. allies maintain close unofficial ties with Taiwan, recognizing the Republic of China passport and maintaining de facto embassies in each other’s capitals.

The United States severed official ties with Taipei in 1979, but is obligated by law to provide the island with the ability to defend itself. The United States does not officially take any stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty under Washington’s “One China” policy.

China says it will not stop using force to control Taiwan. Beijing has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model similar to Hong Kong, but no major political party in Taiwan supports it.

IS TAIWAN ALREADY AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY?

Taiwan, whose people elect their own leaders and whose government controls a certain territory with its own army and passport, has de facto independence, although it is not officially recognized by most countries.

Taiwan’s government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak on behalf of or represent that state, given that it has no say in how the People’s Republic of China elects its leaders and has never governed Taiwan.

CAN TAIPEI DECLARE THE “REPUBLIC OF TAIWAN”?

This would be very difficult and would require parliament to first approve a constitutional amendment and then a referendum, rather than a simple declaration by President Lai Ching-te.

At least 75% of MPs must approve this change, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) currently have an equal number of seats.

DPP, which has been in power since 2016, has not made any attempt to change the constitution. The KMT strongly opposes any attempt to change the name of the Republic of China.

WHAT DOES THE TAIWAN PRESIDENT SAY ABOUT INDEPENDENCE?

China fiercely hates Lai and calls him a “separatist”. Before being elected president, Lai had commented that he was a “practical worker for Taiwan’s independence”. Lai argues that he only meant that Taiwan was already an independent country.

Lai has said on several occasions since taking office that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China “are not committed to each other”; Beijing says it believes the two are separate countries, meaning it is pushing a narrative of independence.

Lai says he is merely stating a fact and that, in any case, the Republic of China, founded after the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty in 1911, is an older state than the People’s Republic of China, founded in 1949.

DOES CHINA HAVE A LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO PREVENT OFFICIAL INDEPENDENCE?

In 2005, China’s parliament at large passed the Anti-Secession Law, which gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or appears to be preparing to secede, but the law is vague and does not provide details.

There was speculation in Taipei that China could use next year’s 20th anniversary of the law to provide greater clarity. China has not confirmed this.

In 2022, Chinese state media raised the possibility of a “reunification law” that would give Beijing an additional legal framework to bring Taiwan under its control, but to date there has been no further movement towards this.

(This story has been republished to correct the spelling of ‘China’ in paragraph 16)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Lincoln Feast)