One nation, two states () presuppose that China is "one country" (or "one nation") in cross-strait relations, but they want to recognize the political situation in which the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the government of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(ROC) coexist. This is mainly supported by some

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

politicians who oppose the PRC's

one country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...

, and it was the U.S. government that first proposed it. The People's Republic of China opposes the One nation, two states because it claims to be China's "only legitimate government" (唯一合法政府). "One nation, two states" is basically based on

one China ''One China'' is a phrase describing the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area. "One China" asserts that there is only one ''de jure'' Ch ...

principles, so it shouldn't be confused with "

Two Chinas The concept of Two Chinas refers to the political divide between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). Founded in 1912, the ROC governed mainland China until the Chinese Communist Party established the PRC in 1 ...

History

In 1990, under the support of the United States, the

National Unification Council The National Unification Council was a nonstatutory governmental agency of the Republic of China on Taiwan established on 7 October 1990. Now defunct, its formal aim was to promote the reintegration of mainland China into the Republic of Chin ...

, chaired by President of the Republic of China

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...

, proposed "One nation, two states" to the People's Republic of China, but the proposal was rejected because the People's Republic of China feared that the dialogue between the two central governments would be distorted. When Chen Shui-bian, a member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

, was elected president of the Republic of China in 2000, then Kuomintang leader

Lien Chan Lien Chan ( zh, t=連戰, w=, p=, poj=; born August 27, 1936) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician. He was the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, vice ...

proposed "One nation, two states", "

federal system Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, states, cantons, territories, etc.), while dividing the powers o ...

", and "national unification system" again and opposed

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

. The official statement of the People's Republic of China on the Taiwan question, the one-China principle, is that "there is only one China in the world, the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China, and anything can be discussed on the premise of one China". In the 2000s, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China stated that the basic policy of resolving the Taiwan issue is "there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan belongs to one China" and it also stated the following:

References

{{Reflist Cross-strait relations Kuomintang Lee Teng-hui

History

See also

References