OPINION:
For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has pushed the tired claim that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and that the U.S. has somehow pledged to endorse this fantasy. This argument falls apart under even the slightest scrutiny. It has no real historical, legal or factual legitimacy.
The CCP’s justification for its aggression toward Taiwan is nothing more than smoke and mirrors held up by brute force, propaganda and diplomatic intimidation.
Despite Beijing’s constant drumbeat about Taiwan being a “renegade province,” the truth is simple: The People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan. Not for a single day.
Since 1949, Taiwan has operated under the governance of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan. The CCP has never controlled its land, its people or its institutions.
The “Taiwan independence movement” that Beijing rails against? It’s a bogeyman created to justify its expansionist ambitions.
Across all political lines, Taiwan’s government has consistently upheld that Taiwan is a fully functioning, self-governing, democratic nation. Taipei doesn’t need to declare independence because it is already an independent state, the Republic of China in Taiwan. With an elected leadership, a thriving economy and a military that will defend its sovereignty, Taiwan is a nation in every meaningful sense, no matter how much Beijing fumes about it.
The CCP likes to claim that Washington supports its “One China” principle through the Three Communiques, but that’s just not true. Washington acknowledged that China had made this claim but never agreed with it.
The U.S. position remains firmly rooted in the Taiwan Relations Act and “Six Assurances” given to Taipei, which explicitly reject any recognition of Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. These policies also affirm America’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense.
The message is clear: Taiwan’s future must be determined peacefully, through mutual agreement and without coercion. If China tries to take Taiwan by force, it will be violating international norms and threatening global stability.
To justify its claim, Beijing plays fast and loose with history. It points to Chinese dynasties as proof that Taiwan belongs to China, but history doesn’t work that way.
Taiwan’s past rulers included the Dutch, Spanish, Japanese and, at times, certain Chinese regimes. If ancient history were the standard for sovereignty, China would have to answer for its long periods of foreign rule by the Mongols and Manchus.
The modern world defines sovereignty based on international law and self-determination, not cherry-picked historical claims. Taiwan’s 23 million citizens have made their stance abundantly clear: They reject CCP rule.
Beijing contends that its pursuit of Taiwan is about protecting China’s territorial integrity, but its actions betray this claim. Since 1949, China has voluntarily ceded vast swaths of land to other ideologically aligned nations, including communist Russia and Mongolia, without a fuss.
If territorial unity were the goal, why didn’t China fight for those lands? The truth is, the CCP’s Taiwan obsession isn’t about sovereignty.
China’s diplomatic history is riddled with contradictions. It refuses to acknowledge “One China, One Taiwan,” yet it had no problem recognizing both East and West Germany. It ignored its impoverished ally North Korea to recognize South Korea in 1992. These inconsistencies reveal the CCP’s foreign policy for what it is: sheer opportunism.
At its core, China’s aggression toward Taiwan isn’t about national unity; it’s about undermining the U.S. and the global democratic order. The CCP views itself as locked in an ideological battle with the free world, with America as its main adversary. Taiwan, a thriving democracy, a crucial player in global commerce and technological revolution, and a key U.S. partner, is a direct challenge to Beijing’s authoritarian model. That’s why the CCP is so determined to bring it under control.
Time and again, the CCP has deliberately escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait to pressure the U.S. and boost its global influence.
From the artillery bombardments of Taiwan-controlled islands in the 1950s to the 1995-1996 missile crisis and today’s near-daily military provocations, China has repeatedly tested Washington’s resolve. Each crisis has had the same goal: to undermine U.S. credibility and weaken its commitment to Taiwan and the broader democratic order in Asia.
China is still playing the same game, using military intimidation to push the U.S. into a weaker negotiating position. By ramping up tensions around Taiwan, China hopes to coerce Washington into backing off its support for Taipei and, in turn, weakening its global leadership.
A more calculated motive is Taiwan’s world-leading semiconductor industry. Taiwan is home to giants such as TSMC, which dominates high-end microchip production. The entire global economy depends on this industry. If China seizes control of Taiwan, it wouldn’t just be a blow to democracy; it would give Beijing a stranglehold over a critical technology sector, accelerating its march toward global dominance.
China’s aggression isn’t about preserving national unity; it’s about stopping an alternative Chinese identity from thriving beyond the CCP’s control.
Taiwan proves that a Chinese society can be free, prosperous and democratic without the CCP’s iron grip. That’s why Taiwan matters, not just to its people but also to the world.
• Miles Yu is the director of the Hudson Institute’s China Center and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. His “Red Horizon” column appears every other Tuesday in The Washington Times.
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