Hsu Mien-sheng's Perspective: The Renewed Diplomatic Battle Over 'One China'

The South African government is advancing the digitization of entry visas, gradually implementing an 'Electronic Travel Authorization' (ETA) system in three phases since last October. This system allows online visa applications. Although it has not yet been fully opened to travelers from all countries, Taiwan is already labeled as 'Taiwan, China' in the passport-issuing country selection menu on the ETA application website. In response, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a formal protest with South Africa, sparking another diplomatic confrontation.

This incident recalls three previous cases. First, South Korea introduced an electronic entry card that labeled Taiwan as 'CHINA (TAIWAN)' for both departure and destination locations. Second, the Danish government labeled the nationality of Taiwanese residents in Denmark as 'China' on their residence permits. Third, Cameroon labeled the nationality of Taiwan's representative attending the World Trade Organization ministerial conference as 'a province of China'.

The DPP government strongly rejects the term 'China' and strives to avoid any association between Taiwan and China, making it intolerable for Taiwan to be labeled as 'CHINA'. In retaliation against South Korea, Taiwan changed the designation 'Korea' to 'South Korea' on its 'Alien Resident Certificate' starting March 1 this year. Subsequently, South Korea removed the departure and destination fields from its electronic entry card. On the surface, it appears that Taiwan's countermeasure was effective. However, South Korea's issued foreign resident registration cards still list Taiwan as 'China (Taiwan)'. This shows that the DPP government's retaliation has only had a partial effect and has not resolved the fundamental issue.

In retaliation against Denmark, the DPP government revoked the privileges of Denmark's representative office in Taiwan, but this retaliatory measure proved ineffective and did not change Denmark's policy at all. Regarding Cameroon, the DPP government could only issue verbal condemnations without taking any retaliatory actions. This outcome has two implications. First, retaliatory measures are not necessarily effective, and in some cases, no retaliation is even possible. More importantly, Taiwan's predicament is clearly not merely a dispute over terminology, but a deeper structural issue.

For years, the DPP government has consistently denied that Taiwan is part of China, but why do foreign countries continue to label Taiwan as China? The most direct reason is that Taiwan has an inseparable connection with China, a fact widely recognized internationally. In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China and established the People's Republic of China. On October 25, 1971, the United Nations adopted Resolution 2758, recognizing the representative of the People's Republic of China as the 'only legitimate representative of China in the United Nations'. This indirectly affirmed that 'there is only one China in the world'.

Currently, 183 countries worldwide have established diplomatic relations with mainland China. These countries do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and regard it only as a 'region' or 'political entity'. Therefore, 'Taiwan' cannot stand alone as a nationality designation and must be linked to China. The 12 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan do not have diplomatic ties with mainland China. Thus, their diplomatic stance also adheres to the principle of 'one China in the world'.

South Africa's labeling of Taiwan as 'Taiwan, China' on its ETA application website has reignited controversy over Taiwan's name and revealed that the issue of Taiwan's designation in relation to China remains fundamentally unresolved. Taiwan can retaliate by renaming 'Korea' as 'South Korea', but how can it retaliate against South Africa's naming? If no counter-naming is possible, what other retaliatory measures can be taken? It is evident that as long as the cross-strait issue remains fundamentally unresolved, Taiwan's naming problem will repeatedly arise. The DPP government's diplomatic battles over names will not only yield little result but may also be perceived internationally as a 'troublemaker'.