Explainer: Why is Taiwan an inalienable part of China?

Chinese authorities have recently condemned the United States for arranging Lai Ching-te's "stopover," reiterating that the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations.

It is reported that leader of China's Taiwan region Lai Ching-te has begun his trip to so-called "diplomatic allies" in the Pacific, and he has arrived in Hawaii for a "stopover."

China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and the Taiwan region, and firmly opposes any form of U.S. connivance or support for "Taiwan secessionists" and their separatist activities, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"We urge the U.S. to fully see the separatist nature of Lai Ching-te and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, fully understand the grave damage that 'Taiwan secessionist' activities do to cross-Straits peace and stability, stop having official interaction with the Taiwan region, and stop sending any wrong signal to 'Taiwan secessionist' forces," the ministry said.

Expressing firm opposition to any trip by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the United States in any name or under whatever pretext, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said no matter what tactics Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities use to advance their "Taiwan secessionist" agenda, they will not shake the firm international commitment to the one-China principle nor stop the overriding historical trend toward China's reunification.

What has caused the Taiwan question? And why is Taiwan an inalienable part of China's territory? Here are some facts you should know.

Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times

Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times. The earliest written account of Taiwan was in the Seaboard Geographic Gazetteer, compiled more than 1,700 years ago by Shen Ying of the State of Wu during the period of the Three Kingdoms.

Starting as early as the mid-12th century, Chinese governments of different periods set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Taiwan.

The Song Dynasty set up a garrison in Penghu, putting the territory under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County of Fujian's Quanzhou Prefecture. The Yuan Dynasty installed an agency of patrol and inspection in Penghu to administer the territory. During the mid- and late-16th century, the Ming Dynasty reinstated the once abolished agency and sent reinforcements to Penghu to ward off foreign invaders.

In 1662 (under Qing Emperor Kangxi), General Zheng Chenggong established Chengtian Prefecture on Taiwan. Subsequently, the Qing Dynasty government expanded the administrative structure in Taiwan. In 1727 (under Qing Emperor Yongzheng), the administration on the island was reconstituted as the Prefecture Administration of Taiwan and incorporated the new Penghu Canton. The territory then officially became known as Taiwan. In 1885 (under Qing Emperor Guangxu), the government formally made Taiwan a full province.

Taiwan was ceded due to Japan's aggression

However, through a war of aggression against China in April 1895, Japan forced the defeated the Qing government to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.

In July 1937, Japan launched an all-out war of aggression against China. In December 1941, the Chinese government issued a declaration of war against Japan, announcing to the world that all treaties, conventions, agreements and contracts regarding relations between China and Japan had been abrogated and that China would recover Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.

In December 1943, the Cairo Declaration was issued by the Chinese, U.S. and British governments, stipulating that Japan should return to China all the territories it had stolen from the Chinese, including northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.

The Potsdam Proclamation, signed by China, the U.S. and Britain in 1945 (later adhered to by the Soviet Union), stipulated that "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out." In August 1945, Japan surrendered and promised that it would faithfully fulfill the obligations laid out in the Potsdam Proclamation.

On October 25, 1945, the Chinese government recovered Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan. From that point forward, China had recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto through a host of documents with international legal effect.

Two sides of the Straits belong to one China

On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded. The new government replaced the previous Kuomintang (KMT) regime, becoming the successor to the Republic of China (1912-1949) and the only legitimate government of the whole of China.

As a natural result, the government of the PRC should enjoy and exercise China's full sovereignty, which includes its sovereignty over Taiwan, according to a white paper titled "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era," published by the Chinese government in 2022.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation stated in explicit terms that all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese, such as Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, shall be restored to China, and this constitutes an important part of the post-war international order.

Speaking at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in late September, Wang told world leaders in the audience that Taiwan being "an inalienable part of China's territory" is both "the history and the reality."

Noting the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 in 1971 with an overwhelming majority, deciding to restore all the rights of the PRC at the UN, to recognize the representatives of the Government of the PRC as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN, and to expel forthwith the representatives of the Taiwan region from the UN and all the organizations related to it, Wang said "once and for all, the resolution resolved the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN."

The resolution, Wang continued, made clear that there is no such thing as "two Chinas," or "one China, one Taiwan."

"On this matter of principle, there is no gray zone or room for ambiguity," Wang said.

During a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru's Lima in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development right are four red lines for China.

"They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-U.S. relations," he said.

Xi also noted that the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques are the political foundation of China-U.S. relations. "They must be observed."

If the U.S. side cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Straits, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities in seeking "Taiwan secession," handles the Taiwan question with extra prudence, unequivocally opposes "Taiwan secession," and supports China's peaceful reunification, said Xi.