24. One China Policy? One China Principle? Dr. Yu-Jie Chen (Academia Sinica)

Yu-Jie CHEN (陳玉潔) is a key legal expert on international law and diplomacy in the context of China-Taiwan relations. 

As democratic support for Taiwan increases, so has Beijing’s message to the world about its “One China principle” and the myth of a global consensus regarding the sovereignty of Taiwan. The truth is, every country - including Taiwan - has its own “One China policy”. And that policy (according to each country) is not the same as the principle (according to the PRC).

It can be confusing. 

In a fight about international discourse on Taiwan, Beijing’s diplomats and ambassadors are proactively trying to confuse the world. And this confusion is increasingly challenging for Taiwan’s participation in global affairs and organizations. It’s also challenging for different countries’ own One China policy. 

Beijing insists that its “principle” should be adhered to by every country in the world. 

The end goal is for the world to confuse Beijing’s’ “principle” with an actual international law. The PRC would later use international law to say: exactly, this is our internal affairs and we can do whatever we want to do. 

No such international law exists. 

The UN resolution 2758 doesn’t say that Taiwan is a part of China (despite what China says in its recent white paper.) The One China principle is PRC’s principle only - not international law. And each country has (and should) clarify their own positions on Taiwan's sovereignty. 

China’s “trying to say to the international society, to create a confusion that Taiwan belongs to China. So when China either sends out military aircrafts or flight jets around Taiwan, it's China's international affairs that other countries should not interfere with,” says Dr. Chen Yu-Jie. 

Dr. CHEN offers a solution. 

It’s very important that all countries, including Taiwan, that don't agree with the One China principle to speak up, says Dr. Chen. “It's important that countries should voice out their different opinions, because international law depends on international practice. So if countries don't object to something that's being said, in the long run when it becomes a practice it might become a norm.” 

Dr. CHEN has a JSD from the New York University School of Law. She is an assistant research professor at Taiwan's prestigious Academia Sinica. In addition to publishing and academic journals in the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the UK, CHEN also writes op-eds and takes part in public facing discussions. 

Articles mentioned in this episode include: 

“I'm Taiwanese and I Want to Thank Nancy Pelosi”, op-ed by Yu-Jie CHEN (New York Times, August 5, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/taiwan-china-pelosi-democracy.html

““One China” Contention in China–Taiwan Relations: Law, Politics and Identity”, scholarly paper by Yu-Jie CHEN (China Quarterly, September 27, 2022): https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/abs/one-china-contention-in-chinataiwan-relations-law-politics-and-identity/3D4369ACBC0E9062F2FB9462D8961763#

“China Is Using a UN Resolution to Further Its Claim Over Taiwan” by Madoka Fukuda (The Diplomat, August 26. 2022): https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/china-is-using-a-un-resolution-to-further-its-claim-over-taiwan/

China white paper on Taiwan: https://english.news.cn/20220810/df9d3b8702154b34bbf1d451b99bf64a/c.html

Today’s host is JR Wu, a former journalist with two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones.

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