Taiwan raises territorial issue with China

Controversy has arisen over the original ownership of vast land in the Siberian Far East, including Vladivostok, a port city now accommodating Russia’s Pacific Fleet station.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who advocates the island country’s independence, recently raised the issue by pointing out that the Russian territory had belonged to China until the mid-19th century.

Lai aims to oppose Chinese leaders who seek to annex Taiwan — by force if necessary — while disregarding what he considers lost territory for nearly two centuries. Lai appears to challenge the Chinese government by questioning why Beijing has not yet reclaimed the land.

However, Lai's main purpose is not to make Chinese leaders demand the lost territory back. Even if Beijing urges Russia to return the land, subsequent negotiations will never be easy, which Lai knows well. By raising the issue of lost Siberian territory, the Taiwanese leader seeks to demonstrate that Beijing's intention to absorb Taiwan is unreasonable.

Aside from his intention, Lai’s assertion corresponds with historical facts. History shows that the Qing Dynasty, an old Chinese empire, possessed the land until the empire was forced to sign the Treaty of Aigun with Russia in 1858.

A considerable part of the sizeable Chinese settlement that used to be called Manchuria was ceded then by the treaty to Russia. The Chinese authorities have since hardly endeavored to take it back. Now, such opportunities seem even more limited as Beijing and Moscow strengthen their relationship to counter their common rival, the United States.

Looking back, moreover, the Sino-Russian treaty was significantly unequal. It was signed when the power of the Qing Dynasty had weakened notably.

At that time, China was defenseless, sinking deeply into lethargy despite increasingly frequent foreign invasions. The Qing Dynasty also ceded Hong Kong to Britain and Macau to Portugal during the “century of humiliation” in Chinese history.

China has recovered Hong Kong and Macau. However, the Siberian Far East is still under Russian sovereignty. Furthermore, the area in question is significantly larger than the combined territories of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. In other words, Russia annexed a far greater expanse of land from China than any other foreign power did through unequal treaties.

What President Lai wants to say appears clear. China’s ambition, epitomized by its “One China” slogan to merge Taiwan, is less about territorial intention. Lai points out that if Beijing’s goal is territorial integrity, China must try to retake the land now occupied by Russia through the treaty of Aigun.

Lai asks what China wants to gain by unifying Taiwan despite denunciations by Taipei’s democratic allies. He provides an answer himself: China only wants to change the current international order, shaking peace and stability, by achieving hegemony in the Taiwan Strait.

In this writer's view, Lai's decision to raise the territorial issue with China's top leaders is both clever and legitimate. By addressing this topic, he reinforces Taipei's firm stance against any attempts at forced unification with China.

It also heralds the Taipei government’s strategic change, from passive to aggressive diplomacy, in thwarting Beijing’s threat to invade the island militarily.

Hu Young-sup (gracias1234@naver.com) is a columnist.