In a speech concerning the Republic of China in the spring of 2002, US President George W. Bush referred to the island nation as "the Republic of Taiwan." White House and State Department spokesmen quickly denied that the president's gaffe signaled a change in US foreign policy and reaffirmed the long-standing one-China principle, that famous fiction that has baffled people since its inception. But the president's choice of words was much celebrated by pro-independence advocates in Taiwan and brought a flush of pride to many who do not generally march under that banner, for the use of the name "Taiwan" unambiguously referred to the democratic, self-governing country that has become a model for political and economic progress in Asia. There was no obfuscation, tiptoeing, or beating about the bush; there was no mistaking, even for those unfamiliar with the logic-defying tenets of the one-China principle, Taiwan for mainland China.
The reason for the slip is understandable. Taiwan's official name, the Republic of China, has led to much confusion outside of the country, where it is frequently mistaken for the People's Republic of China. Those two names, so superficially similar, belie the ideological chasm that separates the two nations, and the American president is not alone in his confusion. Recently, two ROC students applying to universities in Germany, were incensed when they were asked to have their credentials verified in Beijing. The mistake was corrected, but not before some DPP lawmakers asked some embarrassing questions about the learning institutions' understanding of Asia. And even President Chen Shui-bian has on occasion found himself explaining to foreign leaders that the nation of which he is president is not under the control of any other power. Indeed, it is not unusual when discussing Taiwan abroad to be met with the question, "Is Taiwan part of China?" The question is elementary, and yet how does one answer. Taiwan, as the Republic of China, is a China. But the name Taiwan is already used as shorthand for the country both at home and the world over.
When discussing Taiwan abroad, older generations will occasionally exclaim in a flash of recognition, "Oh, Formosa," as if it were right next door. The name Formosa, given to Taiwan by the Portuguese, conjures up memories of a time when the island was used as an R&R station for US troops on leave from active duty in Vietnam. The island proved a charming tropical diversion, and the soldiers returned home with stories of gentle breezes stirring palm fronds and chipaos. Those who remember stories from that time, then, should be forgiven for having an impression of Formosa as a kind of far eastern Hawaii, where people lounged under ceiling fans sipping umbrella-topped drinks and listening to Marconi boxes crackling with static and the strains of ukulele music. Unfortunately, this Formosan idyll is as much a fiction as the one-China policy. And so, good-bye Formosa.
When the Nationalist government withdrew to the island in 1949, Taiwan became the refuge of Free China, certainly the most sanguine and overtly political of all of Taiwan's epithets. By implication a "free" China can only exist if there is an occupied China, and this nom de guerre well suited the propagandist rhetoric of the Cold War. The "fall" of China, as the Cold Warriors referred to the communist victory in 1949, caused the weight of responsibility for the salvation of the Chinese people to land squarely on the shoulders of the Nationalists, or Free Chinese, in their island fortress that General Douglas MacArthur called the unsinkable aircraft carrier. As an outpost for the forces of democracy in Asia, the Republic of China received lavish praise and a large infusion of arms and money from the United States. The fact that the island was under martial law was papered over with thin arguments about the temporary supremacy of defense in the pecking order of state concerns. Civil rights, in other words, were restricted during this crusade for freedom, and while the economy advanced, political development languished.
In today's Taiwan, the political situation has caught up to the economy in sophistication. In fact, so momentous a political shift has occurred with the introduction of multiparty politics that some feel the country's official name is no longer representative of the island's political reality. An assortment of organizations, many of them pro-independence, is spearheading a drive to change the official name of the country to Taiwan. These new forces in the local political arena are quick to point out that the Republic of China meets a great deal of opposition when trying to participate in international organizations under its official name. Taiwan, for example, participates in APEC under the title Chinese Taipei. Needless to say, many in Taiwan bridle at the name, since it could easily lead to the fallacy that Taiwan is ruled from Beijing. At the very least it is confusing and not very helpful for the promotion of the island's profile abroad. And Taiwan, an island rich in names, is still struggling for recognition.
In Chinese, the name Taiwan is composed of two characters; the first meaning, "stage" or "terrace," and the second, "bay" or "gulf." Of all the translations then, the "Terraced Bay" seems to be the most evocative, hinting both at the beauty of the natural landscape and the importance of the sea to the island nation. It also has the added advantage of being hard to mistake for the People's Republic of China.