One China in the context of "List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See"

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⭐ Core Definition: One China

One China is a phrase with variant meanings, adopted by many states and other actors to describe their stance on the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area. "One China" asserts that there is only one de jure Chinese nation, despite the de facto division between the two rival governments in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. The term may refer, in alphabetical order, to one of the following:

  • The One China policy refers to a United States policy of strategic ambiguity regarding Taiwan. In a 1972 joint communiqué with the PRC, the United States "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China" and "does not challenge that position." It reaffirms the U.S. interest in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question. The United States has formal relations with the PRC, recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China, and simultaneously maintains its unofficial relations with Taiwan while taking no official position on Taiwanese sovereignty. The US "acknowledges" but does not "endorse" the PRC's position over Taiwan, and has considered Taiwan's political status as "undetermined".
    • Internationally, it may also refer to the stance of numerous other countries, some of which precede and may have influenced the US formulation. For instance, "Australia's 1972 Joint Communiqué with the PRC recognised the Government of the PRC as China's sole legal government, and acknowledged the position of the PRC that Taiwan was a province of the PRC", but "neither supports nor opposes the PRC position" on the matter. While some countries, such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan, like the U.S. acknowledge but do not recognise the PRC's claim, the communiqués of some others, including Israel, Panama, and the Gambia, concur with the PRC's interpretation.
  • The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC replacing the ROC and serving as the sole legitimate government of that China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It is opposed to the idea that there are two states holding the name "China", the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC); as well as the idea that China and Taiwan form two separate countries.
  • One China with respective interpretations refers to the interpretation of the so-called 1992 Consensus asserted by the ROC's then-governing political party Kuomintang (KMT) that both the PRC and ROC had agreed that there is one "China", but disagreed on whether "China" is represented by the PRC or ROC. This interpretation of the 1992 Consensus has not been accepted by the PRC. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the other major party of the ROC politics, has never acknowledged the existence of the 1992 Consensus and also rejected any claim that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of "one China". Lee Teng-hui, the President of the ROC from the KMT at the time, said no consensus had been reached in 1992 and claims to the contrary were "nonsense", and that the term was "something that former Mainland Affairs Council minister Su Chi (蘇起) fabricated to placate the KMT in 2000s", which Su conceded in 2006.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent retreat of the ROC to Taiwan, the CCP established the PRC in mainland China while the ROC ruled over Taiwan and several outlying islands. During this time, both governments continued to claim legitimacy as the government of all of China. The KMT legally designated the Chinese Communist Party as a "rebellious group". Initially, international recognition of the two was split, but most countries began to recognize the PRC over the ROC in the 70s, including the United States in 1979. The language in the United States' One China policy first arose in its joint 1972 Communiqué with the PRC.

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👉 One China in the context of List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See

This is a list of diplomatic missions of the Holy See. Since the fifth century, long before the founding of the Vatican City State in 1929, papal envoys (now known as nuncios) have represented the Holy See to foreign potentates. Additionally, papal representatives known not as nuncios but as apostolic delegates ensure contact between the Holy See and the Catholic Church in countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

At present, there is one residential apostolic delegate, for Jerusalem and Palestine, as well as non-residential delegates for four countries (Brunei, Laos, Mauritania, and Somalia) and for the territories and countries without diplomatic relations with the Holy See in three regions (the Arabian Peninsula, the Caribbean, the Pacific Ocean). For Vietnam, the 21st-century appointees of the Holy See have been given the title "pontifical representative". In keeping with the "one China" policy, no representative is appointed for mainland China, and the Holy See is represented in Taipei by an apostolic nunciature, headed not by a nuncio, but only by a chargé d'affaires.

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In this Dossier

One China in the context of Political status of Taiwan

The political status of Taiwan is a longstanding geopolitical subject focusing on the sovereignty of the island of Taiwan and its associated islands. The issue has been in dispute since the alleged retrocession of Taiwan from the Empire of Japan to the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945, and the ROC government’s retreat from mainland China to Taiwan as the result of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The Taiwan Area since then has become the major territorial base of the ROC. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People’s Republic of China (PRC), despite never having control of it, claims Taiwan as an inalienable province. The PRC's claim is based on the theory of state succession, who deems itself as the regime that replaced the pre-1949 ROC, and denies the existing sovereignty of the ROC in Taiwan under its one China principle.

The ROC governed mainland China from 1912 until 1949, when it lost control of the mainland due to its defeat in the Chinese Civil War by the CCP, who established the PRC that same year, while the effective jurisdiction of the ROC has been limited to Taiwan and its associated islands. Prior to this, Japan’s surrender in 1945 ended its colonial rule over Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, which were subsequently placed under the administration of the ROC as agreed by the major Allies of World War II. However, post-war agreements did not clearly define sovereignty over these islands due to the ongoing rivalry between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the CCP. The division led to the emergence of two rival governments on opposite sides of the Taiwan Strait, each claiming to be the sole legitimate authority over both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The PRC and historically the ROC both officially adhere to the principle of "one China," but fundamentally disagree on who is entitled to represent it. This has resulted in what is known as the "Two Chinas" scenario, reflecting the unresolved dispute over which government is the legitimate representative of China.

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One China in the context of Cross-Strait relations

Cross-strait relations (sometimes called Mainland–Taiwan relations, China–Taiwan relations, or PRC–ROC relations) are the political and economic relations between China (officially the People's Republic of China, or PRC) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, or ROC) across the Taiwan Strait. Due to the existing controversy over the status of Taiwan and the Chinese legitimacy question, they are also not defined as diplomatic relations by either side.

The relationship has been complex and controversial due to the dispute regarding the political status of Taiwan after the island's administration was transferred from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, and the split between the PRC and ROC in 1949 as a result of the ROC's retreat to the island after losing the Chinese Civil War. The essential questions are whether the two governments are still in a state of civil war over One China, each holding one of two "regions" or parts of the same country (i.e. "one nation, two states"); whether they can be unified under a "one country, two systems" framework; or whether they are now separate countries (either as Two Chinas, or as "one China, one Taiwan"). The English expression "cross-strait relations" is considered to be a neutral term that avoids reference to the political status of either side.

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One China in the context of Two Chinas

The concept of Two Chinas refers to the political divide between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). Founded in 1912, the ROC governed mainland China until the Chinese Communist Party established the PRC in 1949, forcing the ROC to retreat to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War. Both are rival governments claiming to be the sole legitimate authority over all of China (One China), encompassing mainland China and Taiwan, and neither recognizes the other’s legitimacy.

Today, they operate as separate entities with different political systems and ideologies. The differences between the two Chinas are stark, with the PRC being a one-party communist state and the ROC a multi-party democracy after transitioning from one-party military rule. Both countries maintain separate diplomatic relations.

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One China in the context of Chinese cities

According to the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China, there are three levels of cities: provincial-level cities (consisting of directly-administered municipalities and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), prefecture-level cities, and county-level cities. As of January 2024, the PRC has a total of 707 cities: 4 municipalities, 2 SARs, 293 prefecture-level cities (including the 15 sub-provincial cities) and 408 county-level cities (including the 38 sub-prefectural cities and 12 XXPC cities). This list does not include any cities in the disputed Taiwan Province and portions of Fujian Province, which are claimed by the PRC under the One China Policy, as these areas are controlled by the Republic of China (see the List of cities in Taiwan).

Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiple counties (县), county-level cities, and other such sub-divisions. Because of this, prefecture-level cities often overlap in area with county-level cities.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Political status of Taiwan ← Cross-Strait relations ← Two Chinas ← Cross-strait relations ← Chinese cities ← List of cities in China ← List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
People's Republic of China → Mainland China → Republic of China → Taiwan Area → De jure → De facto → Two Chinas → Chinese Civil War → United States → Policy of deliberate ambiguity → Shanghai Communiqué → Taiwan Strait → Political status of Taiwan → Taiwan–United States relations → Taiwan's political status → One China principle → China → Chinese Communist Party → Taiwan → One Country on Each Side → One China with respective interpretations → 1992 Consensus → Kuomintang → Democratic Progressive Party → Lee Teng-hui → Su Chi → Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan → Proclamation of the People's Republic of China → Legitimacy (political) → Foreign relations of Taiwan → Taiwan–United States relations → Three Communiqués →