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Blue, Green or Aquamarine? Taiwan and the Status Quo Preference in Cross-Strait Relations*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2014

Chin-Hao Huang  and
Patrick James
Chin-Hao Huang
Affiliation:
Postdoctoral research associate at the University of Southern California. Email: chinhao.huang@usc.edu.
Patrick James
Affiliation:
Professor of the School of International Relations and director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. Email: patrickj@usc.edu.
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Abstract

Debates about whether China's rise poses a threat or an opportunity for Taiwan have settled into a realist assumption that Beijing will continue to upset the balance of power and a liberal approach that believes the benefits of economic interdependence are leading to greater gains. Missing from this debate is a nuanced consideration of how Taiwan's policy elites view themselves and their position in cross-Strait relations. Taiwan's decision makers' views are deeply affected by, and interact with, factors and institutions on and beyond the island. This article offers a model of political processes – the staying power of the status quo and order of movement – as a possible route towards an explanation for Taiwan's position on cross-Strait negotiations. The conclusion is that the status quo position – de facto but not de jure independence – is becoming more entrenched with time. Taiwan's colours of partisanship, Blue and Green, are blending into Aquamarine.

摘要

一班学者都以现实主义或经济相互依存的利益关系来分析中国的崛起及两岸关系。然而，这却忽略了台湾决策者对自我及其在两岸关系中所处地位的看法。这篇文章提供了一个国际关系决策过程的模式来更深入了解台湾在两岸谈判中的立场以及维持现状和政策动态次序的决断。其结论是，维持现状将随着时间的推移变得更加根深蒂固，并成为台湾各党派的凝聚认知及政策出发点。

Keywords

TaiwanChinacross-Strait relationsstatus quo biasorder of movementconflict processes台湾中国两岸关系维持现状政策动态次序
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 219 , September 2014 , pp. 670 - 692
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2014 

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Footnotes

*

This research was made possible in part through the generous support of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the USC Tsai Family Research Fund for Taiwan Studies. We are grateful to numerous individuals in Taipei for hosting our research visits and for their valuable insights provided during the focus group and research interviews. Finally, we thank our colleagues in the field for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this essay interpreting the findings and results.

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