Bridging the Strait

Rapprochement between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China has moved in stops and starts since the normalization of Sino-American relations in 1979. Numerous studies have examined the prospects for a peaceful reunification between the two Chinas and many of these focus on the motivations, aims, and actions of mainland China. Dr Hsin-hsing Wu, however, makes a unique contribution to scholarship on this question by exploring the links between the reunification issue and recent political changes within Taiwan. The gradual rise of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party, has helped to strengthen and consolidate anti-reunification sentiment and pressures. Dr Wu examines how this force has become a serious challenge to both Chinese governments' reunification policies. . The author draws upon Western scholarship, using established integration theory as a means of analysis, while providing a Taiwanese perspective with primary sources. He examines six factors - the economic and political systems of each country, public opinion in Taiwan, the transactions between the two Chinas, Taiwan's politics, and the Taiwan Independence Movement - to determine the likelihood of peaceful reunification. The research suggests that, although the gradual increase since 1987 of communications links, commercial transactions, and cultural exchanges between the two countries will contribute to the 'normalization' of relations, these are not expected to lead to political reunification in the foreseeable future.