In Taiwan, anger at China over virus drives identity debate

Anger at being confused withChina amid the coronavirus outbreak and Beijing's stepped-upefforts to assert sovereignty is stirring heated debate inTaiwan about how to further distance itself from its giant andoften threatening neighbour.

At its core is a debate about whether to drop "China" fromthe island's official name, the Republic of China.

During the virus crisis, the World Health Organization(WHO), which considers the island part of China, has listedTaiwan's far lower case number under China's, and China hasrepeatedly insisted only it has the right to speak for Taiwan onthe global stage, including about health issues.

Taipei says this has confused countries and led them toimpose the same restrictions on Taiwanese travellers as onChinese, and minimized Taiwan's own successful efforts tocontrol the virus.

Taiwan has been debating for years who it is and whatexactly its relationship should be with China including theisland's name. But the pandemic has shot the issue back into thespotlight.

Lin I-chin, a legislator for the ruling DemocraticProgressive Party (DPP), said in parliament last month thatTaiwan should change its English name to "Republic of Chunghwa,"an English rendering of the word Taiwan uses for China in itsname.

"Taiwan has been brought to grief by China," she said.

'Our people have been misunderstood'

On Sunday, the New Power Party, one of Taiwan's smalleropposition groups, released the results of a survey in whichalmost three-quarters of respondents said Taiwan passportsshould only have the word "Taiwan" on them, removing anyreference to China.

"During this epidemic period, our people have beenmisunderstood by other countries, highlighting the urgency ofchanging the English name," the party said in a statement.

Taiwan's foreign ministry has given a cautious response tothe passport idea, noting that according to the constitution,the official name is Republic of China, and that the word Taiwanwas already added to passport covers in 2003.

"In the future, if there is consensus between the ruling andopposition parties on this new name, the Foreign Ministry shallco-operate in handling it," spokeswoman Joanne Ou said.

But the government is wary of a name change for Taiwan,saying there is no consensus for such a radical move.

Although the DPP supports the island's independence theoretically meaning the official formation of a Republic ofTaiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said there is no need to do so,as the island is already an independent country called theRepublic of China. She often refers to the island as theRepublic of China, Taiwan.

'Republic of Taiwan'

Premier Su Tseng-chang has said changing the island's nameisn't the most urgent issue facing Taiwan.

"If we want to change then it might as well be to 'Republicof Taiwan.' Taiwan is more well known," Su said in parliament.

"But if there's no national consensus, a name change isn't themost important thing for now."

Taiwan's official name is a throwback to when the Kuomintangparty fled to the island after losing the Chinese civil war tothe Communists in 1949, and continued to claim to be China'slegitimate government.

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"The Republic of China is a country, Taiwan is not," ChenYu-jen, a Kuomintang legislator from the island of Kinmen, whichsits just offshore from the Chinese city of Xiamen, toldparliament on Monday.

The statement drew a sharp rebuke from Su, who toldreporters it meant Chen had no right to be a member of thelegislature. Chen said she was simply stating the facts, andthat Taiwan is a geographic name, not a national name.

Any name change likely to anger China

China's pressure on Taiwan diplomatically and militarilyduring the virus crisis has reduced Beijing's already lowstanding in the eyes of many Taiwanese.

A March poll commissioned by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council and carried out by Taipei's NationalChengchi University showed more than three-quarters ofrespondents believed China's government was unfriendly toTaiwan's, the highest level in a decade.

Any name change would infuriate China, which has a lawmandating the use of force to stop Taiwan independence.