Travel Documents Issued by a Sovereign State

• published: 29 Sep 2014
• views: 262

The world community does not regard the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan as a sovereign state. A March 18, 2008 District Court Decision in Washington DC found that the native Taiwanese people are essentially stateless, and indeed the three letter codes established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, territories, etc. do not contain an "ROC" entry. Native Taiwanese people, who trace their ancestry in Taiwan back 400 years or more, are increasingly disturbed by their stateless condition, and claim that such a status is in direct violation of Article 15 (1) of the Universal Human Rights Declaration. That Article says that everyone has the right to a nationality. The ROC passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs identifies the bearer as "Chinese," but such an identification is clearly wrong. Under the One China Policy recognized by the United Nations, all international bodies, and over 90% of the world's sovereign states, "China" and "Chinese" are designations for the People's Republic of China, and the citizens thereof. The ROC on Taiwan is not "China," it is merely a Chinese government in exile. Because of the above factors, native Taiwanese people feel that they are most properly identified as "Taiwanese," and not "Chinese." The question then arises: Should native Taiwanese people who want to travel internationally be able to apply for travel documents issued by a sovereign state? Indeed, this seems a reasonable request. But, which country should bear the responsibility for issuing travel documents to native Taiwanese people, and clarifying that they are Taiwanese and not Chinese? This video presents a collection of excerpts from U.S. State Dept. publications which offer many important insights. In summary, this is a video which every person interested in the USA - PRC - Taiwan triangular relationship should watch, as well as recommend to their friends, associates, teachers, professors, debating club members, and representatives in Congress.