The Country That Does Not Officially Exist
Taiwan exists in a kind of limbo, and maybe a dangerous one.
Every now and then I go to the Sterling Public Library. Sterling, Illinois, is an industrial town along the Rock River in northwest Illinois.
I go to the public library to read newspapers, use the computers, and talk to the librarians (they were especially helpful to me when I needed to write some of my books). One thing I loved to do is look at the large world globe they have on the main floor.
The globe, made in the United States by a well-known company, has all of the independent countries shaded in certain colors to note them from their neighbors. However, I found there are two notable exceptions: The Republic of China on Taiwan and the Republic of Somaliland. Taiwan is shaded the exact same color as the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Somaliland is pictured as being a part of Somalia.
In other words, they do not exist as separate countries on the globe.
We must remember that these two countries are pictured on a globe made in the United States. By the definition of what a country is, these two countries de facto exist. Both have their own national flags, their own governments, their own set boundaries, their own police and military forces, their own currencies, and no other country controls them.
Then why are they not depicted as existing?
There are three reasons for it. First, the United States has no diplomatic relations with either. Second, neither country is a member of the United Nations nor represented in any way in any United Nations organization. And finally, they have no one, or almost no one, recognizing their existence.
These are the reasons why Taiwan and the Republic of Somaliland do not officially exist on a global map. It has as much to do with politics of the past as anything.
In the case of Taiwan, it is because the United States officially recognized the People's Republic of China and broke all diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979. Since then, America has not recognized Taiwan as an independent state.
When I lived in Taiwan, an unofficial U.S. embassy called the American Institute in Taiwan was there to unofficially represent the United States. When I tried to get my American passport renewed while I lived in Taiwan, it had to be sent to Hong Kong to an official U.S. consulate.
Since the Republic of Somaliland is of no real value to the United States or most other countries outside of Africa, for many governments the existence of the Republic of Somaliland seems rather academic. But Taiwan is in a different category. The United States and its allies do not officially recognize Taiwan as existing, and yet there is a real possibility that American soldiers might be sent someday to fight for Taiwan to keep it free from the clutches of the People's Republic of China.
How can we explain to American soldiers why they may be fighting and dying for a country we do not acknowledge exists? How are we going to explain this to our people who may be asked to sacrifice for a country we do not acknowledge exists?
I am hearing some (but fortunately, few) voices in certain sectors of the Republican Party saying we should stop all weapons supply and support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. And this is despite the fact the United States recognizes Ukraine; and Ukraine is clearly recognized on the globe I saw at the public library as existing as a sovereign nation.
But not Taiwan. For me, it is personal. I lived in Taiwan, I know its people, and I have written a few books on this country. And yet, it does not exist on a world globe made in the United States in an American public library.
Daniel Nardini spent 22 years as a newspaper correspondent for Lawndale News and The Fulton Journal. He has published six books, including his eyewitness account of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, The Day China Cried. He is listed as an Illinois author in the Illinois Center for the Book.
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