Managing Taiwan’s International Space: Comparing Taiwan’s Experiences in the WTO and WHA

Abstract

The previous chapter provided an account of China’s management of affairs in the HKSAR. Beyond what was detailed in its policy papers and official documents, Beijing, since the historic handover in 1997, has displayed extreme caution at distancing itself from being directly involved in HKSAR “internal” issues.¹ The chapter went on to show that Beijing has chosen to intervene only when its de jure sovereignty came under serious threat of being challenged. Even so, its favoured approach was to turn to legal interpretations, rather than direct political intervention. The sense of “aloofness” is striking, and is enlightening in terms of understanding its view of sovereignty. Consistent with the theme of this book, in Chinese sovereignty, the de facto component (right of governance) is detached from the concept; in the eyes of Beijing, it is more important to maintain the façade of a single de jure sovereignty under China than actual control over the territory concerned.