Facing China: Taiwan’s Status as a Separate Customs Territory in the World Trade Organization

• Main Author: HSIEH, Pasha L.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
• Subjects: Asian Studies; International Trade Law; Transnational Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/526; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/1525/viewcontent/JWorldTrade_Hsieh.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

On Nov 11, 2001, in Doha, Qatar, the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) unanimously approved Taiwan's application for WTO membership, just 24 hours after approving China's admission. Taiwan's choice as the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, abbreviated as Chinese Taipei, in the WTO, instead of its official name, Republic of China (PRC), shows its reluctant compromise with political reality. The PRC's claim that accession procedures applying to Taiwan and Hong Kong should be identical erroneous because, under international trade law, the ROC is the automatic government acting on behalf of Taiwan and thus does not need the PRC's sponsorship. Coexistence of China and Taiwan makes the WTO a new diplomatic battle. Under the WTO framework, both China and Taiwan should abide by WTO law and treat the other as an equal trade partner. The WTO provides opportunity for facilitating cross-straight dialogues, and increasingly intensified economic relations may lead to political integration.