Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Tan Sun Chen in “Joining the Global Village,” (Summer, 2005) makes an impassioned and well-argued case for Taiwan’s inclusion in the United Nations and other international bodies. In an ideal world, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would tolerate Taiwan’s participation in such organizations. Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and one of the more important players in the global economy. For those reasons alone, the diplomatic isolation that the island continues to endure is not healthy either for the Taiwanese people or the global community.

Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. As much as the people and leaders of Taiwan may believe that their democratic polity deserves international recognition, the people and leaders of the PRC believe with equal fervor that Taiwan is rightfully Chinese territory and that the status of the island is entirely an internal matter. From their standpoint, Japan stole Taiwan from the PRC following the war in 1895, and US meddling during the Cold War was the sole factor preventing reunification after the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949. They want the island back, and they will strongly oppose any measure that appears to give Taiwan even implicit international recognition as an independent state.

It is clearly Chen’s goal to secure that recognition. That point is especially evident in his argument that Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations would enhance regional peace. He denounces Beijing’s position that cross-Strait issues are an internal affair and contends that a role for Taiwan in the United Nations would provide a “multilateral platform” for resolving those disputes.

But “internationalizing” the Taiwan issue is precisely what the PRC will never tolerate. Equally important, there is no indication that the United States or other major actors in the international system are willing to incur Beijing’s animosity by backing Taiwan’s quest for recognition. Chen’s position is, therefore, a political nonstarter in the real world of diplomacy.

Even worse, time is not on Taiwan’s side. The PRC successfully lures away more and more of the handful of nations with which Taiwan maintains diplomatic relations. China’s economic and military power continues to grow at an impressive rate, enhancing Beijing’s already considerable clout in the global arena. That growing power also makes the United States’ implicit commitment to defend Taiwan ever more perilous and problematic. Perhaps most troubling, the patience of the Chinese leadership regarding the issue of reunification is beginning to wear thin. The passage of the anti-secession law suggests that Taiwan may provoke the PRC’s wrath to a dangerous degree if Taipei continues its bid for international recognition.

China’s legal claim to Taiwan is not all that strong, since the mainland has ruled the island only four of the last 110 years. It is also apparent that most Taiwanese want to maintain a separate political identity and not be absorbed by the PRC. Yet none of that matters much in the world of power politics. Chen will probably not give up his campaign for international recognition and legitimacy, but he should not expect other countries to jeopardize their own ties with China to support his quixotic quest.