This thesis provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the contentious “sovereignty” dispute between Taiwan and China, especially following the signing of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010. Distinctive from many contemporary studies of cross-Strait relations, this research analyzes Beijing’s and Taipei’s political agendas regarding sovereignty in the broader context of East Asian economic integration, as the ECFA is in fact the byproduct of their regional strategies. Commercial diplomacy and interdependence theory constitute the theoretical framework of this thesis. Moreover, this thesis employs various definitions of sovereignty in order to evaluate the extent to which China has impacted upon Taiwan’s sovereignty in the process of economic integration. By employing document analysis and elite interview methodologies, this thesis finds that Taipei has a limited ability to protect its sovereignty from China’s commercial diplomacy in the post-ECFA era. This outcome can be explained by Beijing’s efforts to marginalize Taiwan during the construction of East Asian regionalism, which has driven Taipei to shift its strategy from confrontation to cooperation with Beijing so as to secure its economic and sovereignty interests. To date, economic integration features centrally in Taiwan’s new Mainland policy. This has increased the degree of Taiwan’s economic dependence on China, which gives greater scope for Beijing to wield commercial diplomacy to infringe upon Taiwan’s domestic, functional, and de jure sovereignty. This thesis makes two overall contributions. The most significant contribution of this thesis is its pioneering research approach, which analyzes how China and Taiwan reconcile their economic interests and sovereignty concerns through the lens of commercial diplomacy. Furthermore, by categorizing sovereignty according to its different aspects, this thesis also contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of China’s commercial diplomacy in furthering its sovereignty interests with regards to Taiwan.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:720533 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Chang, Hung |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/91137/ |
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