way of looking at it, would be that Taiwan is either its own independent country...

的方式來看，臺灣要麼是自己的獨立國家... ...

or part of China.

或中國的一部分。

But the reason that’s oversimplified is because Taiwan isn’t a separatist movement.

但之所以過於簡單化，是因為臺灣不是分裂運動。

Taiwan doesn’t want to secede from China… because from Taiwan’s perspective...

臺灣不想從中國分裂出去 因為從臺灣的角度來看...

they ARE China. Well, at least constitutionally anyway.

他們是中國。好吧，至少在憲法上是這樣。

Taiwan’s official name is: the Republic of China. Whereas the country that’s generally

臺灣的正式名稱是：中華民國。而一般的國家，則是

referred to as China is: the PEOPLE’S Republic of China.

被稱為中國的是：中華人民共和國。

To fully understand the situation we need to go back to the end of the 19th century

為了充分了解情況，我們需要回到19世紀末。

when the last imperial dynasty governed China - the Qing Dynasty.

當最後一個統治中國的皇朝--清朝。

The Qing Dynasty encompassed all of what is modern-day China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, as

清朝的疆域包括了今天的中國、臺灣和蒙古，作為

well as parts of several other bordering nations.

以及其他幾個鄰國的部分地區。

In 1894 began the First Sino-Japanese War between the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese

1894年，清朝與日本人的甲午戰爭爆發

Empire, which primarily took place in Korea and Taiwan.

帝國，主要發生在北韓和臺灣。

At the time, Korea was governed by the Joseon Dynasty, which was a client state of the Qing Dynasty.

當時，北韓由北韓王朝統治，而北韓王朝是清朝的客戶國。

The war ended just one year later with a decisive Japanese victory which resulted in the island

僅僅一年後，戰爭就以日本的決定性勝利而結束了，這導致了島上的

of Taiwan being annexed to the Japanese empire. The war also brought an end to the Joseon

臺灣被日本帝國吞併的消息。這場戰爭還結束了北韓的

Dynasty in Korea and guaranteed their complete independence from China. Japan officially

北韓王朝，並保證他們從中國完全獨立。日本正式

annexed the Korean peninsula in 1910.

1910年吞併了朝鮮半島。

In 1912, after millennia of imperial rule in China, the monarchy was overthrown and

1912年，在中國經歷了幾千年的帝制統治後，君主制被推翻，並在1912年

the first Chinese republic was established: the Republic of China. Sun Yat-sen was made

建立了中國第一個共和國：中華民國。孫中山先生被立為

provisional president in Nanjing, but Yuan Shikai had already assumed power in Beijing

袁世凱在北京掌權

because he was in command of the Beiyang Army, the largest military in the nation. So to

因為他指揮的是全國最大的軍隊--北洋軍。所以要

avoid conflict, Sun agreed to accept Yuan as president. As president however, he abused

為了避免衝突，孫中山同意接受袁世凱為總統。但他在任上卻濫用職權

his power which led to a failed revolution in which Sun fled to Japan.

他的權力導致革命失敗，孫中山逃到日本。

As president, Yuan dissolved the Chinese Nationalist Party, and in 1915,

袁世凱作為總統，解散了中國國民黨，並於1915年。

declared himself as Emperor of China, as he attempted to restore the monarchy.

宣佈自己是中國的皇帝，因為他試圖恢復君主制。

His death one year later began what became known as the Warlord Era in Chinese history

一年後，他去世，開始了中國歷史上所謂的軍閥時代。

as the country became fragmented into different factions.

隨著國家分裂成不同的派系。

In 1917, Sun Yat-sen, generally considered the founder of the Republic of China, returned

1917年，被普遍認為是中華民國的締造者的孫中山先生回到了

from exile to re-establish the republic. He revived his nationalist party, under the name

從流亡到重建共和國。他恢復了他的民族主義政黨，以 "我的名字 "為名。

of Kuomintang. The government was established in the south of the country, as the north

國民黨的。政府在南方建立，作為北。

was dominated by warlords and the imperial Beiyang Army.

由軍閥和帝國北洋軍主導。

Sun Yat-sen wanted to unite the country under one government. However, he lacked the military

孫中山想統一全國，建立一個政府。然而，他缺乏軍事

power to take on the warlords. After help from the West was refused, assistance came

勢力來對付軍閥。在西方的幫助被拒絕後，援助來了。

from the Soviet Union. In exchange for their military assistance, they asked that the Kuomintang

從蘇聯。為了換取他們的軍事援助，他們要求國民黨。

cooperate and ally with the much smaller Chinese Communist Party.

與規模小得多的中共合作和結盟。

The Warlord Era came to an end with a two-year military campaign called the Northern Expedition.

軍閥時代隨著兩年的北伐軍事行動結束。

However, before this military campaign was complete, the alliance between the nationalists

然而，在這場軍事行動完成之前，國民黨人之間的聯盟。

and the communists began to fall apart after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925.

而在1925年孫中山去世後，共產黨人開始分崩離析。

The Kuomintang party split into two separate right- and left-leaning factions. With the

國民黨分裂為左右兩派。隨著

left-leaning faction moved its capital to Wuhan. The original, right-leaning Kuomintang

左傾派遷都武漢。原有的右傾國民黨的

party, now led by Chiang Kai-shek, took control of Nanjing, and declared it their capital.

黨，現在由蔣介石上司，控制了南京，並宣佈南京為他們的首都。

The Chiang nationalists, sought to purge the communists among their ranks, and in April

蔣民族主義者，力圖肅清其隊伍中的共產黨員，4月

of 1927, in what became known as the Shanghai Massacre, thousands of communists were executed

上海大屠殺

by nationalist forces.

民族主義勢力的。

The left-leaning Kuomintang faction which broke away, also began executing communists,

脫離的國民黨左派，也開始處決共產黨員。

and the party ultimately collapsed, leaving the original party as the sole legitimate

和黨最終崩潰了，只剩下原黨作為唯一合法的。

government of China.

中國政府。

The execution of communists ended their alliance with the Soviet Union and led to the start

共產黨人被處死，結束了他們與蘇聯的聯盟，並導致開始了

of the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists and the Communists.

的國共內戰。

The war began in August of 1927, with the Nanchang Uprising, and founding of the

1927年8月，隨著南昌起義的爆發，抗戰開始，成立了

"Red Army”, the army of the Communist Party, with Mao Zedong as commander-in-chief.

"紅軍"，以毛澤東為總司令的共產黨軍隊。

4 years later, in 1931, with the civil war still ongoing, the Empire of Japan sought

4年後的1931年，內戰仍在進行中，日本帝國謀求

to use the war as an opportunity to expand their sphere of influence by invading China.

以此為契機，以侵華戰爭為契機，擴大自己的勢力範圍。

The Japanese Imperial Army invaded the east coast of China and occupied Manchuria, as

日本皇軍入侵中國東部沿海地區，佔領滿洲，作為。

well as other nearby lands. Japan installed their own puppet government and fighting continued,

以及其他附近的土地。日本建立了自己的傀儡政府，戰鬥繼續。

although didn’t escalate into all-out war between the two nations...

雖然沒有升級為兩國之間的全面戰爭... ...

until 1937, when it did.

直到1937年，它才。

Now, since the initial invasion back in 1931, the civil war in China had continued. Many nationalists

現在，自從1931年第一次入侵後，中國的內戰一直在繼續。許多民族主義者

had called for a temporary truce with the communists to defend China against the Japanese.

曾要求與共產黨暫時停戰，以抵禦日軍的進攻。

However, Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang leader, refused,

但是，國民黨領袖蔣介石拒絕了。

and he wanted to continue the war against the communists.

而他想繼續對共產黨的戰爭。

This changed in 1936 when he was kidnapped by one of his own commanders, who forced him

這種情況在1936年發生了變化，因為他被自己的一個指揮官綁架了，他強迫他

to agree to a military alliance with the communists as they fought Japan, their common enemy.

同意與共產黨結成軍事同盟，因為他們與日本這個共同的敵人作戰。

The Second Sino-Japanese War escalated as Japan pushed into the Chinese capital of Nanjing,

第二次甲午戰爭升級，日本挺進中國首都南京。

and massacred tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers.

並屠殺了數以萬計的平民和阿兵哥。

In 1941, with World War II ongoing, Japan carried out a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

1941年，第二次世界大戰正在進行，日本對珍珠港進行了突然襲擊。

At this point, the United States were not at war with anyone, but the Japanese launched

此時，美國並沒有與任何人開戰，但日本人卻發動了。

the strike to try and prevent the US from interfering with their wars in the Pacific.

罷工，試圖阻止美國干涉他們在太平洋的戰爭。

The attack caused immediate declaration of war by the United States. American involvement

這次襲擊導致美國立即宣戰。美國的參與

in the war would ultimately lead to what ended World War II in the Pacific Theatre.

在戰爭中，最終導致了第二次世界大戰在太平洋戰場的結束。

In July of 1945, in the Potsdam Declaration, the Allied forces called for Japan’s “unconditional surrender”.

1945年7月，盟軍在《波茨坦宣言》中要求日本 "無條件投降"。

In August of 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of

1945年8月，美國向日本城市投下了兩顆原子彈。

Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

廣島和長崎。

Just days later, the Japanese accepted the terms of the surrender.

僅僅幾天後，日本人就接受了投降的條件。

Part of the surrender agreement included that Japan return sovereignty of all lands that

投降協議的部分內容包括日本歸還所有土地的主權，這些土地包括

they had gained through warfare. However, this didn’t just include territory they

他們通過戰爭獲得的。然而，這不僅僅包括他們的領土。

had gained during World War II, this included their annexations of Korea and Taiwan several

在第二次世界大戰期間，他們獲得了包括吞併北韓和臺灣在內的許多國家和地區。

decades earlier.

幾十年前。

So the island of Taiwan, taken from the Qing Dynasty by Japan in 1895, was to be returned

所以，1895年日本從清朝手中奪走的臺灣島，是要歸還的。

to China.

對中國。

After the war with Japan was over, the Chinese Civil War started up again in 1946. The nationalists

抗日戰爭結束後，1946年中國內戰又開始了。國民黨人

and communists only ever had a very loose alliance against the Japanese, and the fighting

共產黨和共產黨之間只有非常鬆散的抗日聯盟，而戰鬥的時候

never completely stopped. The Soviet Union backed the communists while

從來沒有完全停止過。蘇聯在支持共產黨的同時

the United States backed the nationalists, in what were the early years of the Cold War.

美國支持民族主義者，在冷戰初期。

Despite having a superior number of soldiers and equipment, the Chinese Civil War was decisively

儘管中國內戰在兵員和裝備上佔有優勢，但在決定性的。

won by the communists as they captured more and more land, pushing the nationalists further

共產黨人贏得了越來越多的土地，把國民黨人推向了更遠的地方。

and further back until 1949 when the Kuomintang government retreated to the island of Taiwan.

再往前追溯，直到1949年國民黨政府撤退到臺灣島。

This effectively ended the civil war, although no official peace treaty was ever signed.

這有效地結束了內戰，儘管沒有簽署任何正式的和平條約。

Later that year, the Communist Party proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile,

同年下半年，共產黨宣佈成立中華人民共和國。與此同時，。

the Kuomintang government, the Republic of China, and the still internationally recognised

國民黨政府、中華民國和國際公認的

government of China, was exiled to the island of Taiwan.

的政府，被流放到臺灣島。

Over the course of the next few decades, international recognition began to shift from the Republic of China

在接下來的幾十年裡，國際上對中華民國的承認開始轉變為

to the People’s Republic of China, and in 1971,

歸中華人民共和國所有，並於1971年。

with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758

聯合國大會第2758號決議

the People’s Republic of China were recognised as the legitimate government of China.

中華人民共和國被承認為中國的合法政府。

Although the United States had voted against the resolution, the US broke off diplomatic

雖然美國對該決議投了反對票，但美國斷絕了外交

ties with the ROC in 1979. The same year, the PRC attempted to open up comminution with

1979年與中華民國解除關係。同年，中國嘗試開放與

the ROC, with a proposal known as the “Three Links”. This however, was completely rejected

的建議，即所謂的 "三通"。然而，這完全被拒絕了

by the ROC, who responded by adopting the “Three Noes” policy: no contact, no compromise

中華民國政府採取 "三不 "政策：不接觸、不妥協。

and no negotiation.

而沒有商量。

This policy however, had to be revised in 1986, when a China Airlines 747 aircraft was

然而，這一政策不得不在1986年進行修訂，當時一架華航747飛機被。

hijacked by an ROC pilot, when he changed its course to Guangdong, and defected to the

被一名中華民國飛行員劫持，當他改變航向到廣東時，投靠了

PRC. This forced the ROC and the PRC to communicate with each other.

中 華 人 民 共 和 國 。這就迫使中華民國和中華人民共和國互相溝通。

In 1992, the two governments met, coming to an agreement that was known as the “1992

1992年，兩國政府會晤，達成了一項被稱為 "1992年 "的協議。

Consensus”. The consensus being that both sides adhere to the One China Policy. The

共識"。共識是雙方堅持一箇中國政策。該。

One China Policy is the belief that there is only one China, and that Taiwan is part

一箇中國政策是指認為只有一箇中國，臺灣是中國的一部分。

of China. However, both sides see themselves as the legitimate government of China. Both

的中國。然而，雙方都認為自己是中國的合法政府。雙方

sides of the Taiwan strait agreed that Chinese Unification was the eventual goal and that

兩岸一致認為，中國統一是最終目標，而這也是兩岸共同的目標。

the current situation was only temporary.

目前的情況只是暫時的。

Before the 1990s, Taiwan had been a one-party state, with the Kuomintang party as the government.

90年代以前，臺灣一直是一黨制國家，由國民黨擔任政府。

In 1996, Taiwan had its first presidential election,

1996年，臺灣舉行了第一次總統選舉。

although the Kuomintang stayed in power.

雖然國民黨一直在執政。

However, in the year 2000, the Democratic Progressive Party were elected into government,

然而，在2000年，民進黨當選為政府。

and today are the more dominant party, having won the 2016 election. The DPP do NOT agree

並在2016年的選舉中獲勝，如今是更佔優勢的政黨。民進黨不同意

with the One China Policy and reject the 1992 Consensus. They also not do support Chinese

他們不支持一箇中國政策，拒絕接受 "九二共識"。他們也不支持中國

Unification and strongly support the idea of a Taiwanese identity. The DPP believe that

統一，堅決支持臺灣認同的理念。民進黨認為

Taiwan already is its own independent country.

臺灣已經是自己的獨立國家。

The Republic of China has a very ambiguous political status. It’s not a member of the

中華民國的政治地位非常模糊。它不是聯合國的成員。

United Nations, and very few countries officially recognise them as a country. That being said,

聯合國，很少有國家正式承認他們是一個國家。雖然如此。

many countries do have unofficial, de facto embassies in Taipei, and vice versa.

許多國家確實在臺北設有非官方的、事實上的大使館，反之亦然。

So officially at least, Taiwan is not a country, but in every practical sense of the word,

所以至少在官方上，臺灣不是一個國家，但在實際意義上。

it is. They have their own government, with their own president, which has jurisdiction

它是。他們有自己的政府，有自己的總統，有管轄權。

over the whole island of Taiwan. They have their own military, issue their own passports,

在整個臺灣島。他們有自己的軍隊，發自己的護照。

and they even also take part in sporting events such the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup…

他們甚至還參加了奧運會和國際足聯世界盃等體育賽事......。

however, they participate under the deliberately ambiguous pseudonym of “Chinese Taipei”.

然而，他們卻用 "中華臺北 "這個刻意模糊的假名參與。

Now you might be thinking, well Taiwan quite clearly is a country, so why not just make

現在你可能會想，臺灣明明是一個國家，為什麼不乾脆做個

it official? Why not just declare independence and change their name to the Republic of Taiwan

官方？乾脆宣佈獨立，改名為臺灣共和國好了

or something like that? Well, there is support for Taiwanese independence, but it’s not

或類似的東西？嗯，臺獨是有支持的，但並不是

something that has a huge amount of support, and this is because of China. While many people

的東西，得到了大量的支持，這是因為中國。雖然很多人

may support the idea in principle, in practice it’s something that can be quite dangerous

姑妄言之，實則危矣

because China is hostile towards the idea of Taiwan becoming an independent nation because

因為中國對臺灣獨立的想法有敵意，因為。

according to the PRC, Taiwan is “an inseparable part of China’s territory since antiquity”

中國大陸認為，臺灣 "自古以來就是中國領土不可分割的一部分"。

and have threatened to unify China and Taiwan by force if necessary, should Taiwan try to

並威脅說，如果臺灣試圖在必要時以武力統一中國和臺灣。

pursue independence.

追求獨立。

So unfortunately, resolving Taiwan’s political status is something that could be incredibly

所以，不幸的是，解決臺灣的政治地位是一件會讓人難以置信的事情。

difficult, or even impossible for the foreseeable future. The two ways to resolve the dispute

困難，甚至在可預見的未來不可能。解決爭端的兩種方式

both seem unlikely to happen any time soon.

兩者似乎都不可能很快發生。

The first, unification. Taiwan unifies with China. This is unlikely because neither side

第一，統一。臺灣與中國統一。這是不可能的，因為雙方都沒有

would be willing to give up their claim as the legitimate government of China, and after

願意放棄他們作為中國合法政府的主張，而後

being separating for several decades, their populations are very different people.

正在分離幾十年後，他們的人口是非常不同的人。

Second, independence. This may seem like the most practical approach to solve the dispute,

第二，獨立。這似乎是解決爭端的最實際辦法。

but with China being hostile to Taiwanese independence, it’s just too dangerous as

但在中國敵視臺獨的情況下，這太危險了，因為

something that could be realistically considered at the moment.

目前可以現實考慮的事情。

So the third and most likely scenario: the status quo. In today’s geopolitical climate,

所以第三種也是最有可能的情況：維持現狀。在今天的地緣政治環境下。

this seems like the only realistic option.

這似乎是唯一現實的選擇。

So hopefully now it’s clear why I said at the start of the video that saying Taiwan

所以希望現在明白為什麼我在視頻一開始就說，說臺灣

is either its own country, or part of China, is oversimplified. It’s a much more complicated

要麼是自己的國家，要麼是中國的一部分，是過於簡單化了。這是一個更復雜的

issue than that. So obviously there’s not yes or no answer to the question

比這個問題。所以很明顯，這個問題的答案並不是 "是 "或者 "不是"。

“is Taiwan a country?” because it depends on who you ask, and how you define a country etc. etc.

"臺灣是一個國家嗎？"因為這要看你問誰，以及你如何定義一個國家等等等等。

Taiwan has a long and complicated history that has brought about this ambiguous political

臺灣有著悠久而複雜的歷史，才有了這種曖昧的政治。

status that it has today. A political status that challenges the very meaning of the word

今天的地位。這種政治地位挑戰了 "和平 "一詞的意義。

“country”. However, everyday life in Taiwan is generally unaffected and it operates like

"國家"。然而，臺灣的日常生活一般不受影響，它的運作就像

any other country in the world. The people of Taiwan live their lives just like any other

世界上任何其他國家。臺灣人的生活就像其他國家的人一樣。

people, the majority of whom consider themselves Taiwanense, and the ambiguous political status

的人，而他們中的大多數人都認為自己是臺灣人，以及政治地位的模糊不清

has very little impact of their day-to-day lives.

對他們的日常生活影響甚微。

Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that almost every other country in the world must play

然而，不幸的是，世界上幾乎每一個其他國家都必須扮演 "大國 "的角色。

along with this façade that Taiwan doesn’t exist and that the issue is generally swept

擺出臺灣不存在的姿態，把臺灣問題一筆帶過

under the rug rather than being discussed or debated, simply because it’s a controversial

在地毯下，而不是討論或辯論，只是因為它是一個有爭議的

topic and can be uncomfortable to talk about.

話題，談起來會很不舒服。

Thanks for watching.

謝謝你的觀看。