Taiwan long ago lost the diplomatic tussle with mainland China. However, in another arena, the struggle continues - the one for the hearts and minds of overseas Chinese.
Under the Kuomintang government, Taiwan used to claim that it was supported not just by the 23 million people on the island, but by tens of millions of overseas Chinese. That claim is a little threadbare now, as ethnic Chinese from the United States and other countries have poured into mainland China, as tourists, businesspeople and students.
Nonetheless, both the mainland and Taiwan still find it important to attempt to rally so-called 'overseas Chinese' to their side. Both sides sponsor conferences and issue statements to support their positions. For example, in July 2001, the pro-Beijing Overseas Chinese World Conference for Promoting the Peaceful Reunification of China was held in Tokyo. At the end of the two-day conference, a declaration was issued calling for the upholding of the 'one China' principle and opposing Taiwan independence.
However, two months earlier, another conference, the Third Global Overseas Chinese Affairs Conference, sponsored by Taiwan, issued quite a different statement. 'We are determined to work together to maintain the Republic of China's international status, promote national development and strengthen exchanges and co-operation with all nations,' it said.
In fact, Taiwan has a cabinet-level office, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (OCAC), whose chairwoman, Chang Fu-Mei, is one of the government's busiest officials, travelling abroad frequently to cultivate local Chinese communities. Ms Chang, who gave up her US citizenship to accept the post in 2000, acknowledges that not all the world's ethnic Chinese can be considered her constituents.
For example, she notes, the eight million ethnic Chinese in Indonesia are almost all Indonesian citizens. Moreover, the large numbers of people who left mainland China over the past 20 years may not think of themselves as her constituents. 'Unless they seek help, I have no jurisdiction,' she said.
