Pro–Republic of China sentiment

Pro–Republic of China () or simply pro-ROC is a political alignment that supports the Republic of China (ROC) in terms of politics, economy, society, and culture.

Pro-ROC is sometimes synonymous with pro-Taiwan in context. However, "pro-Taiwan" has more to do with the pro-independence Pan-Green Coalition, which focuses on regionalist Taiwanese identity, and "pro-ROC" has more to do with the Pan-Blue Coalition, which opposes Taiwanese independence and advocates for the identity of the Republic of China.

By location

Mainland China (since 1949)

In 1949, the ROC government lost control of mainland China retreated to Taiwan. The establishment of the PRC government led to a Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries. This nearly wiped out pro-ROC political forces in mainland China.

With the improvement of cross-strait relations since the 1980s, the people of mainland China have more opportunities to contact Taiwan. Some dissident pro-democracy activists expressed their admiration for the post-reform liberal democratic ROC political system and formed pro-ROC organizations, which are illegal under PRC rule.

Hong Kong

There have historically been numerous pro-ROC organizations in Hong Kong, as pro-ROC soldiers defected to British Hong Kong in 1949 after the ROC and its ruling party, the Kuomintang (KMT), lost the Chinese Civil War. Among the pro-ROC groups were trade unions such as Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, triads supporting the KMT, and companies and private organizations.

In the early 1980s, the pro-ROC camp formed the mainstream of conservatism in Hong Kong. However, in the 1980s, the pro-ROC camp began to be pushed out of the mainstream of Hong Kong's conservatism, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) embraced business elites, professionals, and rural leaders, who were previously pro-ROC, with the united front.

The pro-ROC camp was further weakened by the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, which made Hong Kong officially a territory of the PRC. In 2008, with Ma Ying-jeou taking office as president of the Republic of China, the pro-Beijing Hong Kong government reduced its repression of the pro-ROC camp in Hong Kong.日漸式微的香港國民黨勢力，中時電子報，2018/08/13 However, since the implementation of the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, many pro-ROC organizations have been severely suppressed.

Japan (since 1945)

In Japan, "pro-ROC" (親華派) is distinct from "pro-Taiwan" (親台派) because it supports the ROC and not Taiwan independence. Shortly after the Surrender of Japan, Chiang Kai-shek's mainland ROC government adopted conciliatory post-war policies, such as waiving war reparations; see repaying malice with virtue. This stance, combined with Chiang's staunch anti-communist beliefs, has traditionally led Japanese conservatives to view him positively. Sankei president funded the construction of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

The Japan–ROC Cooperation Committee (⽇華協⼒委員会; Nikka Kyōryoku Iinkai, JRCC) was established in 1957 with the support of the Republic of China government to promote political, economic, and cultural cooperation between Japan and Taiwan; it was associated with pro-ROC Liberal Democratic Party politicians. At the time, Japanese conservatives generally had figures in favor of the Taiwanese government led by Chiang Kai-shek in an anti-communist stance. Some former Japanese imperial army soldiers became military advisers to the Republic of China Armed Forces (see Baituan); In October 1949, when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) attempted to invade Kinmen, Hiroshi Nemoto and others from the former Japanese army operated and defeated the PLA.中村祐悦著『白団 : 台湾軍を作った日本軍将校たち』芙蓉書房ほか

The ROC and Japan had established diplomatic relations until 1972. The World League for Freedom and Democracy, an international anti-communist organization founded by Chiang in 1952, featured Japanese ultranationalists such as Ryōichi Sasakawa and Yoshio Kodama.Anderson, Scott & Jon Lee. Inside The League: The Shocking Expose of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated the World Anti-Communist League. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1986.

Okinawa

Republic of Korea (South Korea)

Republic of Korea (South Korea; simply ROK) is pro-ROC sentiment stems from KMT's sponsorship of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea during the Korea under Japanese rule. South Korea was the ROC's last official diplomatic partner in Asia, maintaining diplomatic ties until 1992, when it established diplomatic ties with the PRC instead.

Taiwan under Japanese rule

In Taiwan under Japanese rule, the Taiwanese nationalist movement interacted with the main political forces of the then-mainland Republic of China; the Taiwanese People's Party approached the Kuomintang and the Taiwanese Communist Party approached the Chinese Communist Party. During this time, Taiwanese nationalists were not much differentiated from Chinese nationalists.

United States Frank Kellogg was the Secretary of State (1925–1929) and he followed the advice of Nelson Johnson, the new chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs. They favored [Republic of] China and protected it from threats from [Empire of] Japan. The key to Chinese sovereignty in foreign policy was to gain control of tariff rates, which Western powers had set at a low 5%, and to end the extra territoriality by which Britain and the others controlled Shanghai and other treaty ports. Kellogg and Johnson successfully negotiated tariff reform with China, thereby giving enhanced status to the Kuomintang and helping get rid of the unequal treaties. China was reunified by a single government, led by the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1928. With American help China achieved some of its diplomatic goals in 1928–1931.Ellis, pp 311–321.

Douglas MacArthur served as commander of the United Nations forces during the Korean War from July 8, 1950, to April 11, 1951. MacArthur advocated for a more aggressive military strategy to support the ROC, which had retreated to Taiwan under Chiang Kai-shek. When People's Liberation Army intervened in the Korean War, he devised a plan to use the Republic of China Armed Forces based in Taiwan to attack the mainland occupied by the People's Republic of China. However, this plan was not realized due to opposition from President Harry S. Truman.The Korean War and General MacArthur - Digital History. UH - Digital History. p. 74. "MacArthur wanted to allow Chiang Kai-shek's forces to invade mainland China which he hoped would trigger a revolution against the Communist government, or at least draw Chinese troops out of Korea. Truman opposed this plan for fear it would involve the US in a land war in Asia - the 'wrong war at the wrong time, the wrong place, and against the wrong enemy.'".

American neoconservatives have a stance closer to pro–"Republic of China" than pro-"Taiwan"; they place more emphasis on democratization and pro-Westernization in mainland China than on Taiwan independence based on self-determination. "Blue Team" as a political term refers to a group of politicians and journalists involved in the belief that the People's Republic of China is a security and political threat to the United States and democracies, and is ideologically related to neoconservatism; blue is also the symbolic color of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang.

Related organizations

Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council (founded in 1948) (founded in 1956) China Youth Service & Recreation Center (founded in 1977) 123 Democratic Alliance (1994–2000) Democratic Alliance (2001–2021)

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (founded in 1883) Grand Alliance for China's Reunification under the Three Principles of the People (founded in 1980)

French Indochina and Việt Nam Quang Phục Hội (1912–1925) Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (1927–1975) Vietnam National Restoration League (1939–1951) Vietnam Revolutionary League (1942–1946)

Korea under Japanese rule Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (1919–1948)

Taiwan under Japanese rule Taiwanese People's Party (1927–1931) (1941–1945)

Tibet (1912–1951) Tibet Improvement Party (1939–1950s)

Notable figures

Liu Liankun

Johnny Mak Chip Tsao

(post-war) Bin Akao Mitsujirō Ishii Nobusuke Kishi Kiyuna Tsugumasa Yoshio Kodama Ryōichi Sasakawa

French Indochina Phan Bội Châu Vũ Hồng Khanh

Dương Văn Minh Ngo Dinh Diem Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Phan Khắc Sửu Trần Văn Hương

Douglas MacArthur Marsha Blackburn

Chun Doo-hwan Kim Hong-il Kim Ku Park Chung Hee Syngman Rhee

Taiwan under Japanese rule Chiang Wei-shui

Alexander von Falkenhausen

Pro–Republic of China sentiment

Bron en licentie