Beijing, Taiwan and the Tibet Question: The Politics of Internal Differentiation

The latest dispute (9 July 1999) between Taipei and Beijing is similar to the 1995-96 crisis when Communist China fired missiles over the Taiwan Strait and when the USA sent nuclear warships off the Taiwan coast. 1 It began with the Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui's interview on 9 July 1999 that relations between Taiwan and China should be of a state-to-state nature. Lee declared himself to be the leader of a sovereign state and that his government deserved equal diplomatic standing with its rival in Beijing. Lee implied that while there is one China, there are two rival states which must be recognized.