ABSTRACT
The status of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan in the international system poses a paradox. Taiwan's "achievement status"—the so-called "Taiwan Miracle"—has become the envy of many developing countries. For a divided polity such as China's, the quest for national identity and the quest for international legitimation are substantially overlapping and mutually complementary, as the politics of competitive legitimation are contested in a distinct but changing international environment. Post-Tiananmen China's search for international legitimation seems to have only emboldened Taipei's own quest for international legitimation via international organizations even as some international economic organizations became more accommodating to dual membership of both China and Taiwan. The notion of legitimacy may be used as a conceptual framework to examine the changes and the continuities of Taipei's foreign relations. Since legitimacy is seldom employed in the study of foreign policy and international relations, the logic of this conceptual framework calls for an explanation.
