Pro-Republic of China

Pro-Republic of China (Chinese: 親中華民國; Wade–Giles: chʻin¹ Chung¹hua² Min²kuo²) or simply pro-ROC is a political alignment that supports the Republic of China (ROC) in terms of politics, economy, society, and culture.

National flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Pro-ROC is sometimes synonymous with pro-Taiwan in context.^[1][2] 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.^[a]

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.^[5]

Hong Kong

Main article: Pro-ROC camp

Pro-ROC supporters holding the flag of the Republic of China during the pro-democracy protest in December 2005.

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.^[6][7]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[8] However, since the implementation of the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, many pro-ROC organizations have been severely suppressed.^[9][10][11]

Japan (since 1945)

See also: Japan-Taiwan relations and Conservatism in Japan

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 insisted on generous post-war action against Japan,^{[clarification needed]} and Chiang's anti-communist beliefs have traditionally led Japanese conservatives to view him positively. Sankei president Shikanai Nobutaka [zh] funded the construction of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.^[12] 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.^[1][13]

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.^[14]

Okinawa

See also: Kuomintang § Ryukyu Guomindang

Republic of Korea (South Korea)

See also: South Korea-Taiwan relations and Conservatism in 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[15]

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.^[16]

Related organizations

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

•  United States
  • 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 South Vietnam
  • 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)
  • Revolutionary Alliance Conference of Taiwan [zh] (1941–1945)

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

Notable figures

•  Mainland China
  • Liu Liankun

•  Hong Kong
  • Johnny Mak
  • Chip Tsao^[17]

•  Japan (post-war)
  • Mitsujirō Ishii
  • Nobusuke Kishi^[18]
  • Kiyuna Tsugumasa
  • Yoshio Kodama
  • Ryōichi Sasakawa

• French Indochina and South Vietnam
  • Phan Bội Châu
  • Vũ Hồng Khanh

• French Indochina and South Vietnam
  • Dương Văn Minh
  • Ngo Dinh Diem
  • Nguyễn Khánh
  • Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
  • Phan Khắc Sửu
  • Trần Văn Hương

•  United States
  • Marsha Blackburn

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

• Taiwan under Japanese rule
  • Chiang Wei-shui

• Nazi Germany
  • Alexander von Falkenhausen

See also

• Taiwan portal
• China portal

• Anti-communism
  • Anti-communism in China
  • Anti-People's Republic of China
• Chinese nationalism
• Chiangism
• Colorado Party (Paraguay)
• Conservatism
  • Conservatism in Hong Kong (historically)
  • Conservatism in Taiwan (Pan-Blue Coalition)
  • Conservatism in the United States
• Double Ten riots, then related to the Hong Kong pro-ROC camp.
• Japanophilia (親日) – State of Japan is a liberal democratic country. Anti-PRC and pro-ROC/pro-Taiwan sentiment is strong in Japanese society.
• Liberalism in China
  • Liberalism in Hong Kong (pro-democracy camp)
• Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of China
• Pro-Americanism

Notes

1. Marsha Blackburn, an American conservative politician, is referred to as "pro-Taiwan",^[3] but she honored Chiang's work by visiting the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall; it should be distinguished from "pro-Taiwan" in the narrow sense (which has to do with pan-Green camp) in support of Taiwan independence.^[4] Chiang Kai-shek defended the Republic of China orthodoxy and was strongly opposed to Taiwan independence.