One China Policy: Origins and Implications for the Current US Taiwan Policy

This paper aims to analyze the origins and development of the US's "One China Policy", and its implications for the US's current Taiwan policy. Though in 1979 the US recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of all of China, Washington never explicitly recognized Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, and it insisted on maintaining America's commitment to defend Taiwan in the case of Chinese aggression. This article concludes that the "One China Policy" is de facto an ambiguous strategy adopted by the US to maintain official diplomatic relations with China and unofficial relations with Taiwan, in order to maintain the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region. Keywords: U.S. Foreign Policy; One China Policy; Taiwan. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as origens, desenvolvimento e implicacoes da "One China Policy" dos Estados Unidos (EUA) para a atual politica de Taiwan dos EUA. Embora desde 1979, os EUA reconhecam a Republica Popular da China o unico governo legal de toda a China, Washington nunca explicitou que reconhece a soberania chinesa sobre Taiwan, e insiste em manter o compromisso americano de defender Taiwan in caso de agressao chinesa. O artigo conclui que a "One China Policy" e de facto uma estrategia ambigua adotada pelos EUA para manter relacoes diplomaticas oficiais com a China, e nao oficiais com Taiwan, com o proposito de manter o status quo na regiao da Asia-Pacifico. Palavras-chave: Politica Externa Norte-americana; One China Policy; Taiwan.