Editing Chinese unification (section)

===Tibet and Outer Mongolia===
{{see also|Tibetan sovereignty debate|Outer Mongolia}}

The ROC has the historical claims to [[Tibet]] and [[Outer Mongolia]].

The southwestern region of Tibet was governed by the [[Dalai Lama]] from 1912 to 1951 as a de facto independent state instead of the [[Ganden Phodrang]]. The ROC government has asserted that "Tibet was placed under the sovereignty of China" when the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) [[Sino-Nepalese War|ended the brief Nepalese invasion]] (1788–1792) of parts of Tibet in c. 1793.<ref>Sperling (2004) pp.6,7.  Goldstein (1989) p.72.  Both cite the ROC's position paper at the 1914 Simla Conference.</ref> while the [[Tibetan Government in Exile]] asserts that Tibet was an independent state until the PRC invaded Tibet in 1949/1950.<ref>Sperling (2004) p.21</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dalailama.com/messages/tibet/five-point-peace-plan|title=Five Point Peace Plan|publisher=The Dalai Lama|date=21 September 1987|access-date=9 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717094320/http://www.dalailama.com/messages/tibet/five-point-peace-plan|archive-date=17 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> By that point, the position of the Republic of China with regard to Tibet appeared to become more nuanced as was stated in the following opening speech to the International Symposium on Human Rights in Tibet on 8{{nbsp}}September 2007 through the pro-Taiwan independence then ROC President Chen Shui-bian who stated that his offices no longer treated exiled Tibetans as Chinese mainlanders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.president.gov.tw/en/prog/news_release/print.php?id=1105499543|title=President Chen Shui-bian's Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 International Symposium on Human Rights in Tibet}}{{deadlink|date=April 2025}}</ref> Today, the region is ruled by the PRC-governed [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] with parts of the ROC-claimed [[Xikang]] province.

In the northern region, Outer Mongolia, now controlled by the independent [[Mongolia]] and the [[Russia]]n Republic of [[Tuva]], it declared independence from the Qing dynasty in 1911 while China retained its control over the area and [[Occupation of Mongolia|reasserted control over Outer Mongolia in 1919]].<ref name="IBS">{{cite journal |date= August 1984 |title= China-Mongolia Boundary |journal= International Boundary Study |issue= 173 |pages= 2–6 |url= http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS173.pdf |publisher= The Geographer, [[Bureau of Intelligence and Research]] |access-date= 16 June 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060916040248/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS173.pdf |archive-date= 16 September 2006 |url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="IHT">{{cite news |title=Chinese Look To Their Neighbors For New Opportunities To Trade |url= http://www.iht.com/articles/1998/08/04/chitrade.t.php |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |date=4 August 1998 |access-date=15 June 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080220212901/http://www.iht.com/articles/1998/08/04/chitrade.t.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 20 February 2008 }}</ref> Consequently, Mongolia sought Soviet Russian support to reclaim its independence. In 1921, both Chinese and [[White movement|White Russian]] forces were driven out by the [[Red Army]] of the Soviet Union and pro-Soviet Mongolian forces. In 1924, the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] was formed.<ref name="IBS"/> Soviet pressure forced China to [[1945 Mongolian independence referendum|recognize the independence of Mongolia]] in 1946, but the ROC reasserted the claims to Outer Mongolia in 1953. However, the claim was dropped in 2002 as the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)|ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] opened a representative office in Mongolia in 2002 with reciprocity from Mongolia in the ROC in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=代表處簡介 – 代表處簡介 – 駐蒙古代表處 |url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/MN/ct.asp?xItem=100800&CtNode=8877&mp=641&xp1= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105180925/http://www.roc-taiwan.org/MN/ct.asp?xItem=100800&CtNode=8877&mp=641&xp1= |archive-date=2013-11-05 |access-date=2014-03-22 |website=Taipei Trade and Economic Representative Office in Ulaanbaatar}}</ref>