If one begins with the supposition that the struggle between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) is primarily a conflict about sovereignty, it makes sense to consider means by which the two disputants might amicably share sovereignty and thereby reduce the likelihood that their differences will lead to conflict. However, it is worth considering that the domestic political transformations currently underway in both the PRC and Taiwan may have subordinated a contest over the exercise of sovereignty to a war of words about sovereignty that is mostly about labels and legitimacy, not fundamental changes in the exercise of power over territory and people.

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