In the 1990s, which government formally dropped its claim to represent the whole of China?

• A. Republic of China
• B. People's Republic of China
• C. Chinese Communist Party
• D. Kuomintang

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how political legitimacy over China shifted in the 1990s, specifically the move toward recognizing two separate Chinas rather than one government claiming to rule all of China. The government in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, formally dropped the long-held claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of China. Through constitutional reforms in the early 1990s, it acknowledged that the mainland is governed by the People’s Republic of China, while retaining its own separate government in Taiwan. This change helped pave the way for more practical cross-strait relations and the emergence of a two-Chinas dynamic in international politics. The other options refer to the mainland regime or a political party within Taiwan, and they did not make such a declaration.