Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China its remaining major component – the island of Taiwan, as opposed to its decades-long claim to all China since losing the civil war in 1949. Prior to this speech, the government officials used "Republic of China" when the name of the state was used. Lee's usage is considered as a departure from the convention, as this usage can be interpreted in the sense that the Republic of China's sovereignty does not extend to mainland China, which the People's Republic of China controls. The Democratic Progressive Party's 1999 Resolution on Taiwan's Future, which is accorded equivalent status as the Party charter,
History of foreign relations of the People's Republic of China however, remain unresolved: the issue of Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek and his forces fled to Taiwan after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The government they established there, the "Republic of China", continued to claim authority as the government of the Chinese nation almost four decades after the founding of the People's Republic. Although China's goal of reunifying Taiwan with the mainland remained unchanged, the previous, more militant Chinese policy of "liberating Taiwan" was replaced in the 1980s by the concept of reunification under the "one country, two systems" policy. The agreements on Hong Kong and Macau