Federal Republic of China

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A Federal Republic of China (Chinese: 中華聯邦共和國 Zhonghua Lianbang Gongheguo) is a proposed future federal republic encompassing mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This "Third Republic" (following on from the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China) is proposed by supporters of the Tibet independence movement, although it would not in effect create an independent Tibet. Yan Jiaqi, writing for the Tibetan government in exile^{[citation needed]}, has written that:

Proposed flag for a Federal Republic of China

"It would be a federation with the characteristics of a confederation. Federal China would consist of two kinds of republics: 'loose republics' such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang: and 'close republics' consisting the rest of China."

According to Yan:

"They would differ from the existing federal countries in their defence, taxation and legal systems"

Although this model, in which the close republics would have an arrangement based on the United States of America, and the loose republics more on the European Union, may not be agreed upon by all advocates of a Federal Republic, it is largely the prevailing view.

A federation has been among the proposals proposed by some supporters of Chinese reunification in Taiwan. Some supporters in Taiwan have proposed using the original 1911 five-coloured flag of the Republic of China to represent a potential Chinese federation as it lacks any affiliation to the Communist Party of China or the Kuomintang.

Another concept similar to a Federal Republic of China is the concept of a United States of China. This usage was popularized after Chinese president Jiang Zemin in 2001 made a comment that a united China can adopt a new national name and flag that satisfy the people of Taiwan. Large economic ties between China and Taiwan have also motivated the occasional informal use of the term to describe a united China.