本研究主要是由國際法的角度探分析臺灣自一九九六年首度舉行的一人一票制的總統直選，以及二○○○年的政黨輪替下的總統直選，甚至是甫結束的二○○四年的臺灣總統大選後，臺灣在國際法上的地位是否產生變化，是否即如報章媒體所指出的臺灣已是一個主權國家，她的名字稱為「中華民國」。依據國際法承認理論臺灣尚未成為主權獨立國家，仍與在聯合國中合法代表中國的「中華人民共和國」處於內戰狀態，臺灣若欲成為真一的主權獨立國家，則必須行使自母國分離獨立的人民自決權，其行使的主體即是在臺灣的二千三百萬人民，其每使的方式應是和平的一人一票制，藉此創設的國家，即符合現代國際法的自決權遵守原則，此時國際社的有義務承認臺灣是一主權獨立國家，不論其使用的國名為何。

　　　　　This paper, mainly based on the perspective of international law, probes and analyzes whether Taiwan's status in international law has changed or not, through the 1996 presidential election, the very first time to directly elect the president under the principle of "one person, one vote" and the 2000 presidential election that resulted in the transition of regime, and even the 2004 presidential election. Has Taiwan become an independent sovereign state entitled "Republic of China," as indicated by the media? According to the recognition theory of international law, Taiwan has not become an independent sovereign state, and it is still in a state of civil war fighting against the People's Republic of China, which legally represents China in the United Nations. If Taiwan wants to be a real independent sovereign state, it has to exercise the people's right to self-determination to separate itself from the mother country. The body of the right is the 23 million people in Taiwan, and the way to exercise the right is through a peaceful "one person, one vote" process. By ding so, such a newly established state would meet the principle of "the observance of the right to self-determination" in present international law. Meanwhile, the international community would have the obligation to recognize Taiwan as an independent sovereign state no matter what title Taiwan might use.