Is Taiwan an Independent Nation? The relations between China and Taiwan have been anything but smooth. They have a fragile relationship and are in a constant state of wariness, ready to take action if anything were to break the fragile peace. The island of Taiwan has maintained its independence from the mainland since 1949, although the state of Taiwan's independence is a matter of huge debate. It may be difficult to understand the significance of Taiwan at first glance, but Taiwan is important to China for a number of interesting strategic and ideological reasons. Both of these countries have been through a lot and continue to go through many relations and foreign policies as the years go by.
What now is called Taiwan started out as the Republic of China in the mainland of China after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. After many years of wars, two with Japan, Chiang Kai-shek established a stable form of government. This state considered itself to be the continuing sole legitimate ruler of all of China, referring to the communist government or "regime" as illegitimate, a so-called "Peoples' Republic of China" declared in Beijing by Mao Tse Tung. The Republic of China was supported for many years by many nations especially with the support of the United States who established a 1954 Mutual Defense treaty. Within a few years the People’s Republic of China was able to take more and more control of the government in China. Eventually the Communist regime had taken over. Many of the people who supported the Nationalist party were persecuted so they fled the mainland of China to the island that today is known as Taiwan. Eventually the Republic of China has transformed itself into a multiparty, representative democracy on Chinese Taipei and has given more representation to those native Taiwanese, whose ancestors predate the 1949 mainland evacuation.
The value of Taiwan to China is much, much more than just some island off its coast. First and foremost the geographical location of Taiwan is important to China It is an island of strategic importance because it straddles sea-lanes and is an important port of call for many trade routes that come through Asia. If it were to become an independent country then it means a few bad things for the Chinese government. It could act as an enemy base for the nations that oppose China and it could also act a trade stop or could be a place for nations to spy on China. During the 1960s, there were many Taiwanese people who began to call for separation and independence from China. However, because of Soviet influence in the region, The United Nations began to treat with China as a way to stifle the Soviet expansion. This ended up resulting in the United Nations throwing out the Taiwanese National Government. This allowed the Chinese government to come in and rule over Taiwan. In 1979, the United States officially recognized the People's Republic of China. This resulted in the US severing its diplomatic ties with Taiwan as an independent state as well as withdrawing its troops from its defense pact. The United States however continued to have unofficial economic trading and foreign relations with Taiwan. Taiwan has participated in many international events and event participates in the United Nations although they use the name Chinese Taipei. Even though Taipei is the capital of Taiwan, this new name is a roundabout acknowledgement of Taiwan's growing independence in addition to its ties to China. Taiwan is a de facto sovereign state, but not de jure. It has its own territory, government, flag, currency and all other things that make it a de jure sovereign state. The only thing it is missing is international recognition. Currently 21 UN Member States maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. These countries cannot have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China because it refuses to have diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes Taiwan. To say that Taiwan is a sovereign state can be problematic given that it is widely recognized in the international system, but it is definitely a de facto self governing state.
