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Taiwan is complicated. Taiwan, the island, was once a part of territory claimed by Imperial China. Eventually, Taiwan was given to Japan in some war back in th

by bena 5y ago

Taiwan is complicated. Taiwan, the island, was once a part of territory claimed by Imperial China. Eventually, Taiwan was given to Japan in some war back in the day. Right before WWII, civil war broke out. The Chinese Communist party wanted to overthrow the ROC and reform the government in their image. Then WWII happened and they agreed to pause the civil war to deal with the Japanese coming in from East. WWII ended with the defeat of Japan and as part of the terms of surrender, Taiwan was given back to the ROC. After WWII, the civil war was back on, but with the ROC having been significantly weakened by WWII. Eventually, the CCP overthrew the ROC on the mainland and formed the People's Republic of China (PRC), while the ROC fled to the island of Taiwan. The PRC sees Taiwan as part of China thanks to the Japanese terms of surrender. Taiwan was ceded to the government of China, they are the government of China. QED, Taiwan is theirs. The ROC sees themselves as the rightful government of China in exile. Yes, Taiwan belongs to China, but they are China. The PRC needs to give the mainland back to them. Things have progressed since then. There are some on the island with different opinions these days. The policy of the PRC and some factions in the ROC is the One-China policy. There is only one China, it includes the mainland and Taiwan. The only disagreement is about which government is legitimate. Some in the ROC advocate a two-state solution, in which you'd have the PRC and ROC, each with their territories and that's that. Then there are people in Taiwan who feel that they should be their own independent nation and not "Chinese" at all. So basically, with regards to your question, the answer is every answer possible. I think the official position is One-China though. I think there's enough of that faction to make winning elections impossible if you explicitly reject it.

wbsss4412 5y ago
Thank you for writing such a thorough comment. So often people comment on HN without a basis in any of these facts. I think it’s important to add that Taiwan, like China, was an authoritarian state up until the 90s. The shift to democracy since then has given room for a lot of these different factions to take hold and develop on the island.
thereddaikon 5y ago
One thing to add, Taiwan formally gave up its claims to the mainland some time ago. While the One China policy still has some popularity there, it seems that the idea of Taiwan as a separate nation and people is growing day by day.
- bena 5y ago
  There's the ROC-in-exile people and then there are people who have lived on the island for generations. Like, I said, things have progressed. There's "One China", "Two Chinas", and "China and Taiwan". I think the longer things remain as they are, the more likely it'll settle into a "China and Taiwan" situation as both sides just kind of tire of fighting an issue their great grandparents started.

by bena 5y ago

wbsss4412 5y ago

Thank you for writing such a thorough comment. So often people comment on HN without a basis in any of these facts. I think it’s important to add that Taiwan, like China, was an authoritarian state up until the 90s. The shift to democracy since then has given room for a lot of these different factions to take hold and develop on the island.

thereddaikon 5y ago

One thing to add, Taiwan formally gave up its claims to the mainland some time ago. While the One China policy still has some popularity there, it seems that the idea of Taiwan as a separate nation and people is growing day by day.

bena 5y ago
There's the ROC-in-exile people and then there are people who have lived on the island for generations. Like, I said, things have progressed. There's "One China", "Two Chinas", and "China and Taiwan". I think the longer things remain as they are, the more likely it'll settle into a "China and Taiwan" situation as both sides just kind of tire of fighting an issue their great grandparents started.