China and Taiwan: A really simple guide (2024)

FAQs

What is problem between China and Taiwan? ›

The relationship has been complex and controversial due to the dispute on the political status of Taiwan after the administration of Taiwan was transferred from Japan to the Republic of China at the end of World War II in 1945, and the subsequent split between the PRC and ROC as a result of the Chinese Civil War.

Why does China want Taiwan? Beijing views Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory - even though the Chinese Communist Party has never governed the island. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to pursue "reunification" with Taiwan by peaceful means.

The ROC was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan. The ROC government began exercising jurisdiction over Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II.

The position of the PRC is that the ROC ceased to be a legitimate government upon the founding of the former on 1 October 1949 and that the PRC is the successor of the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China, with the right to rule Taiwan under the succession of states theory.

Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This is an objective fact and an internationally recognized status quo. No claim by the PRC government concerning Taiwan's sovereignty will change the fact that neither side of the Taiwan Strait is subordinate to the other.

“A war across the Strait would not only be a human tragedy, it would destroy world trade worth $2.6 trillion, according to Nikkei Asia. No country could shield itself from the repercussions. “Distance would offer no protection from this catastrophic blow to the global economy – and to China most of all.”

Taiwan has become an important U.S. partner in trade and investment, health, semiconductor and other critical supply chains, investment screening, science and technology, education, and advancing democratic values. The United States approach to Taiwan has remained consistent across decades and administrations.

The U.S. Department of State, in its U.S. Relations With Taiwan fact sheet, states "[T]he United States and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship.

Taiwan, is after all an island a hundred miles off the coast of China. And America's military strong suits are in the areas of aerospace, maritime, and high technology—exactly the kinds of things we need we would need to defeat a cross-Strait invasion. These are also areas of strength for Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims. Asked last October if the United States would come to the defense of Taiwan, which the United States is required by law to provide with the means to defend itself, Biden said: "Yes, we have a commitment to do that."

How can Taiwan defend itself against China? ›

A multilayered sea defense

To swiftly take the Island, China's PLA would need to transport many soldiers and great quantities of supplies — armored vehicles, weapons, ammunition, food, medical supplies and fuel — across the strait. This is only possible by sea, since airlifts and fleets of planes have limited capacity.

2151 et seq.), or any other provision of law, Taiwan shall be treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally (as defined in section 644(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2403(q))[)]."

The United States "acknowledged" the "One China" position of both sides of the Taiwan Strait. U.S. policy has not recognized the PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan; U.S. policy has not recognized Taiwan as a sovereign country; and. U.S. policy has considered Taiwan's status as unsettled.

In December 1949, the Republic of China Armed Forces and the Kuomintang were defeated in the Chinese Civil War, forcing the Government of the Republic of China to relocate to Taiwan.

A: Yes, if you are a Taiwan tax resident. The 6.7 million AMT deduction does not apply to Mainland China income, but if you are a Taiwanese national you can offset your mainland China tax paid via the 兩岸條例.

Bhutan is the only UN member state that has never explicitly recognised either the PRC or the ROC. The Republic of China considers itself to be the sole legitimate government of China (including Taiwan), and therefore claims exclusive sovereignty over all territory controlled by the PRC.

Communist China's stance on Taiwan

Since the unofficial end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, China has considered Taiwan to be a rebel region that must be reunited with the mainland. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, espousing what is known as the "One-China policy".

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender (1945) is seen by the Pan-Blue camp as legitimizing the Chinese claims of sovereignty over Taiwan which were made with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration (1945). The common Pan-Blue view asserts that Taiwan was returned to China in 1945.

A war would halt this trade (as well as American and allied shipments to China). U.S. supplies of many products could soon run low, paralyzing a vast range of businesses. It could take months to restore trade, and emergency rationing of some items would be needed.

Currently, there is no evidence of Taiwan possessing any chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons; but nuclear weapons from the United States have been deployed in the past during periods of heightened regional tensions with China, such as during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.

Why is China helping Russia? ›

China has become an increasingly important trading partner for Russia as it seeks to soften the impact of economic sanctions imposed by some countries in response to its invasion.

international relations

The majority are located in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Paraguay, Guatemala and Haiti. Taiwan's other four allies are island nations in Southeast Asia, namely Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

After the Japan–PRC Joint Communiqué in 1972, Japan no longer recognizes the Republic of China as the sole official government of China and the official diplomatic relations between the two countries were ceased. However, Japan has maintained non-governmental, working-level relations with Taiwan.

The Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan, is governed in a framework of a representative democratic republic under a five-power system first envisioned by Sun Yat-sen in 1906, whereby under the constitutional amendments, the President is head of state and the Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) is ...

Russia currently doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, considering it to be an "inalienable" part of the People's Republic of China.

They have close economic ties and are significantly intertwined, yet they also have a hegemonic great power rivalry throughout the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

According to the World Trade Organization, Taiwan was the 16th largest exporter and 17th largest importer of merchandise in 2021. It was also one of the largest holders of foreign exchange reserves as of December 2021. Taiwan's gross domestic product per capita reached US$33,011 in 2021.

Taiwan maintains full diplomatic relations with 13 sovereign states, 12 of which are member states of the United Nations, whereas the remaining sovereign state is the Holy See (Vatican City), which is a United Nations General Assembly observer state.

No industry matters more to Taiwan than chipmaking. They are the chips that power everything from mobile phones to electric cars—and they make up 15% of Taiwan's GDP. Taiwan produces over 60% of the world's semiconductors and over 90% of the most advanced ones.

Does US have troops in Taiwan? ›

WASHINGTON—The U.S. is markedly increasing the number of troops deployed to Taiwan, more than quadrupling the current number to bolster a training program for the island's military amid a rising threat from China.

Here, 56.29 percent of Democrats, but only 32.66 percent of Republicans and 40.31 percent of independents, chose the latter option. However, the overwhelming majority of those who stated that the US should be active in world affairs—72.99 percent—supported defending Taiwan.

BEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that China has lodged "stern representations" with the United States, after U.S. President Joe Biden said U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

In reality, the PRC rules only Mainland China and has no control of but claims Taiwan as part of its territory under its "One China Principle". The ROC, which rules only the Taiwan Area (composed of Taiwan and its nearby minor islands), became known as "Taiwan" after its largest island, (an instance of pars pro toto).

None of the 354 experts who answered this question said China would definitely invade Taiwan in the next year (that is, chose 100 points). Taking an average of the responses, the IR experts estimated a 23.75 percent chance of a Chinese attack against Taiwan in the next year.

Taiwan is open for travel.

In 1966, due to souring relations between Washington and Paris because of the refusal to integrate France's nuclear deterrent with other North Atlantic powers, or to accept any collective form of control over its armed forces, French president Charles de Gaulle downgraded France's membership in NATO and withdrew France ...

In March 2015, Russia, citing NATO's de facto breach of the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, said that the suspension of its participation in it, announced in 2007, was now "complete" through halting its participation in the consulting group on the Treaty.

The Alliance is founded on the principle of collective defence, meaning that if one NATO Ally is attacked, then all NATO Allies are attacked. For example, when terrorists attacked the United States on 9/11 2001, all NATO Allies stood with America as though they had also been attacked.

Why does China want Taiwan? Beijing views Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory - even though the Chinese Communist Party has never governed the island. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to pursue "reunification" with Taiwan by peaceful means.

Why there is war between China and Taiwan? ›

Tensions between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) in the 1950s resulted in armed conflict over strategic islands in the Taiwan Strait. On two separate occasions during the 1950s, the PRC bombed islands controlled by the ROC.

Since Canada's recognition of the People's Republic of China as the sole representative of "China" in 1970, there are no ambassadorial relations between Canada and Taiwan due to the Chinese government's One-China policy, but there are strong ties of trade and culture between the two entities since at least 1986.

Hong Kong (US: /ˈhɒŋkɒŋ/ or UK: /hɒŋˈkɒŋ/; Chinese: 香港, Cantonese: [hœ́ːŋ.kɔ̌ːŋ] ( listen)), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city or a special administrative region in China.

In fact, the purpose of time spent in California may have more weight in determining legal residency than the actual number of days spent. To classify as a nonresident, an individual has to prove that they were in the state for less than 183 days and that their purpose for being in the state was temporary.

The average salary in Taiwan is 129,000 TWD (New Taiwan Dollar) or around USD 4,203 per month (as per the exchange rates in May 2023). To give you a reference, the average monthly salary in the United States is USD 7900, which is significantly higher than in Taiwan.

The average salary in Taiwan is approximately NT$677,000 (US$21,689) per year.

"Taiwan, China", "Taiwan, Province of China", and "Taipei, China" are controversial political terms that claim Taiwan and its associated territories as a province or territory of "China". Territory controlled by the People's Republic of China (purple) and the Republic of China (orange).

Taiwan has become an important U.S. partner in trade and investment, health, semiconductor and other critical supply chains, investment screening, science and technology, education, and advancing democratic values.

Today, Taiwan is one of the biggest investors in China. Between 1991 and the end of December 2021, approved investment in China comprised 44,823 cases totaling US$198.28 billion. In 2021, the value of cross-strait trade was US$273.06 billion.

In the context of superpower and influential diplomacy, the ROC's traditional and stable allies include United States of America, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Why does the US want Taiwan? ›

Taiwan, is after all an island a hundred miles off the coast of China. And America's military strong suits are in the areas of aerospace, maritime, and high technology—exactly the kinds of things we need we would need to defeat a cross-Strait invasion. These are also areas of strength for Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

Even though Taiwan was 100 miles from China and thousands of miles from the United States, U.S. dominance in advanced air and naval weaponry meant that we almost surely could have come to Taiwan's defense and prevailed.

The TRA requires the United States to have a policy "to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character", and "to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan."

WASHINGTON—The U.S. is markedly increasing the number of troops deployed to Taiwan, more than quadrupling the current number to bolster a training program for the island's military amid a rising threat from China.