America’s Speaker of the House has created a stir in global politics. China has strongly objected to Pelosi’s visit and warned the US to pay the price for this ‘mistake’. At the same time, China has also started war exercises near the Taiwan border, after which Taiwan has started talks with Japan and the Philippines as an alternative route. Pelosi said in Taiwan that the US respects the status quo, but Taiwan does not support getting anything done by force. Due to all these reasons, the tension between China and America is increasing. Let us know why China is so aggressive about Taiwan and what is the role of Taiwan for the world.
China considers Taiwan as its part
China is moving towards Greater China i.e. One China Policy and it also includes Taiwan in it. It is located between the East and South China Seas, bordered by Japan to the northeast, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It was occupied by the Ching dynasty of China in the year 1683, but after the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, it was occupied by Japan. In the year 1911, the Republic of China was once again removed from the Ching dynasty, and when Japan surrendered after its defeat in World War II, then control of Taiwan came to China.
In 1949, there was a civil war in China and the Communists led by Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalist Comingtang Party led by Chiang I-shek. After the defeat, Chiang I-shek came to Taiwan and formed his government there. Communists in China established the People’s Republic of China, and two months later, Chiang’s government-in-exile in Taiwan replaced the rival Republic of China. Both claimed to be the only legitimate government of the whole of China.
America took the responsibility of protecting Taiwan 70 years ago
In the years 1954-55 and 1958, when China bombed some islands under the control of Taiwan, the US had to intervene. The US Congress proposed Formosa, under which the then US President Eisenhower was authorized to protect the Republic of China (Taiwan). In 1995-96, when China began testing missiles in the seas around Taiwan, the largest US force was sent to the region since the Vietnam War.
What is Taiwan’s global position
China considers Taiwan as part of its One China policy, while Taiwan considers itself a separate independent country. Taiwan has rejected China’s principle of one country, two system. Since 1949, both the countries have been working as sovereign nations under separate regimes. 15 countries of the world have recognized Taiwan so far. The US has the responsibility of protecting Taiwan, but it has not yet recognized Taiwan. The US has maintained the One China policy since the 1970s, but it also has unofficial links with Taiwan.
How important is Taiwan to the world
Not long ago, due to the shortage of chips, the auto sector, electronic industry, mobile industry were struggling badly. Taiwan is the center of attraction for countries around the world with this chip. Taiwan’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, supplies about 60 percent of the world’s chips, and its clients include Apple, Qualcomm and Nvidia.