Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.
Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.
Something I’m really not too sure of with regards to this topic, is whether Taiwan like… pays anything to China? Like does Taiwan send some kind of tax revenue or other ongoing annual payment type thing off to China, does it use any of China’s laws/regulations locally?
Like can’t the independence of a nation / area be objectively shown?
Nope, they don’t pay anything to China, and China doesn’t pay anything to them. They have separate tax offices, separate governments (and very different models of governing), separate militaries… which sadly look at each other though targeting devices.
You’re mixing up is and ought. It’s not about reality, it’s about demonstrating allegiance to a side by claiming is how they want it to be.
When people say “Taiwan is part of China”, they aren’t making the factual claim “Taiwan is an administrative subdivision of the Chinese state.”, but rather the moral claim “It would be good if China conquered Taiwan.”
In practical terms Taiwan is basically an independent country. Legally speaking China is in a civil Taiwan basically being a faction and a decades long ceasefire. However the length of the ceasefire, Taiwan being an island and having been a Japanese colony created a weird situation. As in a real question within Taiwan, if they are Chinese or Taiwanese and also what to do about China. However there is a pretty large majority, who do not want to have the Communist government run Taiwan in any way. So the status quo remains. Also Beijing threatens to invade, if Taipei ever calls itself not the Republic of China, but only the government of Taiwan.
Also a sizable contingent who don’t like the recent “invasion” by the KMT and would welcome being part of PRC. The farther south in Taiwan you go the more that sentiment grows, as the KMT settled in the north.