Only 100 miles separate mainland China and Taiwan — a distance shorter than the rift between Florida and Cuba — but they have been locked in a diplomatic and political struggle for control for decades.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that is part of the mainland – but the island insists it is a separate nation with its own democratically elected officials and standing army.
It lies in the “first chain of islands” and is surrounded by nations – including Japan and South Korea – friendly to the United States
Nancy Pelosi and the controversy surrounding her planned trip to Taipei has put a spotlight on tensions that are slowly reaching boiling point.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it does not support Taiwan independence and the one-China policy that has been in place since Jimmy Carter.
Only 13 countries, including the Vatican, recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
But actions by previous presidents, including Donald Trump, suggest the diplomatic situation in the West is open to interpretation, angering Beijing.
Taiwan also produces more than 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors — which are critical to powering smartphones, computers and brake sensors in cars.
A conflict between China and Taiwan could plunge the pair into an economic crisis that could trigger a global supply chain meltdown.
When and where did the tensions begin? Centuries of shifting and friction
Taiwan has changed hands since 239 AD, when Beijing sent an expedition to explore the area and eventually claimed it.
Between the 13th and early 17th centuries, the Hoklo and Hakka Chinese began to settle there to escape deprivation and remain the island’s largest population.
It was known as Formosa by the European nations when the Dutch established a colony between 1624 and 1661 and the Spanish built a small enclave in the north of the island in 1626.
In 1662 the island changed hands and was integrated into the Qing Dynasty until the Japanese won the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 and had to cede territory to Tokyo – then known as Edo.
Modern China was then formed in 1911 after the revolution – and Taiwan insists they were never a formal part.
Japan then abandoned the island after its defeat in World War II and handed control of Taiwan back to China – with the support of Western allies including the US and Britain.
But then civil war broke out between the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong.
Overrun by Mao’s forces, Kai-shek and the rest of his government fled to Taiwan in 1949 and dominated politics on the island while the communists took power in Beijing.
Taiwan becomes an ally of the United States, which was at war with China in Korea. The United States deployed a fleet in the Taiwan Strait to protect its ally from potential attacks from the mainland.
Kai-shek’s son began a process of democratization when a riot broke out and the rest of the people living on the island began to protest.
Since then, the island has moved to establish more democratic institutions.
After World War II, civil war broke out between the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek (left) and the Kuomintang, and the Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong (right).
The “One China” Policy: The US and Its Long-Term Position on Taiwan
The policy recognizes that there is only one Chinese government and that Taiwan is not an independent or sovereign state.
In 1979, after years of improving US-China relations, Jimmy Carter traveled to Beijing to meet leader Deng Xiaoping and severed formal ties with Taipei.
He closed the US embassy and established formal ties with China.
However, Congress also passed the Taiwan Relations Act. The legislation guaranteed that the US would protect the island and help it defend itself – which is why the US sells them arms.
Administrations since Carter have recognized and stand by the policy.
President Biden has insisted that Taiwan should be independent, but it was not.
In December 2016, Donald Trump spoke to President Tsai Ing-wen to congratulate her on the election victory – which broke three decades of political precedent and angered China.
Trump pointed out in the call that the United States and Taiwan have “close economic, political and security ties.”
US intervention and its willingness to protect Taiwan has weakened Beijing-Washington ties in recent years and heightened tensions ahead of Pelosi’s visit.
In late July, Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a two-hour phone call, during which Biden stressed that “United States policy has not changed — but unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across Taiwan have decidedly rejected street.
Xi Jinping fired back at Biden and said of Taiwan, “those who play with fire will perish.”
In 1979, after years of improving US-China relations, Jimmy Carter traveled to Beijing to meet leader Deng Xiaoping and severed formal ties with Taipei
Recent tensions between China and Taiwan — and the back-and-forth over the relationship
Chen Shui-bian wa was elected President of Taiwan in 2000, marking the first time in power for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which supports Taiwan’s sovereignty and formal independence.
It was a move that marked the beginning of the island’s slow move toward secession from Beijing.
In March 2005, Beijing passed an anti-secession law in March, making Taiwan’s secession illegal.
This April, leaders of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the KMT, and the Chinese Communist Party are meeting for the first time since 1949 to try to ease the strained relationship.
In 2008, KMT-backed President Ma Ying-jeou, who advocated closer ties with China, came to power and put aside political disputes to discuss deals ranging from tourism to commercial flights.
But in 2016, the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential race on the platform of standing up to China. Months later, Beijing cut off all official communications with Taiwan.
In 2016, the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential race on the platform of standing up to China. Months later, Beijing cut off all official communications with Taiwan
Taiwan’s dominance of the semiconductor market – and how a conflict could trigger a global crisis
Taiwan manufactured more than 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors last year, and the industry is now in the spotlight.
The chips enable smartphones, computers and brake sensors to work in the car.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, counts Apple, Qualcomm and Nvidia among its customers and accounted for 54 percent of global sales in 2021.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said Monday, Aug. 1, if China and Taiwan entered a conflict, there would be an economic crisis on both sides of the strait.
He told CNN that in the event of a Chinese attack, TSMC factories would be rendered “non-operational” because the sophisticated manufacturing facilities depend on connections with the rest of the world.
He stressed that it would cause a supply chain crisis that would extend to the US, which last month passed legislation trying to fix the shortage.
Protesters gather in Taiwan to mark the anniversary of China’s crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989