91
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Why are the United States government as well as many others supporting Taiwanese sovereignty despite their own anti secession laws?
I'm from Taiwan, so I'll answer with some local perspective.
There is a law on the books that says if Taiwan does not bend
diplomatically they will try to make it part of China by force.
The first ...
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82
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Why didn't Thatcher give Hong Kong to Taiwan?
Other than the reasons of practicality mentioned, there is also the issue of international laws and treaties, specifically on the issue of "successor states." There definitely was some debate, as the ...
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59
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Would Taiwan and China's dispute be solved if Taiwan gave up being the Republic of China?
No, dropping the ROC name makes the situation worse as the PRC claims that China is indivisible and that the island of Taiwan is part of China. Hence, the usual threat is that they will launch an ...
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53
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Has China ever clearly stated that it would invade Taiwan if it declares independence?
And inevitably, immediately after posting my question, I stumbled onto the full English text of China's Anti-Secession Law of 2015 (反分裂国家法). Article 8 reads:
In the event that the "Taiwan ...
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Why are the United States government as well as many others supporting Taiwanese sovereignty despite their own anti secession laws?
a country which could be argued to have seceded
Secession means that a territory is leaving a nation.
That's not quite what happened in this case. To briefly recap history, 1911 saw the creation of ...
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43
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Was there risk that Speaker Pelosi's aircraft could have been shot down by the People's Liberation Army?
When you ask if there's any possibility, the answer is always 'yes': politics entails risk. But if you ask whether it's likely the answer is a definitive 'no'. China's tactics over the last few ...
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40
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Two Germanys and two Koreas but only one China. Why wasn't a compromise to internationally recognise both Chinas reached?
The difference between China, Germany and Korea is that the first had a decisive civil war and the other two did not
The Chinese Civil War between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang-led ...
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39
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What is the rationale of Lithuania allowing a diplomatic mission under the name of Taiwan, thus deteriorating the diplomatic relation with China?
Look for the Lithuanian PM's name, Google for that - Ingrida Šimonytė declaration taiwan and Taiwan and you find.
The Lithuanian coalition agreement, signed by leaders of the Homeland Union, Liberal ...
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38
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Is South Korea a province of Korea?
Much of international law is either customary law or created by treaties with different membership. When two states agree on something concerning the two of them, that tends to stand. So trying to ...
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37
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Why is the US vowing to protect Taiwan when they won't protect Ukraine?
The main reasons for the difference are likely:
Taiwan's economic importance is more obvious. It does a great deal of high-tech manufacturing, and includes the world's leading computer chip ...
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36
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Two Germanys and two Koreas but only one China. Why wasn't a compromise to internationally recognise both Chinas reached?
Because the PRC ("People's Republic of China", aka "Mainland China") is powerful enough to make the international recognition of the ROC ("Republic of China", aka "...
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36
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Does any international law support the claim that "Taiwan's independence or not should be decided by Taiwanese people, not by any other country"?
The example of Kosovo brought up in SJuan76 answer in the comments is helpful. At the time Kosovo was a province of Serbia (and internationally recognized as such by (almost?) everyone). Kosovo ...
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31
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Is there any other reason to stockpile minerals aside preparing for war?
Is there any other reason to stockpile minerals aside preparing for war?
Yes, there are many other potential reasons, assuming we are defining war in the traditional battleship and bomb-dropping way.
...
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30
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If Taiwan declares independence, would that mean they are relinquishing their claim over mainland China?
Let me first address the incorrect picture of the cross-strait relations that underlies your question.
You assume that there are actual, realistic claims to mainland China. Let me put this straight: ...
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How many countries have recognized Taiwan as a sovereign nation?
Wikipedia has a table showing the number of countries recognising the Republic of China (ROC, modern-day Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (PRC, modern-day China) respectively.
Number of ...
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27
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What has China gained by doing military drills after Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan?
China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its ...
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26
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Is South Korea a province of Korea?
Neither North Korea, nor South Korea recognises the government of the "other half".
So from the point of view of the South, North Korea is composed of five "provinces" (dō), with ...
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26
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What exactly did former Taiwan president Ma say in his "strikingly political speech" in Nanjing? Need sufficiently nuanced translation of whole thing
I'm Taiwanese.
The English translation is pretty accurate, there is no lost nuance between what Ma said in Mandarin and what you read in English.
I'm not quite sure what is confusing about this even ...
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24
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What has China gained by doing military drills after Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan?
A lot of international politics — not all, but more than one might like — plays out as middle-school level power/status games. More precisely, it comes down to interactions between smart, cagy, ego-...
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23
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Why is Taiwan adverse to the idea of using gun ownership as a deterrent to Chinese invasion?
As a Taiwanese I think I can answer with personal experience.
It is not apparent to the people living in Taiwan that gun-ownership would lead to stronger national defense. In fact, I do not think ...
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21
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Does any international law support the claim that "Taiwan's independence or not should be decided by Taiwanese people, not by any other country"?
There is no "court of international law" in the first place. Politics is merely the art of the possible. Once this truth is grasped, the question naturally dissolves itself.
If that is still ...
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Would Taiwan and China's dispute be solved if Taiwan gave up being the Republic of China?
Interestingly, the name that China and Taiwan compromised on, for the Olympics at least, is "Chinese Taipei". In that context, China rejected the Republic of China (henceforth ROC) name, which Taiwan ...
18
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Why does Mainland China and Taiwan require Visas for each other's citizens?
As far as I can tell, they don't; they issue various types of permit to allow travel, but they are careful not to officially call those permits "visas". In this way they maintain the political ...
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18
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Why didn't Thatcher give Hong Kong to Taiwan?
Thatcher surrendered all of Hong Kong -- not just the portions that were leased from China -- because the mainland Chinese had made it clear that Hong Kong was completely indefensible against an ...
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18
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What has China gained by doing military drills after Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan?
At the very least, the maneuvers are designed to mollify the ultrantionalists who perhaps expected (after a tweet by a well-known Chinese editorialist suggesting such a move was "ok") for ...
18
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In terms of Realpolitik, what does the West gain from supporting Taiwan?
If the world segues into another Cold War then it becomes a game of influence and alliances long term.
Credibility with allies is then crucial, else at-risk countries would quickly cut a deal if ...
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17
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Why is the US vowing to protect Taiwan when they won't protect Ukraine?
I take somewhat of an issue with the framing of this question.
when they won't protect Ukraine?
This seems like a bit of a willful misrepresentation of the situation.
The level of support for ...
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Why does People's Republic of China (PRC) tolerate the existence of a "de facto embassy" of the Republic of China (ROC) in Russia?
Most countries in the world, including Russia, India, the US and Brazil - all have had a Taiwanese Representative Office for a considerable period - since long before China became a great power.
...
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16
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Why do some countries recognise Taiwan as the sole legitimate government of China?
In order to have an official relationship with the People's Republic of China (mainland China), you have to discontinue official relationships with the Republic of China. So if you want any official ...
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