Taiwan Question

leader of the communist armies proclaimed the People's Republic of China. It was a hard-fought

victory for Mao and the communists, a victory which had come after nearly four years of

unbridled civil war. While the civil war itself was considered to have begun in 1945, there had

been intermittent fighting between the two participants; the nationalists and the communists; for

nearly twenty-two years. The fighting can be traced back to Chiang Kai-Shek's purging of

communists from his Kuomintang (nationalist) forces and the formation of a nationalist

government in Beijing. Nationalist military expeditions against the communists soon followed

culminating in the communists' famous Long March (1934-35) to their strongholds in the

northwest province of Shaanxi. From here the war continued, and as China was being ravaged by

the Japanese, the communists took advantage and were able to strengthen their position against

the weakened forces of the Kuomintang. The result was the eventual communist takeover of

China in 1949, with the remnants of the Kuomintang forced to withdraw to Taiwan, China's

largest island lying only some one hundred and sixty kilo

have such deep roots that it would seem near impossible for any type of authoritarian rule to

question of Taiwan in the realm of international relations, it is clear with the American maneuvers

between China and the island of Taiwan. The Chinese government in Beijing contends that

question and its settlement is not only important for China, it is important for international

1624 they established Fort Zeelandia on the southern coast while a small Spanish contingent

international recognition as the seat of the true Chinese government, and the focus of president

which split the island into three separate counties. Over the seventy years, Chinese control was

province of China. On Taiwan itself liberation from Japanese rule was originally welcomed, but

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, 157 countries have

The "Taiwan question" -the issue of whether the island of Taiwan, together

reasonable for both participants. Both sides have very opposing views on the subject and a

considered one of the most pressing issues in China today. China has warned Taiwan that any