Taiwan

Taiwan is a strikingly beautiful island of forested mountains (and 21 million people) situated about 100 miles off the coast of mainland China.

As Mao Zedong declared victory in 1949, his rival (Chiang Kai-Shek) had fled to the island of Taiwan where he also declared victory. Each declared themselves the true government of China. Mao's government was communist while Chiang Kai-Shek's government was a democracy. The United States recognized Taiwan as being the official seat of government for all of China all the way up to 1979.

The issue between Taiwan and China has not been resolved. Today, Taiwan is not an independent country and China considers it just an autonomous region of China. Taiwan, on the other hand, holds their own elections and enjoys tremendous prosperity under a capitalistic economic system. They do not consider themselves a part of China. Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations because they are not officially independent from China. Because they have not declared their independence, they cannot be recognized on the international scene. Yet if they were to declare their independence, China would certainly have something to say about it. Watch the news. The United States would probably get involved if any military actions were taken one way or another.

Click on the CIA Web Page and read about Taiwan's situation. Read the "Introduction" paragraph (required). Taiwan is definitely unique in the world.