Should Taiwan be Returned to China?

Answer 1

From China's perspective, there is only one China in the world. Taiwan has been a part of China for hundreds of years. They speak the same language, celebrate the same festivals, and have almost the same culture.

The present situation of separation between Taiwan and China mainland is the result of Civil War of China(or Liberation War of China 1946-1950). The former government of China, the KMT party government, fled to Taiwan island because of the total defeat in the mainland. Meanwhile, Communist China had no ability to cross the strait to reunite Taiwan island at that time. In China's view, the problem of Taiwan and China not already being reunited is due to interference from the U.S. government. In 1949, the Chinese government announced that Taiwan is a province of China. Since then, all the countries which want to establish a foreign relationship with PRC must recognize that Taiwan's belonging to China. The UN also recognizes that Taiwan belongs to China. In Taiwan's society today, DPP politicians who are absolute supporters of Taiwan's independence are in control, but a number of Taiwanses people believe there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it. For economic reasons, as well as avoiding war, Taiwan should not be independent. Only the reunification of Taiwan with China will give Taiwan a more broader future. It is advantagous to mainland China that reunification with Taiwan take place because the Taiwanese people speak standard Chinese and know deeply about China. Mastering Chinese will be rather important in the future. So Taiwan maintaining a close relationship with mainland China will be the best what it can be. It isn't that the people or government of Taiwan see no cultural connection between the two countries; it's just that people are reluctant to give up their rights and submit to the rule of an autocratic government.

Also, the threat of force has been made by China, and this certainly doesn't make the mainland seem any more appealing. (Taiwan has also put on military displays on their coast, so both countries are guilty of provoking the other.)

As for the question of whether China has any right to claim Taiwan as its own, I've always thought that the claim made by China is flawed: Taiwan was a part of China in imperial times, and it was part of the Republic of China, but it was never a part of the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic was created by the people's struggle against the KMT, and that struggle never took place in Taiwan. A Communist government is, by definition, supposed to have been chosen by the people, not forced upon them by the Communist government of a neighboring region. For this reason, it seems illogical to suggest that just because it was a part of China's former incarnations, Taiwan should be considered a part of this most recent one. (The same could be said of Tibet.)

Answer 2

If the people of Taiwan agree, then there is a chance that it could. However it was spearated for a reason, by the Taiwanese themselves (and given the Chinese treatment of martially controlled regions such as Tibet) so returning control to China would not be a good idea.