The Taiwan/China Split
For [school] 5th Graders
April [year]
By: [a parent]
Born in China, naturalized US citizen, has
many Taiwanese friends
Index
1. How did the "split" happen?
2. Why do Taiwanese feel they should be
recognized as their own country?
3. Why does China believe that Taiwan should
remain part of China?
4. The pain felt by families as a result
5. What is it like today? How will it be in the
future?
Some Facts
• “PRC” - People’s Republic of China,
established in 1949, with capital in Beijing.
• Commonly known as “China”
• One party rule – The Communist Party of China
• “ROC” - Republic of China, established in 1912
• Commonly known as “Taiwan”
• Democratic political system:
Party currently in office - Nationalist Party
Major opponent - Democratic Progressive Party
Map of China
ROC Official Map
•The ROC continues to claim sovereignty over all China, which the ROC
defines to include mainland China, Taiwan, Outer Mongolia and other areas.
China
Mainland
Great
QING
Dynasty
1895
World War II
ROC
Comm Party
established,
and KMT
Communist joined
Capital Party
Nanjing
established forces
QING
in China
Fight the
Dynasty
Japanese
toppled,
together
1912
Qing Dynasty
lost the 1st
Sino-Japanese
War
Taiwan
Island
1920
Surrender
of Japan –
end of
WWII
Chinese
Civil War
Began
1937-1945 1945
Taiwan
under
50 years of
Japanese
Rule
Japan
returned
Taiwan
to the
ROC
PLA Army &
Communist
Party won
Civil War
PRC
established
1949
KMT lost
Civil War,
ROC
retreated
from
Nanjing to
Taipei
Important People and Terms
PRC
1949 (Mao?) and the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) won the
Civil War.
“We are the sole
representative of
China, including
Taiwan.”
PRC said…
ROC
1949 Chiang Kai-shek led the
Kuomintang (KMT) party,
intellectuals, and business
elites to Taiwan.
“We just moved to
China temporarily.
We’ll move back
and re-establish
ourselves as
leaders.”
ROC said…
Why do Taiwanese feel they should be
recognized as their own country?
• ROC thinks they just “moved” to Taiwan in 1949 temporarily, and will
eventually go back to take over mainland China.
• 1960s and 1970s, Taiwan developed into a prosperous,
industrialized and developed region with a strong and dynamic
economy.
• Until 1970, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded
the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China.
• In 1971, ROC lost its seat at the United Nations to the PRC. Since
then, many nations began switching diplomatic recognition of China
from Taipei to Beijing following in the lead of the ROC's one-time
major ally, the United States, after President Nixon visited PRC for
the first time.
What’s the impact on people?
• The 2 million people that left China during and after 1949, how many
families were split? Some never went back to China for 60 years.
• Until the 1970s, the two sides were “enemies”, people who went to
the other side were called “defectors”.
» One most famous “defector” today is the Chief
Economist of the World Bank, Justin Lin Yifu.
» Mr. Lin was a captain in the Republic Army when he
“defected” from Taiwan to China in 1979. In China,
he got his MBA from Beijing University, and went on
to get his PhD in Economics from the University of
Chicago.
» Today, Taiwan still does not allow him to go back,
even just to pay respect to his dead father.
PRC’s “One China” Policy
• Since the 1990s, there has a been a gradual shift towards referring
to the ROC as "Taiwan" due to the PRC's One-China policy of
diplomatically isolating the ROC from the international community.
• The Taiwan independence movement on the island has raised a
political status issue, and the party lost its rule.
• The PRC claims Taiwan is one of its provinces that must be reunited
with the mainland and threatens military invasion if Taiwan island
declares independence.
• The Communist Party is still the ruling party of PRC China today,
now the 2nd largest economy of the world.
What’s it like today?
• Things are getting better for the people to travel and do business
between the two sides.
• Today, Taiwanese business people are free to enter China and set
up factories (under some supervision). In fact, there are many
Taiwanese people living in China. But Chinese people are not yet
doing much business in Taiwan yet.
• Taiwanese tourists are allowed to visit China. Recently, Chinese
tourists are also allowed to visit Taiwan, but only in groups.
• Direct flights between the two sides were only started in 2009.
Before that, all flights had to go through HK.
• But, the political dispute is still there, and military tension is still high.
What Will It Be Tomorrow?
• Let’s hope for a peaceful solution for
the people of Taiwan and China!
• Many have suffered during all these
years. Let’s hope that they suffer no
more!