Is Taiwan a country or a part of China?

This is not a simple question to answer. To understand this one needs to first understand the Historical Background of China and Taiwan. The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan sometimes referred to as the Taiwan Issue or Taiwan Strait Issue.

• There was a civil war in China fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) lasting intermittently between 1927 and 1949.
• From August 1927 to 1937, the KMT-CPC Alliance collapsed during the Northern Expedition, and the Nationalists (ROC) controlled most of China.

• After world war II with the Japanese defeat, the CPC alliance returned to power again in 1945–1949.
• The Communists [CPC] gained control of mainland China and established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the leadership of the Republic of China [ROC] to retreat to the island called TAIWAN.
• With this ROC is in Taiwan and the PRC in mainland China both officially claiming to be the legitimate government of all China. No treaty has ever been signed and the debate continues as to whether the civil war has legally ended.
• Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and some other minor islands effectively make up the jurisdiction of the state with the official name of the Republic of China (ROC) but commonly known as “Taiwan”.
• Since the ROC lost its United Nations seat as “China” in 1971 (replaced by the PRC), most sovereign states have switched their diplomatic recognition to the PRC, recognizing the PRC as the representative of all China.
• Not even China can deny the fact that the People’s Republic of China has never controlled Taiwan and the Republic of China still exists, albeit on a decreased scale.

Statement of PRC: The ROC and PRC are two different factions in the Chinese Civil War, which never legally ended. Therefore the PRC claims that both factions belong to the same sovereign country—China.

Statement of ROC: The ROC argues that it maintains all the characteristics of a state and that it was not “replaced” or “succeeded” by the PRC because it has continued to exist long after the PRC’s founding.

Statement of PRC: In the United Nations, PRC is recognized as having the sovereignty of all of China, including Taiwan. Therefore, it is within their legal rights to extend its jurisdiction to Taiwan, by military means if at all necessary.

Statement of ROC: Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign state, constitution, and existing framework. It also mentions that the Chinese Civil War is still not over since no peace agreement has ever been signed and that the current status is a state of ceasefire

Currently, the countries who maintain formal diplomatic relations with the ROC are:

Belize (1989), Guatemala (1960), Eswatini1 (1968), Haiti (1956), Honduras (1965), Marshall Islands (1998), Nauru (1980–2002, 2005), Nicaragua (1990), Palau (1999), Paraguay (1957), Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983), Saint Lucia (1984–1997, 2007), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1981), Tuvalu (1979), Vatican City (The Holy See) (1942)

After decades of hostile intentions and angry rhetoric, relations between China and Taiwan started improving in the 1980s. China put forward a formula, known as “one country, two systems”, under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification.

The offer was rejected, but Taiwan did relax rules on visits to and investment in China. It also, in 1991, proclaimed the war with the People’s Republic of China over.

Throughout 2018, China stepped up pressure on international companies forcing them to list Taiwan as a part of China on their websites and threatening to block them for doing business in China if they failed to comply.

Some Taiwanese worry their economy is now dependent on China. Others point out that closer business ties make Chinese military action less likely, because of the cost to China’s own economy.

A controversial trade agreement sparked the “Sunflower Movement” in 2014 where students and activists occupied Taiwan’s parliament protesting against what they call China’s growing influence over Taiwan.

It leads to An Ambiguous question in which Taiwan also does not want to be answered. Despite having different troops, media, nationalities, and agenda Taiwan is considered a part of China by most of the countries. It is worth mentioning that China want Taiwan to be a part of Mainland China but it looks Taiwan is not ready for this change, at least not for now.