Is Taiwan a country or not?

Yes, in every way that matters.

Most vibrant democracy in East Asia.

Its part of a country, CHINA.

Randy DaytonaToday 08:24 am JST

Today, most of the world’s countries officially adhere to some variation of the idea that there is only one China, whose capital is Beijing, and which encompasses both the mainland territory and the island of Taiwan.

And there you have your answer !

What criminal actions other countries take is of no concern to Taiwan, whether it be one country or 181. Those 181 were bought, plain and simple: nobody actually likes the mainland or thinks it has some fantastic legal argument for owning things it can't touch.

However on the other hand if Taiwan was to officially renounce its claim as being the rightful true Government "of China " that would certainly help

Maybe if they didn't have a gun to their head they could do that for you.

Why do you asses Taiwan islands to be the most vibrant in East Asia and can you prove it ?

https://rsf.org/en/index

What's your nationality ?

No business of yours and of no relevance to anything.

TaiwanIsNotChinaToday  06:31 am JST

Yes, in every way that matters.

Yes. The old Chinese Republic, not connected in any way to the horrible mainland CCP that rules the mainland.

Japan is definitely more vibrant anyway

Japan has effectively been a one-party state for the past 70 years

Today, most of the world’s countries officially adhere to some variation of the idea that there is only one China, whose capital is Beijing, and which encompasses both the mainland territory and the island of Taiwan.

And there you have your answer !

Not really. Taiwan has not yet officially declared itself an independent state. There are probably a few reasons for this. One is that some in Taiwan still see itself as part of a bigger China, but oppose communist rule. Another is a fear that declaring itself an independent state would cause mainland China to invade, so they have been happy to carry on, effectively operating as an independent state.

I found the article interesting. I didn't know about the four "qualities" of the Montevideo Convention. However, I'm surprised it didn't mention the principle of "self-determination of peoples" which is in Article 1 of the United Nations charter. To me, that means it should simply be up to the people of Taiwan to declare themselves an independent state.

The majority of the worlds population recognizes that Taiwan is an island nation with 23 million citizens. It matters not what their governments say to placate China.

Taiwan is as much a nation as any other nation on the planet. Glad we got that solved. Now to move on to bigger things, yes?

Of course it is. And it is the freest country in Asia, and the 14th globally:

https://nextshark.com/taiwan-ranked-the-freest-nation-in-asia-in-2022-human-freedom-index

And has the freest internet in Asia, and the sixth-freest globally (China is in last place for the ninth year in a row):

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2023/10/06/2003807279

The brutal, unelected Chinese Communist Party's claim to rule the peaceful, democratic country of Taiwan is - like all its other claims - pure lies.

Taiwan is a free and independent nation. China doesn't like to acknowledge that, but it doesn't change the fact.

Of course, those who think authoritarians should be pandered to will say otherwise. Such people have no value to humanity though.

Both Taiwan and the Mainland believe in one Chinese country and I agree. So I look at the mainland as a renegade giant province.

Taiwan should be the only ruler. But I do not think they want to inherit the mess that the CCP created.

You hit the nail on the head.

Look closely at the 1949, San Francisco Treaty Formosa was given to the USA and UK, and the Peoples Republic of China was not a recognized country.

One needs to back further than 1949. When ww2 ended, the Japanese 'protectorate' of Formosa was given the China - Nationalist China. When they lost out to the Comunists on the mainland, the Nationalists invaded Formosa, against the wishes of the population, to set up the current pupet state.

Randy DaytonaToday 12:05 am JST

What's your nationality ?

No business of yours and of no relevance to anything.

Taiwan is your business ?

I thought you like being irrelevant as you have mastered it

We know your American it's obvious

Perhaps if you had actually even visited Taiwan you could relate

Instead of just reading and commenting about it

Japan and Taiwan are awesome

The USA is a joke

China sucks

Got any other platitudes you'd like to share with us? It's like you haven't even read about Taiwan.

To be independent means not needing the help of others

So Japan isn't independent because it accepted aid after the Tohoku earthquake?

JohnThacToday 01:31 am JST

One needs to back further than 1949. When ww2 ended, the Japanese 'protectorate' of Formosa was given the China - Nationalist China. When they lost out to the Comunists on the mainland, the Nationalists invaded Formosa, against the wishes of the population, to set up the current pupet state.

That's one puppet state with an impressive record of democacy, free speech, and zero foreign controlling officials. We should all hope to be such "puppets".

The ROC and PRC both officially support the One China policy and thus share common arguments. In the arguments below, "Chinese" is an ambiguous term that could mean the PRC and/or ROC as legal government(s) of China. The UN General Assembly passed United Nations Resolution 2758 (XXVI) which stated that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China. The resolution replaced the ROC with the PRC as a permanent member of the Security Council in the United Nations.

opheliajadefeldtToday 12:55 pm JST

The UN General Assembly passed United Nations Resolution 2758 (XXVI) which stated that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China. The resolution replaced the ROC with the PRC as a permanent member of the Security Council in the United Nations.

Yes, this is an example of the criminal activity I was referring to. The US tried to put a stop to it in various ways but countries were more interested in poking the US in the eye at the time.

The ROC and PRC both officially support the One China policy and thus share common arguments.

I believe you would have to remove the threats being made against Taiwan before saying for certain they still support it. Considering 2/3 of Taiwanese don't even want to be called Chinese, I think the One China policy would go out the door pretty quickly if given a free choice:

https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7800&id=6961

To be independent means not needing the help of others

No it does not mean that at all. It means they do not answer to anyone. Half the countries on the planet get help from others but they remain independent.

Taiwan answers to no other nation, so they are independent.

Israel gets much more aid from the US than Taiwan does. Try telling the Israelis they are not an independent nation and see how they respond. Russia is getting aid from China, NK and Iran right now, are they no longer independent?