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China – Taiwan: Why they have been enmity for more than 70 years – The role of the US

The relationships between China and Taiwan they have been strained since their de facto separation in 1949 and are straining relations between Beijing and Washington.

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

Kuomintang Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) flee to Taiwan (formerly Formosa), form a government on December 7, and forbid all contact between the island (officially the Republic of China) and Communist China.

In December, the first (of a series) attempt by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to occupy the islets of Kemoi and Matsu takes place.

In 1950, Taiwan became an ally of Washington, which was at war with China in Korea.

The seat of the UN is given in Beijing

ΚίναΚίναChina

On October 5, 1971, China’s UN seat, which Taiwan has occupied, is given to Beijing.

In 1979, Washington broke diplomatic relations with Taipei to recognize the People’s Republic of China. However, the US Congress mandates the granting of military aid to Taiwan to ensure Taipei’s defense.

Since then, the United States has adopted a policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taipei, avoiding declaring whether or not it will intervene militarily to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.

However, Washington, as the APE-MPE reports in its tribute, remains Taiwan’s strongest ally and the first supplier of military equipment.

Anti-secession law

On November 2, 1987, Taiwanese are allowed to travel to mainland China for family reunions, paving the way for trade exchanges. In 1991, Taipei revokes the arrangements imposing a state of war with China.

But in 1995, Beijing broke off negotiations to normalize relations in protest over President Li Teng-hui’s trip to the United States. In 1996, China fires missiles off the coast of Taiwan just before the first universal suffrage presidential election on March 23.

On March 14, 2005, Beijing adopts an anti-secession law that provides for the use of “non-peaceful” means in the event that Taiwan declares its independence.

Intergovernmental dialogue for the first time in history and tensions

ΤαιβάνΤαιβάνTaiwan

In 2008, Beijing and Taipei resumed the dialogue that was suspended in 1995. In 2010, they signed an economic cooperation framework agreement, followed by a four-year intergovernmental dialogue.

On November 7, 2015, the presidents of China and Taiwan meet in Singapore, an unprecedented event since 1949.

In 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, who comes from a pro-independence party, takes over the presidency in Taiwan. Beijing cuts off all communication with Taipei, since the new government does not recognize the “one China” principle.

In 2017, Donald Trump, as president of the USA, authorizes large-scale arms sales to Taiwan. The following year, the US adopts a law strengthening its ties with Taiwan.

In 2019, Xi Jinping declares that he will not abandon the principle of resorting to military force to regain Taiwan. He then warns Washington “not to play with fire” after the new arms sale to Taipei. Many arms sales deals will follow.

In January 2020, Tsai Ing-wen is re-elected and declares that Taiwan is a “country per se”.

In early October, Xi Jinping asked the military to “prepare for war.”

Record air traffic – Sino-American tension

Τζον Μπάιντεν και Σι ΤζινπίνγκΤζον Μπάιντεν και Σι ΤζινπίνγκJohn Biden and Xi Jinping

On April 12, 2021, 25 Chinese warplanes, a record number that has since been surpassed, entered Taiwan’s air defense reconnaissance zone, 200 kilometers from the island’s coast. In 2021, a total of about 970 Chinese aircraft are found flying in this zone.

US President Joe Biden states on October 22 that Washington is ready to defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an attack by China. However, the White House announces that the policy of “strategic ambiguity” towards Taiwan remains unchanged.

On October 27, China rejects a US proposal for Taiwan’s “significant participation” in the UN.

The next day, Taiwan’s president publicly acknowledges, for the first time since 1979, an American military presence on Taiwanese soil.

On May 23, 2022, Joe Biden again says he is ready to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, saying Beijing is “flirting with danger,” before assuring the U.S. has “no intention” of changing policy.

Beijing responds with an incursion, the second largest this year, of 30 aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense reconnaissance zone.

Warnings and threats

In late July, Xi Jinping again warns his US counterpart “not to play with fire” on Taiwan, as Beijing is threatening “consequences” if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi goes through with her plan to visit Taiwan.

On August 2, China warns that the US will bear the responsibility of such a visit and will have to “pay the price”.

The visit of Pelosi, who is touring countries in Asia, has not been officially confirmed, but the international press is referring to her possible meeting tomorrow with the president of Taiwan.

Source: News Beast

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