I mean, PRC occasionally threatens Taiwan and says they own/control them. Taiwan can/should protect itself in whatever way it sees fit(within reason). If that’s tech/media influence then so be it- they think that it is an issue.
Dude, I'm 100% sure it's not 'occasionally'. The threaten is basically _everywhere_ around Taiwanese's life with _daily_ based frequency. But I totally agree with your opinion about Taiwan should protect themselves instead of fully relying on external forces like U.S or U.N
Loved Taiwan, hope they get real independence some day.
1) Taiwan is de-facto independent and PRC has 0 direct control over them.
2) The reason why Taiwanese passports say “Republic of China” is because they are also claiming to be the real Chinese government.
2) That's a historic stance and not one claimed by most Taiwanese people today. Meanwhile, PRC passports devote a page to each province of China, including a page for Taiwan.
China itself is Taiwan's top trading partner
https://www.trade.gov.tw/english/Pages/Detail.aspx?nodeID=94...
Followed by the US. China does not need to "pressure its trading partners".
Taiwan has its own currency, does not pay tax to the mainland, has a real democracy, and is an ally to the US.
Chinese passports can devote a page to whereever they want, it means nothing.
Interesting fact... phone numbers in the Taiwanese capital begin 02. That's because when the KMT invaded, they reserved 01 for Nanjing, their base of operations when they were the mainland government, and for whatever reason they wanted to believe they would be able to retake it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_Taiwan#Ar...
Does this mean Taiwan owns Nanjing? :-) Nor does the passport page act as a deed of ownership for Taiwan...
The passport thing doesn't mean anything in and of itself. That's not the point.
>> The PRC exerts indirect control over Taiwan's economy by pressuring its trading partners, so the distinction is academic.
That's not what happens. What does happen is China pressures international bodies like the UN and the Olympic committee to pretend if they want to talk to Taiwan, they must talk to only China.
But it has mainly cosmetic effect... eg, despite all that effort, Taiwanese passports (not issued by China) are recognized almost everywhere except China
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_passport#Limitations_in...
Of course the nuclear-armed mainland is bigger and scarier than a small island of 20-something million with only conventional forces. But China has not been suppressing Taiwan's trade as you wrongly said, it has been encouraging and benefitting from it to the point it's the #1 partner with double the value of the US.
1) letting them open factories and conduct business in China
2) letting them visit and vacation in China
3) trade with China at all
If you want an example of an actual embargo check out Iran, Cuba, for great examples of pointless aggression (from the US).
2) Same can be said for average PRC citizens too—they're not really day-to-day concerned about owning Taiwan. They often travel there for vacation too.
2) That just indicates that the PRC will continue to exert soft power over Taiwan instead of something more overt.
There are many more examples of how Taiwan is a separate country. The distinction is far from academic.
Huh? The PRC has said Taiwan and the mainland are one country since 1949, and the Taiwanese government has said the same since 1949. The previous Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-jeou, said this all the time.
All that Taiwan wants is to stay independent and democratic.
Do you have a good source on this? I just searched it and DDG didn't come up with any news source I know is reputable. The first 5 links I get are: newsmax.com, news.com.au, theglobeandmail.com, france24.com, and tibetsun.com
"We do not promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option to use all necessary measures."
Taiwan has to say this. China views Taiwan relinquishing their claim to the mainland as a deceleration of independence and justification for invasion.