China and Taiwan parted ways in 1949, but China still regards the island nation as part of its territory. Here lies the problem that has been festering for 60 years. To stake its claim and reiterate its position, China has threatened war against Taiwan several times in the past. As far as China is concerned, Taiwan has not crossed the dangerous line of making the divisive separation permanent.
Though fundamentally existing on its own all these years, Taiwan still lives under China’s shadow. The island nation was recently invited to the World Health Assembly meeting for the first time in 38 years. It was a diplomatic triumph for Taiwan to be invited for the first time to a UN meeting since the exclusive seat had been given to China in 1971.
The political climate has been changing under the leadership of Ma Ying-jeou where ‘Beijing and Taipei have signed nine agreements on economic cooperation, including a pact that allowed for direct flights across the 160km wide Taiwan Strait.’ The result may just be a win-win situation. China is now observably ‘softening its policy on the island’s future.’ Ma, who avoids any talks on unification, vows to continue building ‘a solid foundation for peace and prosperity between the two sides.’
Via Al Jazeera
