a Sovereign State

Taiwan-China Tension

Communist China (Beijing) has regarded Taiwan as a renegade province since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops lost to Mao Zedong's Communist forces in a civil war and fled into exile on the island in 1949.

Taiwan has become a sovereign state with its own democratic government, and no longer view itself as providence of Communist China.

Communist China wants to reunify Taiwan with mainland China under "One China, Two Systems" policy. It threatened to use military force if Taiwan declared independence or dragged its feet indefinitely on reunification talks. It even threatened to use nuclear weapons against U.S. if U.S. helps Taiwan defend itself.

228 Massacre

If China uses military force to reunify Taiwan, it would not be the first time that China committed atrocity against people of Taiwan.

"2-2-8, the numbers immediately evoke memories of what some call the Taiwanese holocaust.

In Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947, officials of the Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau and lawmen attacked a woman street hawker illegally selling cigarettes. In the melee, police fired shots and a bystander was killed.

The next day, furious protesters marched on the office of the governor, appointed by the Nanking-based Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Chiang Kai-shek. More gunfire and several demonstrators were left dead or wounded.

That incident ignited island-wide protests for political reform. The KMT administration declared martial law and launched a bloody military crackdown.

Up to 28,000 Taiwanese were slaughtered.

Martial law lasted until 1987.

The bitterness of the 2-2-8 Massacre lingers and that in part explains the mistrust many Taiwanese today have toward both mainland China and mainlanders in the KMT." -- The Shadow of 2-2-8

More 228 related links

One China, Two Systems?

Communist China says it will grant Taiwan more flexibility in its "One China, Two Systems" policy that are being used for Hong Kong and Macau.

But how long would that last?

Recently, Communist China has hinted on restricting press freedom in Hong Kong -- One Country, One System?

What would be next?

"NO" to Reunification

Taiwan's youth couldn't care less about China. Jiang who? "Is it Jiang Zemin? I thought he was kicked out." -- Taiwan's Youth

For many young Taiwanese, China is a non-issue. "We have nothing to do with them"

More importantly Communist China doesn't understand what it means to be democratic, to respect human rights (Chinese police cut off part of a protester's tongue) or to have a freedom of speech.

Communism is a form of a dictatorship. Why would Taiwan want to submit itself to a dictatorship when it has a democratic system now? Taiwan is a sovereign state with its own democratic government.

Ask people of Taiwan and most of them would say "NO" to reunification with Communist China.

We are TAIWANESE, not Chinese.