Is Taiwan a Country?

Yes. No. Maybe. Sometimes.

Is Taiwan a Country? is a question you'll never find a clear answer to. You won't find one on thiss page anyway. What I'll tell you though, is this: Taiwan has pretty much everything needed to be a country such as...

• its own money (the New Taiwan Dollar, or NT$),
  
• its own government (democratically elected),
  
• its own postal system,
  
• it issues it's own visas,
  
• a passport that's internationally recognized,
  
• a federal capital (Taipei),
  
• a national flag,
  
• and many more elements that one would expect to find in a country.
  

But here's what China has to say...

Due to pressure and threats from mainland China, only 25 nations recognize Taiwan as an independent country. Beijing claims that Taiwan is a province of the P.R.C. - the People's Republic of China, established on the mainland.

The communist government has been threatening Taiwanese people for years. It says it will never allow Taiwan to declare official independence from the mainland and that it will attack the island if the government of Taiwan ever moved toward de facto independence. According to Taiwan's China Post, "All of Taiwan already falls within the range of 1,300-plus ballistic missiles deployed along the coast of China."

Also, due to pressure and rejection from China, Taiwan is not part of the United Nations and is not allowed to join other international organizations.

Taiwan is not even the official name of the island. The name you'll see on stamps, passports and visas is Republic of China, or R.O.C..

How are China and Taiwan different?

Taiwan and China are different in so many ways. Sure, the majority of people who live in Taiwan have Chinese ancestors who came from mainland China, just like Americans can trace their ancestry to England, but nowadays, these two cultures are poles apart.

Taiwan is a democracy. China is not. Taiwanese people have freedom of speech. Chinese people in China do not. Taiwanese have the right to protest freely and openly. Chinese can be arrested, beaten, jailed, or even worse for standing up against the government in Beijing or local officials.

Is it OK to talk about it?

Don't ever bring the "Is Taiwan part of China?" issue if you travel to the P.R.C. I tried a few times, even with people I thought I could trust, and I got into trouble every time. On the other hand, in Taiwan you can talk about it freely. You don't have to feel shy or insecure if you want to ask questions or say what's on your mind about this controversial topic.

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