Those that adamantly claim Taiwan either is or is not a country fail to recognize that “country” is not an objective, scientific term.
Energy = mass times the speed of light squared. This is a scientific fact that can be demonstrably proven. Opinion is not a factor.
In contrast, whether or not so-and-so is a country cannot be objectively proven.
Both Taiwanese and Mainlanders are gonna hate me for saying this, but here goes:
Whether or not Taiwan is a country depends on your opinion, not fact.
If you define “country” as a place that meets the following standards:
- Having its own administration and cabinet,
- Having its own currency,
- Having its own passport,
- Having its own military,
- Having its own borders,
- Having its own commerce and trade,
- Having its own flag, and
- Having its own diplomatic relations with other countries,
Then, yes, Taiwan is a country.
However, if you define “country” as a place that meets the following criteria:
- Having an official member status at the UN,
- Having national reprsentation at the Olympics, and
- Having official member status at a handful of international organizations (such as the WHO)
Then no, Taiwan is not a country.
So, as much as arguers on either side like to punctuate their statements with “FACT.” the truth is, Taiwan's national status is subjective and not based on scientifically calculative terms or universally-agreed upon metrics.
It's opinion, not fact.
Wikipedia officially names Taiwan as a country so I'm personally gonna go with that.
Besides, I've always felt the simplest policy is to call people what they want to be called. It's not my place to decide other people's national status for them. And every Taiwanese I've met identify as “Taiwanese” and not “Chinese.”
While some Taiwanese claim Taiwan is a province of China (indeed, even their constitution claims this), it must be understood that Province of China ≠ Province of the PRC. The Taiwanese that make this claim are referring to the Republic of China, not the People's Republic of China when they claim “Taiwan is a province of China.”
The implied claim is “Taiwan is a province of [The Republic of] China.” Similarly, “Taiwan belongs to [The Republic of] China.”
NOT “Taiwan belongs to [The People's Republic of] China.”
I feel mainlanders deliberately try to misconstrue these perspectives to try and legitimize their claims of ownership over Taiwan, which is pretty annoying.
If you believe that Taiwan is not a country, that's fine. I respect your right to disagree. Hell, even if you think Taiwan should one day be reabsorbed into the mainland, I still respect your right to disagree.
What I can't respect is the idea that the PRC has the right to invade and occupy Taiwan by force. Not now, not ever.
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