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There are two sovereign states which administer different parts of China, but the people living on Taiwan are overwhelmingly Chinese. Their language is Chinese, their culture is Chinese, their history is Chinese, their country is called the Republic of China... I don't understand why it's almost considered rude or unacceptable to think of Taiwan as a province of China. I don't believe that I, as a foreigner, am in a position to voice my opinion on the reunification of China, but considering Greens (Those who support a separate "Taiwanese" identity) are a minority in the ROC, why can't we refer to the country as "East China" or "China-Taipei" or something as we do with countries with the same name in multiple states like Korea, Congo or Guinea?
Here is a map of territories administered by the Republic of China that are not in Taiwan.
To put things in perspective for Americans reading this thread: let's pretend that there was a civil war and the majority of the United States was lost to a new government.
However, a few islands off the coast were retained, keeping the same constitution and government as you have now, and "patriots" (or whatever you'd want to call them) from all over the country moved there, including you, retaining a pan-American culture. Wouldn't you still be American or would you just be a demonym of the largest island, even if you didn't even live on that island? Of course you'd still be an American.
What do people from Taiwan WANT to be called? That is how I would refer to them. Everyone I have ever met from Taiwan states that they are from Taiwan. Not China.
No one is ever going to tell a citizen of Equatorial Guinea or Guinea-Bissau that they're not Guinean, or someone from the Republic of Congo that they're not Congolese, or a North Korean that they're not Korean.
Taiwan and China are ruled by separate governments. People, in general, do not think in terms of the official designation, but later the popular designation. The official designation is Republic of China on Taiwan (for Taiwan) and People's Republic of China (for China). When people say China, most people will think of PRC China, not Taiwan. Thus, people make the distinction between Taiwan and China.
Also, though the Greens in Taiwan are not the majority, that does not mean a majority of the people in Taiwan are for the Blues or for unification. In fact, I believe more people in Taiwan are opposed to unification than those who are for it.
The history between Taiwan and China is more complicated. Many think Taiwan simply "split" from China in 1949. That oversimplifies the situation. You have to study the history of Taiwan including China during the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan during that same period, Taiwan when it was ruled by Japan between 1895 and 1945, etc.
Also not the mention the term “Chinese” is broad, as well as “Han”. There are many what I could call subgroups within who speak different “dialects” and have their own local culture. Prior to 1949, most people in Taiwan were Hoklo Han (who trace ancestry to Fujian Province, China a couple of centuries earlier and speak the Hoklo dialect), Hakka Han (who trace ancestry to Guangdong Province, China a couple of centuries earlier and have their own dialect) or Taiwanese aborigines (who are not Han and speak various Austronesian languages). Then comes the Nationalist from China- they are Chinese and Han, but most not Hoklo Han, Hakka Han, Taiwanese aborigines- and did not speak Hoklo dialect, Hakka or aboriginal languages). They are viewed as outsiders and different despite also being Han and “Chinese”. These people took over Taiwan and started to rule.
All these come to play in why there may be many people who believe people in Taiwan and China have separate identities (not consider ethnicity or culture, but identity based on a different history and experience). I could go on, but I won't for now.
What do people from Taiwan WANT to be called? That is how I would refer to them. Everyone I have ever met from Taiwan states that they are from Taiwan. Not China.
Before the 1990s, Taiwanese had generally considered themselves Chinese too.
However, the political movements since then caused some changes of opinion.
Nowadays, some Taiwanese still consider themselves Chinese people but not from China.
well they all come from different countries so it would be hard to tell them which country to go back to, whereas the Taiwanese just came from China, right across the way. There's a whole country for them there. The Taiwanese Aborigines don't control the only island they have
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