Taiwan Mug

Taiwan is not a part of China. In 1895, The Democratic Republic of Taiwan was founded, shortly before the Japanese invaded and opressed the Taiwanese. After the Japanese withdrew in 1945 under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, control of Taiwan was not handed to anyone, then in 1949, Chinese dictator Chiang Kai Shek fled there after losing the Chinese Civil War to Mao Zedong (also known as Mao Tse Tung) and his communists. Chiang Kei-shek set up his goverment-in-exile (calling the ruse "Republic of China on Taiwan") and holding the Taiwanese people at gun point. In 1989 his son, Chiang Ching-kuo lifted his father's authoritarian rule by lifting martial law and gave the Taiwanese their freedom once again through that and other reforms. Ching-kuo died, leaving native Taiwanese Lee Teng-hui to lead and continue the reform process (Lee was chosen by Chiang Ching-kuo for his similar vision on reform) which would ultimatly make Taiwan a democracy once again. In In 1996, the Taiwanese held direct presidential elections for the first time with Lee Teng-hui winning the vote, despite Chinese intimidation (Also known as the Cross-strait missile crisis). Taiwanese once again had their freedom after over 100 years of opression by foreign powers. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the election, ending nearly 50 years of the KMT rule. Chen Shui-bian won once again in 2004 after surviving an assasination attempt that wounded him and vice president Annette Lu. The election count generated controversy, Chen Shui-bian having won by a mere 30,000 votes. A recount verified Chen Shui-bian's legitimacy, still winning by 20,000 votes. The two referendums held during the election (one for revising the constitution and the other for bolstering the nation's defenses) failed, having garnered only 45% of the required 50% but were not a complete failure in the fact that the constitution will still be revised (not to the extent originally planned) and the fact that Taiwan may still get the weapons promised by President George W. Bush in 2001. Taiwan is a fully sovereign country complete with its own democractically elected goverment, its own fully indpendant military, its own currency (New Taiwan Dollar or NT$), its own internet code (.tw) and its own phone code (02). It may not be formally recognized by most goverments, but the fact is, it is not a part of China.