Taiwan has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. It was incorporated as part of Fujian province in 1684 and declared a separate Chinese province in 1885. Only 12 countries maintain formal ties with Taipei, mostly small and poorer developing nations such as Belize and Tuvalu. Beijing has offered Taiwan a \”one country, two systems\” model similar to Hong Kong, which promised the city a high degree of autonomy. Taiwan’s government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it given it has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan. The US officially takes no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty under Washington’s \”One China\” policy, but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. It would be very difficult and require parliamentary approval of a constitutional amendment and then a referendum, rather than a simple declaration by President Lai Ching-te. At least 75% of lawmakers would need to pass that amendment, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) currently have an equal number of seats. The DPP, which has been in power since 2016, has not made an attempt to change the constitution.
Taiwan has been home to indigenous people for thousands of y….
