First Sino-Japanese War

Taiwan was a part of China (1683-1895) before the first Sino-Japanese war. However, this island of Taiwan was occupied by Japan after the victory in the first Sino-Japanese war, and it was called "Formosa." Then Japan had ruled Taiwan for 50 years until the end of the second Sino-Japanese war in World War II (1937-1945). In history, the Manchus (People who originated in Manchuria, today's Northeastern China) conquered Taiwan in 1683 and ruled it. But after the first Sino-Japanese war in 1895, the island of Taiwan was taken over by Japan (Huang).

                                         Chinese Civil War

Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started a civil war in China from 1927 to 1950. Because of the interruption of the second Sino-Japanese war, the Chinese civil war was stopped for resistance to Japanese invasion. The civil war resumed in 1946. Finally Chinese Communist troops which were led by Mao Zedong won the civil war in 1949. Mao Zadong proclaimed the mainland "People's Republic of China (PRC) with its capital at Beijing.Then the Nationalist troops and some refugees are forcedly moved from mainland China to Taiwan" (Huang).

                                   Second Sino-Japanese War

The second Sino-Japanese war happened during 1937-1945. After the surrender of Japan, Japan had signed the Potsdam Proclamation and Cairo Declaration to recognize Taiwan's sovereignty to China. The Potsdam Proclamation clearly stated that "......the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out and Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu...as we determine" (Barracks). And the Cairo Declaration was carried out after the statement and lucidly indicated that "......Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the first world war in 1914, and that all the terriories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa (Taiwan), and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China (geographically it became People's Republic of China [PRC] after the communist party of China won the Kuomintang in Chinese Civil War in 1949..." (Early)

                                    The Aftermath of Civil War

In December 1949, the Generalissimo of Nationalist troops, Chiang Kai-shek proclaimed "Taiwan as the temporary capital of the Republic of China (ROC)" and continued to assert his government as the sole legitimate authority in China" (Huang). After civil war, there was no legal document had been signed by both PRC and ROC. Indeed, this Chinese Civil war has not been resolved yet.

                  Increasing Tension between China and Taiwan

The President of Taiwan, Chen shui-bian, claims Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country, and he proposes a national referendum to United Nation for a membership under the name of "Taiwan." China also passed an "anti-secession law" in March, 2005 saying that China will use non-peaceful means against the "Taiwan Independence Movement." So far China has had more than 1,300 missiles aimed at the island of Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan also bought many weapons and submarines from the United States. The tension between both sides is increasing dramatically.

                                Presidential Election of 2008

In the presidential election of 2008, the Kuomintang candidate, Ma Ying-Jeou won the Democratic Progressive Party and got the victory of 2008 election. Furthermore, he announced that he would not mention "Taiwan Independence" and favor status quo during his presidency. He would focus on economy of Taiwan and avoid any conflict with mainland China.

Citations:

Text:
1. Barracks, Carlisle. United States, China, United Kingdom. Army Information School. The Book Department. THE POTSDAM PROCLAMATION. May 1946. 21 Mar. 2008 http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450726a.html.                        
2. Early, Stephen. [Cairo Communiqué]. Cairo Declaration, 1 Dec. 1943, North Africa. 21 Mar. 2008 http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/01/002_46/002_46tx.html.
3. Huang, Fu-San. "The Manchu Occupation of Formosa and the Ching Court’S Plans for Integrating It Into the Empire: the Sinicization of Taiwan (1683-1895)." A Brief History of Taiwan. 21 Mar. 2008 http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/history/tw06.html.

Images:
1. CartoonStock. "Japanese Victory in First Sino-Japanese War." Cartoon. CSL. 19 May 2008 <http://www.cartoonstock.com/vintage/directory/j/japan_gifts.asp>. 
2. Juan, Camilo EscallóN R. China Civil War. 2007. 19 May 2008 <http://juancamiloescallon.blogspot.com/2007/11/china-civil-war-1927-1950.html>.
3. Reuters. A Taiwan Navy Missile Boat. 2005. Taiwan. The Tribune. 19 May 2008 <http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030905/world.htm>.