An “Asian tiger”, planetary power from a technological point of viewbut in a political situation remained unresolved by the times since the 50s of the last century: here is Taiwan, the island that at this hour returns to the center of the world scenario due to the military maneuvers initiated by Beijing. Communist China has always claimed its sovereignty over the island: but where does the crisis come from and what are the reasons for the dispute?
The question is in practice an unhealed wound of WWII and the consequent war between Mao’s communists and Chang Kai Shek’s nationalists, both firm in proclaiming themselves the only representatives of the legitimate Chinese government. With the capitulation of the Japanese in 1945 and their withdrawal from China is unleashed the internal conflict in which Mao’s communists prevail in 1949. His rival Chang Kai Shek retires to the island of Formosa giving birth to the state of Taiwan with capital Taipei.
Since that day, in fact, they exist two distinct governments that proclaim themselves legitimate representatives of China and with opposing vetoes: any State had recognized the sovereignty of one would not have been able to maintain relations with the other. The question remains dormant for over twenty years as communist China decides to isolate itself almost completely from the rest of the world. Shuffle the cards “ping pong diplomacy” arrives in 1971: in that year the United States (President Richard Nixon, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger) decided to establish official diplomatic relations with Beijing.
A historic turning point, an opening gesture symbolically accompanied by a table tennis match between representatives of the two countries. In the same year Washington manages to do assign the UN seat to communist China; in the American wake, many Western governments recognize Mao’s government as the only representative of China.
In fact Beijing continues to consider – since 1949 – Taiwan a “rebel province” of his empire, has completely militarized the coast in front of the island of Formosa (also deploying nuclear warheads) but has so far avoided taking his determination to the extreme consequences. Mirror the position of the Taipei government which considers China a single entity and proclaims itself the only legitimate government. In these years the two faced each other have found forms of coexistenceavoiding any official recognition, but subscribing for example commercial agreements which allow the free passage of goods from one side of the China Sea to the other.
Today 24 million people live on the island of Formosawhich give life to the twenty-first economy on the planet by global GDP (the nineteenth for GDP per capita). But Taiwan’s strategic importance lies in being there Microprocessor capital of the world. Here it is concentrated 60% of world production of these key element: Covid and the war have put in crisi l’interta supply chain: the shortage of microchips from Taiwan has put the automotive industry in major countries on the ropes, for example . And it is one of the arguments that convinced Joe Biden to launch the IRA plan of public investments to reduce the country’s dependence on Asian supplies.