Is Taiwan an unrecognized country? · Global Voices
The legal status of Taiwan is one of the most contested issues in international relations. In Taiwan itself, the majority of its 23 million inhabitants view their island as a sovereign state under the label of the Republic of China (ROC), while a fraction of the population calls for it to declare full independence. In China, the position of the government is that Taiwan is a province that is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), even though it is not currently under its political or administrative control. Beijing strongly opposes any description of Taiwan as a sovereign or independent state. Citizens in mainland China hold a variety of views on Taiwan’s status, but at least publicly, tend to align with their government’s views. The issue is also strongly debated in the campaign leading to the January 2020 Presidential elections in Taiwan.