https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvNGBH3qKHg&t=3s
I watched, listened, and was blown away by the argument it seems we've never heard. I wish I knew the credibility of the expert, it seems he is a professor from Australia who has done extensive research on the subject. His point seems so obvious I wonder what the other side of the argument is.
My (layman) argument has been, the
communists, the PRC, the PLA, have never ruled the island of Taiwan. His argument is that Taiwan was never part of China, was never under rule by mainland China.
If true, the Communist Chinese argument would be these
people should be under our rule (because we defeated them on the mainland), therefore we are the 'rightful' government of the island. A very specious argument.
----------------------------
Looking for other sources...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Taiwan Wikipedia (with hundreds of sources listed) says the Dutch settlement (who controlled only part of the island) were defeated in 1662 by a Chinese general who was defeated in 1683 by the Qing Dynasty (China), but this only refers to parts of the island, not all. (And that is a shorter period than the current democratic era.) And then it was under Japanese control from 1895 through to WWII.
----------------------------
The video then argues that the Chinese who migrated to Taiwan over time are Taiwanese over time, not Chinese, particularly after democratization in 1988. A big part of the Taiwanese culture today is the value and tradition of democracy, and other freedoms not practiced in China.
What I don't fully understand is why the US (both parties for all these years) and the world play along with Communist Chinese propaganda. One China Policy? Why? I have said "reunite" only after democratization on the mainland, and both sides vote. But 'reunite' is a false flag if China and Taiwan never were one.
If everything that was once under China rule under one dynasty or another is rightfully Chinese, what about Vladivostok, Russia? Should we help defend that?
In any case, it looks to me that under China's logic, Japan has a stronger claim to Taiwan than China does. That claim was lost in WWII, just like any brief Qing dynasty claim was lost centuries ago.
If the argument is that (many of) the people are or once were ethnically Chinese, what about Singapore? What about Malaysia? What about Britain France and Spain's claims (and many others) to the US?
What about 'indigenous peoples' claims. Do we all owe our land back to them?
Someone should talk to the Chinese about consent of the governed.