Political status of Taiwan

The political status of Taiwan is a longstanding geopolitical subject focusing on the sovereignty of the island of Taiwan and its associated islands. The dispute stems from the alleged retrocession of Taiwan from the Empire of Japan to the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945, and the ROC government's retreat from mainland China to Taiwan as the result of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The Taiwan Area since then has become the major territorial base of the ROC and which has exercised state authority there independently. Though never having control of Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People's Republic of China (PRC) claims it as an inalienable province of China. The PRC's claim is based on the theory of state succession, whereby it deems itself the regime that replaced the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China upon its establishment in 1949, and thus it denies the sovereignty of the ROC in Taiwan under its one China principle. The geopolitical dispute is also a pivotal subject in China–United States relations and China–Japan relations.

The ROC governed mainland China from 1912 until 1949, when it lost control of the mainland due to its defeat by the CCP in the Chinese Civil War. The People's Republic of China was established that year; the effective jurisdiction of the ROC has been limited to Taiwan and its associated islands. Prior to this, Japan's surrender in 1945 ended its colonial rule over Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, which were subsequently placed under the administration of the ROC as agreed by the major Allies of World War II. However, post-war agreements did not clearly define sovereignty over these islands due to the ongoing rivalry between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the CCP. The division led to the emergence of two rival governments on opposite sides of the Taiwan Strait, each claiming to be the sole legitimate authority over both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The PRC and historically the ROC both officially adhere to the principle of "one China," but fundamentally disagree on who is entitled to represent it. This has resulted in what is known as the "Two Chinas" scenario, reflecting the unresolved dispute over which government is the legitimate representative of China.

The 1991 constitutional amendments and the 1992 Cross-Strait Relations Act marked a pivotal shift, as the ROC ceased actively claiming governance over the mainland, stopped treating the CCP as a rebellious group, and started treating it in practice, as the authority effectively governing mainland China from ROC's perspective, though the ROC constitution still technically includes the mainland as ROC territory. Within Taiwan, there emerged a major political contention between eventual Chinese unification with a pan-Chinese identity contrasted with formal independence promoting a Taiwanese identity, though moderates supporting the status quo have gained broad appeal in the 21st century. From 2000 to 2008 and since 2016, Democratic Progressive Party-led governments of Taiwan have been more autonomist in orientation and do not regard their governments as seeking to represent China, and affirms its position that Taiwan is already a sovereign country in its own right under the name "Republic of China" and not subordinate to the PRC. The PRC has refused to rule out using military force to achieve unification, but it also proposes the "one country, two systems" as a model for a peaceful unification, which has been rejected by successive Taiwanese governments.

The international status of Taiwan is complex, but largely agreed upon. Since 1949, multiple countries have faced a choice between the PRC and the ROC with regard to establishing formal diplomatic relations and shaping their respective "One China" policy. The PRC was initially excluded from the United Nations in favor of the ROC; the PRC gained formal recognition as the only legitimate government of China in 1971, when UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 (XXVI) was passed. Today, the ROC has formal diplomatic relations with only twelve nations but maintains unofficial bilateral ties with other countries through its representative offices, and membership in international organizations as a non-state entity. According to a Lowy Institute tally in January 2025, about 74 percent (142) of the UN member states explicitly endorse the PRC's position that Taiwan is a part of China. However, 23 of those states do not endorse the one-China principle, while others merely acknowledge or respect rather than recognize the PRC position.