Just watched this Carl Zha presentation on the history of Taiwan. Its brief on ancient history, with things getting way more detailed as the tumultuous times of the Dutch, Spanish, British and Japanese Empires ramp up their land grab games aimed at Taiwan. Its as complex as the early settlement of the Americas, with lots of natives, colonists, vying world powers, slaughters, wars, etc.
Then there is the American period after WW2, featuring the KMT getting US military training and the installation of American nukes aimed at mainland China. Also it was the period of 'White Terror' where any non-KMT political activities could be punished by imprisonment and execution. Meanwhile, the KMT continued to present itself as the rightful ruler of all China, while its main supporters were the landlord class. In '71, the UN expelled the KMT, recognizing the Peoples Republic of China for a seat at the Security Council.
The Shanghai Communique signed by Nixon stated that the Chinese are free to sort out the Taiwan question for themselves, and Zha states that at this point, most of the population of Taiwan identified as Chinese.
Chiang Kai-Shek died and was replaced by Chiang Ching-kuo, who ended the White Terror and martial law, beginning democratization at the winding down of the cold war. This happened at the same time as democratization in South Korea. Both regions were US-backed right wing military dictatorships formerly, and the US needed their regional vassals to be more democratic looking to give US support legitimacy.
Reps from Taiwan and China meet in Hong Kong, agreeing that there is only One China - this is called the '92 Consensus. This is a milestone still referred to today.
Zha mentions that Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIA) was created by the Americans decades ago, and almost half of it cuts across a large section of mainland China. So when we hear about China 'violating Taiwanese airspace' these days, this is what the MSM is talking about:
The tiny pink arrow at the bottom left of the box on the right had the MSM up in arms. Threat detected!
He then goes into more modern times (this vid is from 7 months ago), and answers questions from the host, saying basically that China fear is good for justifying military budget spending, 'defending Taiwan' instead investing in US infrastructure or health care.
All in all, a good watch for a basic understanding Taiwan's 5000-year old historical links to mainland China.
