What does Taiwan mean to China?

BEIJING, Nov. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China.org.cn:

The Taiwan issue is of great significance and encompasses multiple dimensions, thus it is regarded as a focus of China-U.S. competition. Why is the Taiwan issue the first red line that cannot be touched?

Emotionally, Taiwan was taken for 50 years, and it is the "apple of the eye" for over 1.4 billion Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Historically and culturally, since the mid-12th century, ancient Chinese governments of various dynasties have set authorities in Penghu and Taiwan; by 1949, the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was officially founded, becoming the only legal government that represents the country. Clear timeframes in history have shown Taiwan to be part of China, and people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture. Economically, Taiwan is a close trading partner of the Chinese mainland. For more than four decades, the trade volume between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has increased from 46 million USD in 1978 to 267.8 billion USD in 2023, up by almost 6,000-fold. The Chinese mainland has been the largest export market for Taiwan for more than 20 years in a row, and was also the first investment destination outside the Taiwan island.

Dr. Zhu Zhongbo, Director of Department for International and Strategy Studies, CIIS

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SOURCE China.org.cn