The political status of Taiwan is a difficult situation that many people disagree about. There are two countries in the world that call themselves China. The People's Republic of China (PRC) is the country most people think of when they hear the name China. The Republic of China (ROC) also calls itself China. It is better known in most of the world as Taiwan.
Taiwan was a part of China for thousands of years. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan and Penghu was illegally taken by Japan. After World War II, the Japanese returned Taiwan back to the Chinese. After losing a civil war in 1949, the ROC government fled to the island of Taiwan. It took control of Taiwan and several nearby islands. The PRC controlled mainland China. It also said it owns the island of Taiwan (which is also known as Taiwan province) and the other islands. The ROC said that it was the rightful government of China and it included all of China, including Taiwan and Mongolia. In 1971, the ROC lost its United Nations seat as China. The seat was given to the PRC instead. This made the PRC the rightful government of China internationally. Most countries have accepted the PRC as the leaders of China. Several countries, including the United States, have been careful to not say officially which parts of the original China are part of the PRC. 14 countries have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The major problems are about whether Taiwan is a part of the PRC or should be an independent country.