About the US position on Taiwan's relationship to China, I have formulated my own opinion of how we should proceed. China maintains Taiwan is and always has been part of China.
The people of Taiwan are Chinese, they speak and write Chinese, but are independent of the PRC in everything but name. China claims they are a rebellious province and that is certainly the post-World War II history.
If the people of Taiwan voluntarily chose to rejoin China, we would not object. If the PRC tried to force them to rejoin, we view that as inappropriate.
I think of Taiwan as a member of the Chinese 'family' who has cut most ties with the rest of the clan. An analogy would be an adult child who for his/her own lifestyle or ideological reasons has stopped being close with the parents and sibs.
In that situation we oppose any moves by the family to force the child to be close. We urge the parties to learn to live with their differences, or live with the separation.
There are cultures in which a family coercing or even killing a rebellious offspring is permitted or even expected - so-called 'honor killings,' for example. Our culture punishes such coercive behavior on the part of individuals, families, or even nations.
