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Why shouldn’t Taiwan be independent?
The debate around Taiwanese independence in the West largely ignores what Taiwan's actual politics and territorial aspirations are — it does in fact see itself as part of China, but the 'true China' — this is the real dispute, argues KENNY COYLE
BATTLE READY: More than 2,500 US and Philippine marines launch combat exercises in a dry run for war with China, October 3, 2022

WHY shouldn’t Taiwan be independent? It’s a self-governing island, its pluralistic, it’s pro-Western, after all — so why not?

Some of these arguments have been addressed in previous articles — Taiwan on its own simply cannot be considered without understanding its political and historical links with the rest of China.

The current Taiwanese leader, the LSE-educated Tsai Ing-Wen, has argued that Taiwan is already a sovereign country. In her 2022 new year address, Tsai said: “We will uphold our sovereignty and values of freedom and democracy, defend our territorial sovereignty and national security, and work to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”  

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