Random? Taiwan 101

Namaste Readers,

I met Roomie C's fellow classmate and countrymen, who was more comfortable speaking English.  He's name is also "Mike" and he's studying English Literature.  Roomie C and S ( also a skateboarder ) are studying ecology ( with an emphasis in the environment and endangered species ); they are all attending Providence/Provident University/College  ( probably established by Christian missionaries ).  When Taiwanese Mike took the college entrance exam ( totally different from U.S.'s education policy of open admissions ), he did well in the language component of the exam ( which determined his course of study ).  He speaks Chinese well, and likes writing in Chinese; he dreams of visiting Los Angeles, California someday.  With his degree in English Literature, he wants to focus in filmmaking.  He likes the Godfather saga, and he's currently reading a translation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment for fun.

I recalled the mini info I know about Taiwan as a country "independent" from China.  I was interested to hear his take on Taiwan's relationship with China.  "It's complicated," Taiwanese Mike says.  Albeit similar Chinese roots, Taiwan has a culture and language unique from China.  He expressed that most of the international community see Taiwan the way they see Hong Kong; they're both island territories that need to be returned to China, but Taiwan was never under British sovereignty (?).  He bluntly stated that the people of Taiwan was ready for war if China were to take away Taiwan's democracy ( of course we want to avoid that, right? )

He said that although his generation believed their independence, they didn't talk about it ( the way people in the U.S. don't talk about their independence from Britain ).  Then we compared the situation: U.S. had at least 200 years of foundation for democracy, and the safety cushion of distance ( the Atlantic ocean ), whereas Taiwan recently started establishing their independence around WWI-WWII responding to China's Cultural Revolution ( I think ), and it was only around 1.5 hours away from mainland China ( factoring in today's technological warfare compared to the 17th/18th century [?]; destruction would be massive ).

Maybe part of the international community's perspective of Taiwan's status is that since there's no BIG war ( full of tragedy, bloodshed, and death ) to demarcate the switch from oppression to liberation then Taiwan hasn't "earned" the right to nationhood; maybe most of the international community don't understand why Taiwan would separate from Communist China? "Maybe, if your generation is more vocal about your independent status, maybe it'll change the way other countries view Taiwan? Maybe you can write a book or make a movie about it?" I suggests.  "That'll just cause trouble," Taiwanese Mike comments.