image copyrightGetty ImagesThere is a strong nationalist sentiment in Taiwan.The tensions between China and Taiwan are experiencing a new chapter of threats.The announcement that Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives (the second in line for the presidency), would include Taiwan in her tour of Asia has provoked bitter criticism from Beijing, whose government has even threatened military action.Although the possibility of the visit was not clear, several US media reported that Pelosi intends to arrive this week on the "rogue island", which would make her the highest-ranking US politician to travel to the island since 1997.Beijing's questioning has led to reports that the White House itself recommends that Pelosi not visit Taiwan.Last week, President Joe Biden told reporters that "the military thinks it's not a good idea," but called Chinese rhetoric against any trip "clearly pointless and unnecessary."While the United States maintains what it calls a "strong, unofficial relationship" with Taiwan, it has formal diplomatic ties with China and not with the island.Pelosi's trip also comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, and in a context in which China has carried out several air and naval raids on the neighboring island.But what is all this due to?image copyrightGetty ImagesNancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.China sees Taiwan as a rogue province that will be reunited with the mainland sooner or later.However, many Taiwanese disagree.Taiwan sees itself as an independent, democratically governed country, even though it has never officially declared its independence.Several international experts have pointed out that the dispute between Beijing and Taiwan threatens to turn into an armed confrontation with profound international implications.Taiwan was first settled by Austronesian tribal peoples from Oceania, Southeast Asia, and parts of what is now southern China.image copyrightGetty ImagesAnti-China protests in Taiwan are common.The island was first recorded in Chinese archives in 232 AD, when China sent an expeditionary force to explore the site.This is a fact that Beijing cites to support its territorial claims.After being a Dutch colony for a short time (1624-1661), Taiwan was undisputedly administered by the Qing dynasty from 1883 to 1895.Beginning in the early 17th century, significant numbers of migrants began arriving in Taiwan from China, many escaping political turmoil or hardship.Most were Hoklo Chinese, from Fujian province, or Hakka Chinese, from Canton.The descendants of these two migratory waves make up the majority of the current population.In 1895, after Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government had no choice but to cede Taiwan to Japan.But, after its resounding defeat in World War II, Japan had to relinquish control of all the territories it had occupied in China.The then Republic of China, one of the victorious countries in that war, began to govern Taiwan with the consent of the allies United States and United Kingdom.However, China's civil war, which had started in 1927, continued after World War II, and a few years later, Chiang Kai-shek's government troops were defeated by the communist forces led by Mao Zedong.image copyrightCentral PressChiang Kai-shek, the leader of China before the communists triumphed, fled with his followers to Taiwan.Chiang and what remained of his nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government then took refuge on the island of Taiwan, in 1949, proclaiming the Republic of China in that territory, defending that they were still his legitimate government.This group of people, known as mainland Chinese and numbering about 1.5 million people, dominated Taiwanese politics for many years, although they only make up 14% of the population.After inheriting a de facto dictatorship, and facing pressure from anti-regime society and a nascent democratic movement, Chiang's son, Chiang Ching-kuo, began to allow a process of democratization on the island.President Lee Teng-hui, known as the "father of democracy" in Taiwan, led the constitutional changes that led to political opening and eventually led to the election of the first non-KMT president, Chen Shui-bian, in the year 2000.After decades of hostile rhetoric, China and Taiwan began to build bridges in the 1980s.China advocated the formula known as "one country, two systems," under which Taiwan could exercise significant autonomy if it agreed to reunification with China.This system was implemented in Hong Kong, in a way as a sample for the Taiwanese people.The offer was rejected by Taiwan, but the territory relaxed restrictions on visits and investments in mainland China.Also, in 1991, he proclaimed the end of the war with the People's Republic of China.There were brief talks between the two sides through unofficial representatives, though Beijing's insistence that the ROC on Taiwan is illegitimate did not allow government-to-government contact.image copyrightAFPChen Shui-ban supported Taiwan's independence from China.Chen Shui-ban's election as Taiwan's president in 2000 alarmed Beijing, as he openly supported independence.Chen was re-elected in 2004, prompting China to pass the so-called anti-secession law in 2005, which declared China's right to resort to "non-peaceful measures" against Taiwan if it tried to officially secede from the mainland.In 2008, Ma Ying-jeou was elected president.The politician sought to improve relations, particularly through economic agreements.Eight years later, in 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, the current president of Taiwan, was elected.Tsai leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which leans toward formal independence from China.image copyrightReutersUnder the government of President Tsai, relations between the two countries suffered a new setback.After Donald Trump won the 2016 US election, Tsai spoke by phone with the president-elect, reversing US policy in place since 1979, when relations between the two countries were severed.Although there are no formal ties, the US has pledged to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, also stressing that any attack by China would be of "grave concern".Throughout 2018, China ramped up pressure on international companies, forcing them to list Taiwan as part of China on their websites.Otherwise, China threatened to curb their commercial ambitions in the Asian giant.Tsai was re-elected in 2020. By then, Hong Kong had been through months of unrest, with protesters protesting Beijing's growing influence, a situation closely watched by Taiwan.In the same year, the entry into force of a national security law in Hong Kong was widely interpreted as yet another sign that Beijing was increasingly asserting its authority in the territory.This year, the administration of President Joe Biden said its commitment to Taiwan is "rock solid."In recent months, Taiwan has reported a "major incursion" by Chinese warplanes into its air defense zone.There is confusion and disagreement about what Taiwan actually is and what it should be called.China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and is committed to reunification, by force if necessary.But the Taiwanese leadership assures that it is much more than a province, arguing that it is a sovereign state.Taiwan has its own Constitution, democratically elected leaders, and some 300,000 active troops in its armed forces.image copyrightGetty ImagesTaiwan has its own army with some 300,000 troops.The Republic of China (ROC) government under Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan in 1949, initially declared that it represented all of China and intended to retake the entire territory again.This republic held a seat on the UN Security Council and was recognized by many Western nations as the sole government of China.However, in 1971, the UN transferred diplomatic recognition to Beijing and the DRC government was expelled.Since then, the number of countries that diplomatically recognize the DRC has fallen to 13 nations, plus the Holy See.Given the wide gap between these two positions, most countries seem content to accept the current ambiguity.So Taiwan has most of the characteristics of an independent state, although its legal status remains unclear.Although little political progress has been made, ties between the two peoples and their economies have grown.Taiwanese companies have invested some $60 billion in China, and as many as a million Taiwanese live on the Chinese mainland, many running Taiwanese factories.Some worry about the dependency of Taiwan's economy on China.Others, however, point out that close trade relations would make any military action by Beijing difficult because of the damage it would do to the economy of the second world power.A controversial trade deal spawned the "Sunflower Movement" in 2014, when students and activists occupied Taiwan's parliament protesting what they saw as growing Chinese influence in Taiwan.image copyrightAFP/Getty ImagesSome Taiwanese support formal independence from China, but most seek a middle way.Officially, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) still favors independence for Taiwan, while the KMT favors reunification.An opinion poll commissioned by the Taiwanese government in March 2021 showed that most of the people currently support the DPP government's strategy of "safeguarding national sovereignty."The 2020 elections in which Tsai won with a record 8.2 million votes were widely interpreted as a rejection of Beijing.The United States is by far Taiwan's most important friend and only ally.The relationship, forged during World War II and the Cold War, went through its most difficult period in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter ended Washington's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to focus on growing ties with China.image copyrightGetty ImagesUS President Jimmy Carter has severed relations with Taiwan in favor of establishing trade links with China.In response, the US Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, promising to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, stressing that any attack by China would be of "grave concern" to the US.Since then, US policy has been described as one of "strategic ambiguity," seeking to balance China's emergence as a regional power with admiring Taiwan for its economic success and democratization.The crucial role of the US was clearly demonstrated in 1996, when China conducted missile tests to try to influence the first direct presidential elections.In response, then-President Bill Clinton ordered the largest US military deployment in Asia since the Vietnam War, sending ships into the Taiwan Strait and sending a clear message to Beijing.In 2018, against the wishes of Beijing, President Donald Trump signed a law allowing US officials to travel to Taiwan and meet with their peers to build relationships.Then, in August 2020 and in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump sent a member of his cabinet, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, to Taiwan.He was the highest-ranking US government official to visit the island in decades, until now.He can now receive notifications from BBC Mundo.Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don't miss out on our best content.© 2022 BBC.The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Read about our stance on external links.