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The big players shaping the conlfict are Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek.
The two probably met in order to discuss their common enemies, but actual contact was more like a chess game.
They were the hands that moved the pawns and knights in strategy, playing black's pieces against white's, but not actually fighting one another.
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Chiang was a dynamic nationalist, seeking to unify China under his Nationalist government.
His inital failure sparked a lasting desire in his Kuomintang (KMT) to continually pursue the goal of retaking China and making it a true republic.
Further failure, especially at the hands of the United States, inspired him to work harder at making Taiwan recognized in the world system.
Though Chiang may not have been the most exemplary person, his courage in standing up to a power so much greater than his own was passed on.
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Mao was earlier quoted on his policy of reclaiming the island.
Clearly the presence of anti-Communist Chinese in a tiny island off his coast was a particularly painful thorn in his side.
His own stubborn personality, shown in the zealousness of the Red Guard of the Cultural Revolution, insured that the Chinese Communist Party would carry on the goal of taking Taiwan back.
Disagreements abound over what kind of person Mao was, but his ability to manipulate the people assured that his ideals would not soon be forgotten.
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Pitted against one another in the wake of Sun's death, these two personalities and the political parties they embodied would not find resolution easily.
Together, they wrote the script that went along with stage Sun had set.
Driven by fears and insecurities, the two cleaved already estranged societies.
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Societies
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First, a note on Chinese culture.
The Chinese characters for China stand for "middle kingdom;" when choosing a name for themselves so long ago, the Chinese saw themselves as the power center of the world.
While the years have proven that such a title may no longer be appropriate, the cultural pride still exists.
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The battling between the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PROC) finds direct application of this pride.
Each side sees itself as right, and will not back down.
Where such an attitude may lead is an unsavory thought, but thousands of years of training the Chinese method of thought cannot be undone in a single generation.
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Another societal contribution is the concept of relative deprivation.
Relative deprivation is defined as the perception of being deprived, but only in comparison to some higher standard, whereas the actual situation may not be so bad.
Both the ROC and PROC had cultures which experienced relative deprivation.
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In the PROC, this is demonstrated in the extremity of the difference of their economies.
While Taiwanese trade increased to its maximum in the mid-1960's, the Chinese fell deeper and deeper into the failure of their economic programs.
This left the Chinese government, and likely its people, envious of their renegade province and further increased tensions.
The ROC is not willing to take the PROC back under such conditions, with the ROC inhabitants relatively well off in comparison to the PROC.
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In the ROC, relative deprivation can be seen in the early 1970's when the PROC became the recognized China.
Since both T'aipei and Beijing insisted that the world could recognize only one government, the widespread recognition of the PROC was a devastating blow.
Taiwan was stripped of its status in the world, and to add insult to injury, all the status went to the PROC.
In the eyes of other nations, Taiwan was a province.
In the eyes of the ROC, Taiwan had taken a large step backwards.
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In the culmination of this pride, both China's despise the existence of two Chinas.
Thousands of years of territorial domination and conquest, in their eyes, should not end with a people divided.
The PROC is especially afraid of seeing two China's; it can't even handle the idea of losing Tibet.
Other societal differences existed to add to the catalysts of conflict.
One seemingly nonexistent difference is the language.
The descendant of the Fujian dialect, Taiwanese is different enough from Mandarin so that Mandarin speakers look down upon Taiwanese.
Because the two tongues are so closely related, it would seem that there shouldn't be any problems caused, but even this slight difference makes the Mandarin assume superiority.
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The last important societal difference lies in the differing political systems.
One China was Communist, while the other advertised itself as "Free China," with a current system of democracy.
However, the effect of this is better examined under the light of the world system.
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The societies are not so different as, say, the U.S. and Iraq are, but because they used to be the same, the small differences make a big impact.
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The World System
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As can be seen in the preceding page, the United States plays a very large part in the current conflict between Taiwan and China.
It was their policy on Communism which made the difference in political systems of the ROC and PROC so important.
The U.S. and its lead in the Cold War made the non-Communist Taiwan the preference over the Communist PROC.
Supplying Taiwan with money and military support allowed the ROC to survive its beginning, but it also fueled greater controversy between the ROC and PROC.
Because the U.S. had such a high rank in the world pecking order, Taiwan received some degree of respect through its ally.
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Moving ahead in history, the U.S. again played a major role in causing conflict by not recognizing Taiwan as an independent country.
By virtue of their author, the words "Taiwan is part of China" carried enough power to last until today.
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Another leap into the future sees the U.S. stripping Taiwan of its status, and giving it to China in a strategy of using China against the Soviets.
Although a cause of relative deprivation for the ROC, it also belittled Taiwan in the world system.
This gave Taiwan, much like it did Chiang Kai-shek, a greater motivation to move out of China's shadow and strive for independence.
This movement for independence is the last factor to be analyzed.
Anytime Taiwan even whispers something about being independent of China, it makes the PROC look like a monster.
The world has favored the underdog independence seekers since the birth of the United States.
Any country or people who can identify with the Taiwanese faction of independence seekers will likely look down upon the PROC.
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China has not had a good record when it comes to dealing with democracy and independence.
The brutal quelling of the Tian'an Men Square uprising and the recent reclamation of Hong Kong (and 1999 reclamation of Macau) do not speak well of China in the world's eyes.
With almost every non-peaceable action it takes against the ROC, it digs itself into a deeper hole.
Missile tests and verbal threats have made China the bully, and Taiwan the one to be protected.
Policies of the ROC prey on this international perception of the PROC; their noble resolve to continue elections in spite of threats speaks volumes.
Policies of the PROC don't seem to change no matter how the world sees them.
They continue to make their threats, wave their guns, and all the while look for a way to conclude this forty-six year drama in their favor.
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