split off
Taiwan was part of China for centuries. The split started in 1949 during the civil war. The Communist Party came to power on the mainland and nationalists established their own government on the island.
Under the name Republic of China, Taiwan considers itself independent, but Beijing sees it as a renegade province. Only fifteen countries have recognized Taiwan as a country, the Netherlands and the US, for example, have not. All countries that do recognize the island state have no official relations with China. That is how sensitive the issue is for Beijing.
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