That was their International Agreement (in particular with the US), to be recognized as the sole representative of China, at the UN and with the US, who at the time, was the only major power in the West.
In essence: no forceful reunification, then Mainland China (PRC) would be recognized as the sole representative of China, and Taiwan (ROC) would be part of China - under the One China policy.
Over the decades, there have been several close-to agreement between the two sides.
Of course, the US had never imagined Mainland China would grow so quickly, to become such a competitive rival.
Nowadays, the US is just using Taiwan as a "leverage", to extract concessions from Mainland China.
Nancy and Joe does not give a damn about the welfare of Chinese in Taiwan - they wouldn't be able to read a sentence in Chinese (lol). And the Taiwanese doesn't want Nancy and Joe to stir up trouble, as there have been peace across the Taiwan Strait for nearly 60 years.
This is all about political leverage.
Any way, there are a few misconceptions of what Taiwan (ROC) is.
Firstly, they are also China. They are the Republic of China.
When the President of the Republic of China (ROC) takes the Oath of Office, he or she swears to protect the territorial integrity of ALL CHINA.
Here is a map of territories of China, under the Republic of China (Taiwan).
As you can see from the above, the ROC territorial claim include: all of Mainland China, all of Mongolia, parts of Russia, parts of India, parts of Pakistan, parts of Japan and islands within the South China Sea.
During the initial years of reunification talks, it was about who should be lead the reunified China. Nowadays, its about what kind of self autonomy Taiwan should have (due to the fact that Taiwan's economy is only a fraction the size of Mainland China).
Another misconception is that there is an overwhelming majority of people wanting Independence from Mainland China. That is incorrect - it is a narrative driven by those with an agenda - mainly by the US who plays the "Taiwan card" to extract concessions from the Mainland Government.
The simple fact is: most Taiwanese have family members living in Mainland China. And millions each month travel to the Mainland, for work, business and family reasons. In some places, Taiwanese just catch a ferry ride to work across the Mainland and come home at night via another ferry.
Mainland China is actually the Biggest Trading partner to Taiwan. Each year, Taiwan derives a trade surplus of circa $100 billion from Mainland China. For an island which is half the size of Tasmania, with little natural resources, that is quite an achievement.
Any way, all these narratives about Taiwanese being threatened or oppressed are just BS propaganda. There are nearly 4M Taiwanese who have a permanent second home in Mainland China - and they travel back and forth, just like we do here in Australia, between cities. And they are treated like normal Chinese.
I can assure you, there won't be 4M people, willing to travel to a place by choice, where they would be prosecuted. Would you pay for regular flight tickets and accommodation to a country where you would be prosecuted? Of course not.
I actually have clients who are married to Mainland Chinese and they go back and forth each week to meet family members. And that is the reality: most of them have family members on both sides of the fence.
Lastly, the best way to differentiate between propaganda and truths, is go there to see for yourself - ie. go to both Mainland China and Taiwan, and talk to the local people.
