Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou's Historic 2015 Meeting in Singapore: An Interpretation

Abstract

Abstract This essay analyzes the interactions between two competing powers, China under the Chinese Communist Party, and Taiwan, a democracy, for the future of Taiwan. It provides background on how Taiwan became a non-resolvable issue since the Communists defeated the Kuomintang government on the Chinese mainland in a civil war from 1945–1949. Then the two sides developed into two different political systems: the People's Republic of China—a one-party state controlled by the Chinese Communist Party; and the Republic of China on Taiwan—a multi-party democracy espousing multiple political ideologies. This essay offers the author's predictions for the future.