Anyway, I could only reply quickly earlier Cousin Mike because I only had the Kindle.
I remember Communist versus Nationalist China, at least as we called them back in the day.
And I do recall the endless debates about recognizing Red China. It was a common sense thing and I recall being in favor of recognizing Red China.
Seems Taiwan is still around but it seems mostly symbolic by this point in time.
Taiwan is more than symbolic. It has a population of 23.5 million people, which would make it the 55th largest country in the world--bigger than Australia. Its GDP per capita is $46,800 (2015 est.), making it the 29th in the world tied with Canada. Its exports total $335.5 billion (2015 est.) a year, 16th highest in the world, higher than Spain, India, or Brazil.
Its reserves of foreign exchange and gold are $430.7 billion, the sixth highest in the world, higher than the US, France, Germany, etc.
Taiwan is an economic powerhouse. 27% of its exports go to the PRC, 13% to Hong Kong, and 10% to the US. Its import partners: Japan 17.6%, China 16.1%, US 9.5%.