China-Taiwan RelationshipIntroductionThe current conflict between China and Taiwan began in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek (President of the Republic of China) and his supporters fled to Taiwan after their defeat by the Chinese Communist Party (led by Moa Tse-Tung) in the Chinese Civil War, which broke out immediately after World War II. In 1950, the Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China (PRC) and invaded Taiwan in order to unify all of China under its rule. Their plan failed when the United States sent naval forces to defend Taiwan. Since then, the two countries have existed neither in a state of complete independence nor in an integration of neither war nor peace. The United States pledged to defend Taiwan in the event of attack by China in the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, in which U.S. President Carter formally established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and recognized symbolically their “one China policy” and its program. of reunification. Instead of maintaining a significant deployable military force in the region, the United States has sold billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Taiwan, from small arms to ships, fighter jets and Patriot missiles. Despite arms sales to Taiwan and its commitment to defending it if attacked, the United States also maintains significant economic ties with China and Taiwan. Since then, they have tried to maintain the “status quo” of the current situation. Given these circumstances, China, Taiwan, and the United States have much to gain and even more to lose if armed conflict breaks out across the Taiwan Strait. All three countries have political, economic and national security issues at stake and both the United States and China are in economic competition...... middle of paper ...... Operations regarding mutual establishment permanent offices of ARATS and the SEF are in the spotlight. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has repeatedly made positive remarks on this matter. As trade and tourism ties between China and Taiwan become closer and more active, there is a growing need to mutually establish permanent ARATS and SEF offices, which handle consulate-general-style operations. Details still remain unclear, including the operations and authority that office would have, the levels of officials who would run it, or the extent of diplomatic privileges that would be granted to office staff. Since Taiwan already has economic and cultural offices in China's Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, some scholars expect that the permanent ARATS and SEF offices will be established in a form similar to that -this..