The New 'Two Chinas' Question

NEW YORK â?? To anyone over the age of 60 who follows world affairs, the term â??two Chinasâ? recalls the post-1949 competition for diplomatic recognition waged by mainland (â??Redâ?) China and Taiwan, or, more formally, the Peopleâ??s Republic of China and the Republic of China. By the early 1970s, just about every country fell in line with the Peopleâ??s Republicâ??s demand that it alone be recognized as the legitimate sovereign government of China. The mainland was simply too large and too important economically and strategically to alienate.