Tullis 1
“Davine Tullis
Geography 151
April 5, 2017
Op-Ed on Taiwan and the politics of Recognition
Taiwan is an Island off the coast of China, the island itself is 13,974 sq miles in size and
has a population of 23.51 million people. Until 1971 the state was recognized as its own country.
The people of Taiwan fought to remain Independent but in the end China was given Taiwan.
There are many different countries that are much smaller than Taiwan, but still have their
Independence. Some of the countries include Barbados, Monaco, and Grenada. In Barbados it is
166 square miles and has 260,000 people, Grenada is 133 square miles and has 98,000, Monaco
is an impressive 0.7 square miles in size, with about 30,000 people. These countries compared to
Taiwan are extremely smaller in size and population. If these countries can operate as
Independent countries with the size and populations they have than Taiwan can very easily be its
own.
The Taiwan military is known to be strong. Sources say they are ranked 19 out of 126
countries. The military of a country must be strong to protect their people from predators of the
world, such as other neighboring countries. Something Taiwan has in their corner is that they are
allies with the United States. The US has one of if not the best militaries in the world. Taiwan
