TAIWAN, DE FACTO STATE OR THE LEGACY OF THE COLD WAR BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE AND \"ONE CHINA\"

Stanković Sanja (Sanja Stanković, diplomirani politikolog međunarodnih odnosa, Ministarstvo spoljnih poslova RS), stankovic89@yahoo.co.uk

The paper analyzes the position of Taiwan (the Republic of China) in the east Asian power distribution from the Cold War \"pioneer of democracy,\" which had its first direct elections in 1996 and acted as a containment instrument to the growing power of the People\'s Republic of China, to a possible acquisition of the status of another Chinese special administrative region like Hong Kong and Macau. the work deals with the hypothetical prospect of Taipei to gain independence, with or without a direct conflict between the world\'s two largest economies, the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

Keywords: sovereignty, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, deterrence/containment, the balance of power, a peaceful rise, the United States of America