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Google Maps Update Fixes Taiwan Problem

Google Maps no longer refers to Taiwan as belonging to China.

October 11th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Controversy, Google Maps, Services, General | 5 comments

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5 Comments »

  1. So where does Taiwan belong?

    Comment by Raquel Heney | October 11, 2005

  2. Taiwan is a Country…

    Comment by pliwang | October 11, 2005

  3. Basically, Raquel, Taiwan is independent, but isn’t allowed to declare independence from China without starting a war. Google was listing Taiwan as belonging to China, which was very controversial, but they fixed that.

    Comment by Nathan Weinberg | October 11, 2005

  4. China ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after losing the Sino-Japanese war. After world war II there is much debate about who owns Taiwan. Under various interpretations of international law, there are some who claim that Taiwan is actually a temporary possesion of the USA. More information can be found at http://www.taiwantda.org.tw/tda/home/

    Comment by Arnie McGall | October 11, 2005

  5. Rachel,

    Taiwan is now a free, democratic and independent country. After WW-II it was occupied by the Chinese Nationalist KMT, the losing side of the Chinese Civil War. For 40 years, the KMT repressed the native Taiwanese (85% of the population), but in the early 1990s there was a democratic transition, and in 2000 the DPP of President Chen Shui-bien gained power, leaving the KMT in the dustbin of history. Still, the Chinese in Beijing are still fighting the Civil War and unjustly claim sovereignty over the democratic island.

    Hope this helps.

    Comment by Gerrit van der Wees | November 16, 2005

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