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1 A Pearl in the Pacific Ocean Few history books address the complexity of Taiwan’s history because of its unique geopolitical relation to mainland China. Since the found- ing of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Chinese Com- munist Party (CCP) insists that Taiwan is a province of and belongs to China. As the civil war continued between the CCP and Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT), Taiwan and the government of the Republic of China (ROC) also claimed one China, that was, the ROC. However, with the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Taiwanese government believed that both Taipei and Beijing should assume their own, separate sovereignties. Thereafter, the Taiwanese divided over differing views of one China, two Chinas, or one China and one Tai- wan. A former president of the ROC (2008–2016) said due to Taiwan’s unique historical experience, its diverse population holds different or even contradictory views on such issues.1 What is Taiwan’s history? Chinese historians consider it a regional or provincial history since they believe Taiwan is part of China. Tai- wanese scholars view it as a national history since they believe Taiwan is a state. American historians focus their narrative on U.S. policy and Taipei–Washington relations. The end of the Cold War challenged the