After years of international isolation, including expulsion from the United Nations and the loss of diplomatic recognition by all but a handful of countries, Taiwan has embarked on an aggressive diplomatic campaign to re-establish itself as a legitimate member of the global community, a campaign that has enraged China.
For the past six months, Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui has engaged in what is called "vacation diplomacy" across southeast Asia, arranging golf outings to coincide with meetings with leaders.Lee has also visited Costa Rica and Nicaragua and appeared in Pretoria last month for the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa.
Taiwan has begun to sound out countries in Europe, Asia and the Western Hemisphere on whether they would support the country's readmission to the United Nations.
Taiwan Prime Minister Lien Chan has proclaimed this as one of Taiwan's central diplomatic goals.
"We call on the international community to recognize that the Republic of China exists," said Lee, upon returning from his trip to South Africa. "We have to break through the mainland's diplomatic blockade and gain a seat in international society."
In promoting its claims for renewed international recognition, Taiwan has trumpeted its democratic politics, its free markets and its growing economic influence, fueled by Taiwan's substantial investments in the region.
Lee and other senior Taiwanese officials have also repeatedly pointed out that this island of 21 million people is the world's 12th largest trader and has the 20th largest economy, with a gross national product of $220 billion.
China has consistently opposed Taiwan's efforts to rejoin the United Nations, or indeed any effort by Taiwan to raise its international stature, since it regards such moves as efforts to assert Taiwan's independence.
China formally considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces and requires all countries recognizing Beijing to declare that Taiwan remains an integral part of China.
But Lee's diplomatic offensive coincides with a growing sense of distance from China among the Taiwanese, not merely because of the political hostility, but because of a progressive cultural alienation from a country that is increasingly seen as brutal, lawless, corrupt and irrelevant to Taiwan's future.
These moves, however, have infuriated China, which sees Lee as moving toward promoting Taiwan's formal independence, a status that Beijing has warned it would stop through armed intervention, if necessary.