In the early hours of September 18, 2023, Taiwan’s air defense detected something frightening—fighter planes flying toward them. The planes were Chinese military. During the next 24 hours, over 100 such planes appeared in and around Taiwanese air space. In the end, no attack came. China was sending a message.
 
This military intimidation has become routine. China will send naval ships and planes to circle Taiwan. The Taiwanese military will then scramble fighter jets, launch ships, and prepare missile systems. The process repeats sometimes daily. 

Chinese fighter planes always turn around before reaching the Taiwanese mainland. But the message of these flights is clear. As a Chinese military official said shortly after one series of flights, “No matter who tries to split Taiwan from China in any form, China and the Chinese military will never allow that to happen.”

These words and actions are worrying. Would the Chinese military actually attack Taiwan? And what does this threat mean for the United States?

In this learning journey, you will answer these questions. First, you’ll survey the history of Taiwan and explore its relationship to both the United States and China. Then you’ll take part in U.S. decision making.

Steps of the Journey

This learning journey will be divided into three readings and one simulation. 

The first reading will outline Taiwan’s political identity. For this section, we suggest reading the “Summary,” “Introduction,” and “Is Taiwan part of China?” You can return to this reading for more insight into other questions throughout the journey.

The second reading explores China’s history—and how that history motivates Chinese policy today. We suggest reading “Part Three: The Chinese Dream.”

The third reading takes a look at what all this means for the United States. How involved are we? And what should our position be going forward? We recommend reading the introduction as well as the sections entitled “The Case for Clarity” and “Too Much Ambiguity.”

Finally, after familiarizing yourself with both the background and current tensions, you will get to sit in the driver’s seat. In our fourth section, you will play the role of a National Security Council (NSC) member and help decide U.S. foreign policy.