The Republic of China (ROC), founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen 105 years ago on this very day, is now commonly known as Taiwan, a West Pacific island country only about one-third the size of the state of Virginia. According to relevant US policy makers, however, Taiwan is now:

“a key component of the US rebalance to Asia policy,” “a US security and economic partner,” and has built with the US “a comprehensive, durable and mutually-beneficial partnership.”

Taiwan carries a weight and significance much bigger than its size. It is also:

The Only Democracy in the Chinese Speaking World

• On January 16, 2016, people in Taiwan will cast their votes to elect the 14^th ROC President and Vice President, and members of the 9^th Legislative Yuan. Altogether three slates of presidential candidates and 18 political parties are in the race.

A Regional Peace Maker in the Taiwan Strait, and East and South China Seas (Taiping Island)

• President Ma Ying-jeou’s mainland China policy has brought the Cross-Strait relations to the most stable and peaceful state since the ROC government moved to Taiwan in 1949. During the last seven and a half years, the two sides have signed 23 agreements, and direct flights across the Strait have also increased from zero to 1,948 weekly between Taiwan and 61 mainland Chinese cities. The two leaders’ historic meeting early November of 2015 in Singapore is a culmination of improved Cross-Strait relations.
• President Ma proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative in August 2012, which resulted in a fishery agreement with Japan in April 2013, after 17 years of impasse. The agreement has enlarged Taiwan’s fishing area up to 74,000 sq. km. There have been no more fishery disputes between the two since the agreement was signed. President Ma’s South China Sea Peace Initiative in May 2015 also resulted in a fishery agreement with the Philippines in November 2015.
• In the spirit of the Initiative, Taiwan has built the Taiping Island (Itu Aba) into a showcase of peaceful solution for South China Sea disputes. The Taiping Island, which is the largest naturally-formed island in the Nansha (Spratlys) islands, can sustain human habitation and economic life of its own with fresh water, vegetables, fruits, poultry and livestock grown or raised locally. It is a low-carbon ecological reserve that offers navigational and medical assistance with its new lighthouse and a hospital (10 beds, 3 medical doctors including a dentist) available in emergencies to fishermen or other travelers in nearby waters. There are also a post office and a Buddhist Guanyin Temple on the island. Taiping Island indisputably qualifies as an “island” according to the specifications of Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The 10th Largest US Trading Partner Out of 224 Countries and Territories the US Trades With

• In 2014 Taiwan overtook two big countries, India and Saudi Arabia, to become the 10^th largest US trading partner. During the first 10 months of 2015, India, a country whose territory is 100 times the size of Taiwan and population 50 times larger, overtook Taiwan again. But Taiwan remains the 10^th largest by overtaking Brazil, a country which is 235 times larger than Taiwan in land and has nine times the population.

An Economic Powerhouse that Helps Create or Support 400,000 American Jobs

• Bilateral trade between Taiwan and the US totaled US$67.4 billion in 2014.
• Taiwan sent one of the largest delegations to the SelectUSA Summit in 2013 and 2015, resulting in pledged investment projects of $13.1 billion in value.
• Taiwan has imported U.S. grains worth $12.3 billion from 2008 to 2014. Its 2015 Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission signed three letters of intent, expected to lead to another purchase of US grains worth US$3.03 billion in 2016 and 2017.
• Taiwan’s total procurement of US-made defense articles has reached $18.3 billion since 2008, and the US has just announced another $1.83 billion worth of arm sales to Taiwan. This would make the total value of such purchase over $20.1 billion since President Ma came to office.
• Since Taiwan was accepted into the Visa Waiver Program in November 2012, Taiwan visitors to the US have increased by an average of 40% annually to nearly half-a-million in 2014. In 2013 and 2014, Taiwanese on average spent more than $2 billion in the US a year.
• According to a US Department of Commerce formula, total economic relations with Taiwan have created or supported at least 400,000 American jobs.

A Leading Provider in ICT Global Supply Chains

Taiwan is the world’s No. 1 manufacturer for the following 12 products or devices (with their respective global market-share percentage):

• Cable Customer-Provided Equipment (97%)
• Wireless Local Area Network Interface Card (88%)
• Voiceover Internet Protocol Customer-Provided Equipment (86%)
• Server (85.9%)
• Motherboard (85%)
• Notebook PC (84.9%)
• Wafer Foundries for Semi-Conductors (70%)
• LCD Monitor (66.5%)
• Digital Subscriber Line Customer-Provided Equipment (60%)
• Internet Protocol Phone (59%)
• Desktop PC (50.3%)
• Tablet Devices (38.9%)

Taiwan just welcomed its 10 millionth visitor of the years in late December 2015, a sharp increase from 3.71 million in 2007. The surge in the number of tourists for Taiwan was also noticed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), as the Organization reported in late 2014 that Taiwan registered the highest growth in foreign tourist arrivals in the world for the first half of last year, 26.7%. After all, Taiwan also attracts the world’s attention with its natural beauty, delicious food, warm hospitality, and the Forbidden City’s best collection of Chinese artifacts moved to Taiwan in 1949 to escape from the destruction of the civil war and later the Chinese cultural revolution.