Taiwan’s Uncertain Future

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: How and why are a nation’s borders redrawn over time? What are the effects of a nation’s border changing?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• autonomy (p. 8)
• peril (p. 9)
• handover (p. 10)
• dissent (p. 10)
• unification (p. 11)
• repressions (p. 11)

3. Engage
Say: Imagine that the United Kingdom were to claim that the area of the 13 Colonies should still be under British rule and made military overtures to take over the territory. What would your reaction be? Why?

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Taiwan’s Uncertain Future, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the facing page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What is the author’s main purpose in the first three paragraphs of the article? (Author’s purpose, text structure)
  (The author’s main purpose is to set up several of the central ideas of the article—China claims Taiwan; China has been making aggressive moves toward Taiwan, indicating it might take Taiwan by force; and the people of Taiwan are concerned about what would happen to them if China were to take control. The author achieves this purpose through descriptions of China’s military aggressions toward Taiwan and with quotes from a Taiwanese citizen.) 

• Why did Taiwan split from mainland China? Why do most countries and organizations recognize Communist China as the true China? (Cause & effect, text evidence)
  (Taiwan split from mainland China after a civil war in which the Communists won and took control of mainland China. The Nationalists then fled to Taiwan, declared it the Republic of China, and claimed that they were the true government of all of China. But mainland China is much larger geographically and has a much larger population, so most countries and organizations began recognizing Communist China as the true China.)   

• Explain the “one country, two systems” solution China has proposed. Why do many Taiwanese see this proposal as problematic? (Summarize, problem & solution)
  (The “one country, two systems” solution China has proposed would supposedly allow Taiwan to maintain its own government and way of life while acknowledging that it’s part of China. Many Taiwanese are worried that China will revoke the agreement and clamp down on their freedoms because that’s what China did in Hong Kong.)

• What is the central idea of the section “Free Elections & Bubble Tea”? How does the author develop this central idea? (Central idea, key details)
  (The central idea of the section is that today Taiwan has a culture that’s distinct from China’s, and many Taiwanese consider themselves to be just Taiwanese, not both Taiwanese and Chinese. The author develops this idea through examples of things unique to Taiwan, a statistic about how the people of Taiwan see themselves, and quotes from people in Taiwan about their concerns about losing their autonomy from China.)

• Chinese leaders have long wanted to re-annex Taiwan. Why does it seem to be a real possibility now? Based on the article, do you think it’s likely China will attempt to take Taiwan by force in the next several years? (Sequence of events, make evaluations)
  (China re-taking Taiwan seems like a real possibility now because China finally has a military strong enough to stand up to the U.S. military, which has long offered protection to Taiwan. Students’ evaluations of whether China will attempt to take Taiwan by force in the next several years will vary, but students should support their points with text evidence.) 

• What do the map on page 9 and the timeline on pages 10-11 add to the article? (Integrate sources)
  (The map shows how huge China is compared with Taiwan, giving visual context to the information in the article about why most countries and organizations recognize Communist China as the true China. The timeline provides additional details about the split between China and Taiwan and how China has grown in power over the years, as discussed in the article.)   

6. Writing Prompt
Write a one-page profile of either Mao Zedong or Chiang Kai-shek. Your profile should be based on research of both primary and secondary sources.

7. Video
Watch the video: The Hong Kong-Taiwan Connection (under Teaching Resources on the article page). What does it add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Should the U.S. military be used to protect Taiwan from China?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Organizing Ideas to review outlining skills.