despite the fact that virtually no passenger service

It's not actually recognized as an independent state and this has a lot to do with how and why Taiwan was settled by China and One of the most important things to remember in this story is that the island has been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years These people are not directly related to the Chinese In fact, they are Austronesian speaking groups who arrived along the same migration patterns as New Zealand, Polynesia Hawaii and Indonesia these indigenous groups developed distinct cultures and lived in scattered communities Primarily in the mountainous interior and along the coasts their presence remains a significant part of Taiwan's identity today Though they make up only about 2% of the population or about 600,000 people So in a way Taiwan is as much of a colonized country as many parts of the Western Hemisphere But let's get back to how modern Taiwan was established the earliest mentions of Taiwan interacting with China begin around the year 230 when military troops from the Eastern Wu Kingdom of China's Three kingdoms period landed on its shores though There is some debate on whether this was actually Taiwan that they landed on or not Various reports would include some mention of Taiwan albeit under different names for the next 1,400 years During the 1600s Taiwan became a contested territory the Dutch established a colony in the south the Spanish briefly held territory in the north and Chinese settlers mostly from Fujian province Gradually moved on to the island the Dutch were eventually expelled by Koxinga a Ming loyalist who used Taiwan as a base of resistance against the Qing Dynasty however his rule was short-lived as Qing forces took control of Taiwan in 1683 and Incorporated it into their Empire for over two centuries Taiwan remained under Qing rule though its position on the Empire's periphery meant it was often overlooked this changed in 1895 when the Qing were forced to cede Taiwan to Japan after their defeat in the first Sino-Japanese war the Japanese brought Modernization to the island building infrastructure railways and industry while also implementing strict colonial rule Though resistance existed Japan's influence reshaped Taiwan leaving a legacy that persists in aspects of its architecture education and economy after Japan's defeat in World War two Taiwan was handed back to China in 1945 and this proved to be very lucky for the Taiwan that exists today While remaining as a backwater through much of China's history Taiwan would eventually occupy a prominent place in the Chinese Civil War which had begun in the late 1920s The Nationalist Republic of China government under Chiang Kai-shek fought against the communist forces led by Mao Zedong despite initial advantages the Nationalists suffered a series of devastating defeats due to poor leadership corruption and dwindling public support by 1949 the communists had gained control of mainland China Forcing the Nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek and his followers established their base on the island bringing with them millions of refugees military forces and much of China's cultural and financial wealth at the time though the Nationalist government continued to claim sovereignty over all of China its control was Effectively limited to Taiwan and a few offshore islands It was during this period that saw much of the Western world namely the United States Canada and Western Europe aligned with Taiwan and recognized it as a country leaving mainland China as a global outsider however between 1950 and 1971 this recognition gradually eroded as Western countries sought to recognize mainland China as the sole China in order to establish trade with the much larger economic base and Because mainland China still claimed ownership of Taiwan it mandated that no country could recognize Taiwan as an independent country Despite the fact that it is independent for all intents and purposes This isolated Taiwan from global diplomacy, but not from global trade despite its diplomatic isolation Taiwan's economy surged in the late 1900s transforming from an agrarian society into a global industrial and technological powerhouse Democratic reforms began in the late 1980s culminating in the first direct presidential election in 1996 since then Taiwan has functioned as a democratic society distinct from mainland China Despite Beijing's continued claims over the island which leads us to today's population divide Hey, sorry for the interruption.

European capitals decision makers are now seeing China-Russia cooperation as much more than only a marriage of convenience. But I'm afraid that at the same time, despite the fact that there is this growing awareness of how closely intertwined China and Russia are in terms of their strategic goals, there is a limited level of political ambition to seriously tackle this problem. And I guess that you know this is a question of the fact that Europeans have so many problems on their plates at the moment that it seems easier to brush off China as this much more distant threat, despite the fact that China and Russia relations are very important and having a tangible impact on the situation on the ground in Ukraine and in turn also on European security. And earlier our

Then they've got to somehow get sleep as quickly as possible despite the fact that they've been sitting still and staring at books and screens all day with incredible stress.

The whole lot was referred to as Books of the Netherworld, despite the fact that there weren't any books.

So despite the fact that Samsung is as advanced as TSMC in chip-making technology, their need to vertically integrate their design and manufacturing into their own products has scared away potential customers.

That's also what inspired the name of the company, despite the fact that.

and I'm so sick of Boomers acting like we're just coddled babies, despite the fact that we have gone through a once-in-a-lifetime black swan event, like, four times.

I think Xi Jinping now despite the fact that he may have a plan of some sort,

We've probably done half a dozen episodes on my on my cynicism that I'm trying to conquer But you sir recently gave me some reasons to feel better And I want to talk about that a little bit because despite the fact that it often feels like Trump is demolishing everything and he is actually demolishing quite a few things But you have argued that he is actually failing on the most important Fronts, so let's talk about that Lay out your case for us.