As China’s rulers tell it, the Communist Party must control Taiwan to make the whole country safe and strong. “Unification brings strength while division leads to chaos," says the State Council, China’s cabinet. “This is a law of history."

       Actually, the party’s obsession with Taiwan is a political choice. After 1991 China signed a series of treaties fixing its borders with the Soviet Union and Russia, in effect ceding over a million square kilometres of Chinese territory grabbed by Russia in the 19th century. No law of history forbade that decision to forget past wrongs.

       Hi! You're reading a premium article! Subscribe now to continue reading Subscribe now Already subscribed? Login

       Premium benefits

       35+ Premium articles every day

       Specially curated Newsletters every day

       Access to 15+ Print edition articles every day

       Subscriber only webinar by specialist journalists

       E Paper, Archives, select The Wall Street Journal & The Economist articles

       Access to Subscriber only specials : Infographics I Podcasts

       Unlock 35+ well researched

       premium articles every day

       Access to global insights with

       100+ exclusive articles from

       international publications

       Get complimentary access to

       3+ investment based apps

       TRENDLYNE Get One Month GuruQ plan at Rs 1

       FINOLOGY Free finology subscription for 1 month.

       SMALLCASE 20% off on all smallcases

       5+ subscriber only newsletters

       specially curated by the experts

       Free access to e-paper and

       WhatsApp updates

       Not convinced yet?

       Share your contact details and

       we will get in touch with you…

       = 48 && event.charCode Confirm

       Thanks for sharing your number