Should Taiwan try to get independence?

It was my understanding that Taiwan is independent. That's what makes China so P.O.d

Yes. The people of Taiwan should seek to be accepted BACK into the UN. There are a few avenues available for this, but the present KMT government in Taiwan is strongly against anything that should lead to independence or in any way suggest that the Taiwanese are not an ethnic group belonging to Mainland China. All reports that I have here suggest that the politicos are severing ties with the USA, and lining their pockets with RMB. It's the sad truth. Congratulations to the CCP; they will at last succeed in defeating their democratic nemesis by paying off Taiwan's leadership, who are willing to sell the Taiwanese back into slavery. This is gross negligence by elected officials, and an example of their self-centered short-sighted personal selfishness. It's truly heartbreaking to see democracy fail in such a miserable way due to a widespread betrayal. To: Li Teng-hui... (The greatest Taiwanese statesmen in the post-WW2 era)... Where are you when we need you?

Hell yeah. It already has independence; it needs to get recognition from the U.N. to get the official stamp of nation-ness from a table of old men who always defer to whoever has some cash at hand to pay them what to think. Unfortunately, China has had better luck than usual the last few decades of playing the game, and has more cash at hand to compel others to do what it wants. If it doesn't get independance we can look forward to more people getting dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, and getting shot for saying their political opinions. It basically will drag Taiwan's development backwards 60 years to when the KMT army first got exiled and cause instability and destruction across the island. If Taiwan is not allowed to be independent a civil war could quite likely break out across the island and damage all those precious jewels of multinational companies infrastructure. Despite all the rhetoric from China, it is a paper tiger. It has lots of theoretical cash at hand; I predict this advantage will disappear as the recession tides recede and all those who are swimming nude in the water get exposed as the lying liars that they are. The food supply is getting tighter and tighter; China has enough money for the short term; but its own considerable contributions to global warming mean that it should pay the consequences of its actions on its own. Taiwan doesn't need to be dragged down with China into the death spiral that is consuming the middle eastern stability as we type this. Right now, Taiwan IS independant and we can say what ever we wish and travel/trade and have our own foreign policy/police/and agricultural self-sufficiency. China joining Taiwan would rob Taiwan of its food security; Taiwanese would starve instead of Chinese. If Taiwanese want to survive and maintain their own self-stability, food security and voice in the world, they cannot let China bully or buy out their leadership. The troubling trend in Taiwan is that the current party in power, the KMT, is taking money from China to shut up and to try and squash dissent inside the nation of Taiwan. It spends all of its money on trying to build the fiction that Taiwanese culture is Chinese. The truth is that Taiwanese have to make their own, separate distinct cultural identity. Chinese tradition has a part to play in this; but it shouldn't be overstated and made the ONLY culture that is allowed to identify Taiwan. Taiwan needs to create it's own image of a distinct Asian cultural identity that is different than Japan, Korea or China. Just as those all have been shaped by the historical influence of China, so will Taiwan. But that is only a historical influence. China can burn on its own. Taiwan will assist the people of China and help get more survivors; but it won't hand itself over to be used and abused. Edit: Just did some research on Taiwan's food security. It is a bit scary, actually. But Taiwan cannot afford to lose its own voice internationally; handing it over to China will only increase the insecurity.

The only reason that they shouldn't is that they would be signing their own death warrant at the hands of the Chinese, and quite possibly it would lead to a bigger conflict drawing in the US (potential world war 3).

If Taiwan is not afraid of China bombing her, then Taiwan can go ahead with independence.