The Chinese Communist Party founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 – setting off years of military conflict across the Taiwan Strait in the 1950s, with Beijing shelling several remote islands controlled by Taipei on two separate occasions.
The last major crisis occurred in 1995-1996 after the president of Taiwan at the time, Lee Teng-hui, visited the United States.
Lee, who received his doctorate from Cornell University in New York state, returned to his alma mater in 1995 to deliver a speech at a reunion event that was broadcast throughout Asia and around the world, according to the university.
Cornell University President Frank Rhodes and Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui pose with their wives Lee Wen-hui and Rosa Rhodes before a private dinner at the president’s home on June 10, 1995 in Ithaca, New York. (Bill Mueller/AP)
Angered by the visit and against the US for granting Lee a visa, China fired missiles into the waters around Taiwan. The crisis ended only after the US sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the area in a powerful show of support for Taipei.
Experts say Lee was the first Taiwanese leader to float the idea of the island being a separate, distinct entity from the communist-ruled mainland – making him a particularly sensitive figure for Beijing, even decades later.
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