NewsTracker Answers for week of Mar. 07, 2022

Q: “Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan,” is a catchphrase that has begun circulating among residents of the island who fear Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could embolden China’s autocratic rulers, who claim Taiwan should be under their control. Where is Taiwan, about 100 miles off the coast of China?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Taiwan citizens demonstrated against the Ukraine war outside of Russia’s de facto embassy in the island’s capital city . . .

A. Beijing

B. Chongqing

C. Taipei

D. Wuhan


C. Taipei.has served as a capital of the island since the 19th century as province under Chinese and Japanese emperors. After World War II, nationalist Chinese forces took control of the island from Japan. The nationalists lost the mainland to the communists in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan. Taipei has been the seat of the island’s multi-party democracy since 1996.


Q: China’s autocratic leader has repeatedly reserved the right to use force to “reunite” Taiwan with mainland China. Who is China’s current leader?

A. Chiang Kai-shek

B. Deng Xiaoping

C. Mao Zedong

D. Xi Jinping


D. Xi Jinping has been president of China since 2012. He is considered China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who defeated the nationalists in 1949 and ruled the country until his death in 1976. Xi has refused to condemn Russia over its brutal invasion of Ukraine, blaming the U.S. for instigating the conflict by encouraging NATO expansion in Europe.


Q: Taiwan maintains full diplomatic relations with only 14 sovereign states. Which of these nations does NOT have formal ties to Taiwan?

A. Guatemala

B. Honduras

C. Paraguay

D. United States


D. The United States officially recognized the Peoples Republic of China as the government of China in 1979, ending 30 years of support for the Republic of China on Taiwan as China’s legitimate government. The United States maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and sells it arms. But, the U.S. maintains "strategic ambiguity" over whether it would defend Taiwan from attack.


Q: Taiwan has been inhabited for thousands of years. How many years was it governed by a government on mainland China?

A. 21,600

B. 2,160

C. 216

D. 21


C. Emperors of China’s Qing dynasty ruled Taiwan from 1683 until 1895 when it was ceded to the Empire of Japan. The Japanese ruled the island as Formosa until they lost World War II in 1945. The nationalist Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing dynasty, then took over the island and ruled it as a province for four years before it abandoned the mainland for Taiwan.