Taiwan is not an indepedent country. Callig it so will upset any fans of the People's Republic of China. It will also upset the current party in power in Taiwan, which is offically pro-unification.
Call it Chinese Tapiei.
Ummm... I gotta disagree, largely 'cause I love me the Taiwan. Made me want to minor in Chinese.
Anyway, I would say that Taiwan is independent, it just isn't recognized as such by much of the world including the mainland. And no one wants to piss off the mainland. But the military present on Taiwan is Taiwanese, they do not follow Beijing. The people there feel Taiwanese. There are political parties, plural rather than the one communist party of China. The current government of Taiwan I think is better described as more pro-trade with China ( (Current President) Ma, in his inaugural address, laid out his promise in dealing with cross-strait relations that there would be "no reunification, no independence, and no war".) The previous administration was notorious for being anti-China (and corrupt) and as a result Taiwan's economy suffered from being denied a good trading partner. Then it was going up under the new, more conservative by Taiwanese standards, administration. Then this recession hit and demand for high tech industrial goods has fallen off. Taiwan has its own flag, its own currency and its own passport. It is its own glorious, awesome country.
I have respect for the history of mainland China, but when it comes to Taiwan, long may the ROC reign, fuck the PRC.
Edit: On reflection I feel that my reaction may have been unwarranted. But still, them's are my feelings on the matter.