Republic of China
Taiwan
Known in the west as Taiwan, but officially the Republic of China, this country has an interesting history and a precarious present.
First settled some 6,000 years ago by the Formosan people, and then later by the Hanzu from China as a Dutch colony, it caught the attention of the Chinese emperor and was annexed by the Qing dynasty in 1683. During the first Sino-Japanese war in 1895 the Island was ceded to the Japanese (they won). A short time later in 1911, the Republic of China overthrew the Qing dynasty in China's revolution of 1911.
Along comes the Second World War. The Republic of China was fighting against the hated Japanese, which, for convenience, meant they were fighting alongside the Allies. When Japan was humbled, China retook Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the on-again-off-again Chinese civil war became on-again after the distractions of the Second World War ended. This resulted in Mao Zedong and the Peoples' Republic of China seizing control of mainland China while Chiang Kai-shek and the Republic of China were left with Taiwan, which was then a military dictatorship.
Over time, due largely to the Taiwan Miracle, the country became hugely succesful and by degrees democratic. In 2000 the first president was elected who had no ties to the previous military dictatorship.
Nowadays, both China and Taiwan consider themselves the legitimate government of China in toto, including Taiwan. Tensions escalate.