Today lawmakers in Taiwan scuffled in Parliament one day after the island inaugurated a new president.

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and accused Lai Ching Tte, known as William Lai, of advocating for Taiwanese independence.

Lie promises status quo.

Nick Schifran examines the tension and the history between Beijing and Taipei.

In downtown Taipei, pomp and circumstance,

dancing and an F-16 fly by to tell Beijing back off.

I want to call on China to cease their political and military intimidation against Taiwan

and ensure the world is free from the fear of war.

Li Tchink Tah, known as William Li, is the eighth democratically elected president of Taiwan,

known formally as the Republic of China.

His inauguration message, Taiwanese democracy is here to stay.

I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China's existence

and engage in cooperation with the legal government chosen by Taiwan's people.

But Beijing is in no mood to cooperate and says the only legal government of Taiwan is the Communist People's Republic of China.

Taiwan Independence is a dead end.

condoning support for Taiwan independence is doomed to failure and no external forces can stop the historical

momentum of China's unification.

Has the People's Republic of China ever controlled Taiwan?

Absolutely not.

It has never controlled Taiwan.

Suleman Khan is an international history and Chinese foreign relations professor at Tufts

University and the author of Struggle for Taiwan a history of America, China, and the island caught between.

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