Yeah, it always surprises me to see Taiwan part of the East Asia bonus and not part of East China.
Many countries, including the US, consider Taiwan part of China, though Taiwan's official name is the Republic of China:
http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1 ... =3556&mp=1Too, many maps seem to include Taiwan as a part of China by using the same color for each, but other maps do not.
Taiwan is close to Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands, but it's closer to mainland China:
[bigimg]http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/maps/prefix/maps/asia_east.gif[/bigimg]
[bigimg]http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/academia/murals/academia_asia_physical_mural_lg.jpg[/bigimg]
(Of course, the Senkaku Islands are in between Taiwan and Japan and are claimed by China [who calls them the Diaoyu Islands], Taiwan [who calls them the Tiaoyutai Islands], and Japan.)
[bigimg]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Senkaku_Diaoyu_Tiaoyu_Islands.png/220px-Senkaku_Diaoyu_Tiaoyu_Islands.png[/bigimg]
Nearly all the maps on Google Images labels the island as Taiwan. I found one that referred to it as R.O.C. (Taiwan).
However, by including Taiwan as a part of the East China bonus, though, I'd view that as a political statement.
From the National Geographic Asia map:
The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as its 23rd province. Taiwan's government (Republic of China) maintains that there are two political entities. The islands of Matsu, Pescadores, Pratas, and Quemoy are administered by Taiwan.
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps ... a-map.htmlMan, the archive on the Talk: Taiwan Wikipedia page is 23 pages. =)