I knew this (below) from decades ago -- because I'd read Edgar Snow's "Red Star over China" in 1976, the year I arrived in China. Everyone said: "you've got to read this book". So I did.
It was not a great read, TBF. Even in those early days I recognised hero worship. Edgar Snow idolised Mao. That didn't seem to me a sound base for a biography. More like hagiography.
But if I ever mention it -- the fact that Mao said Taiwan should be independent -- it's like the fart in the elevator: wrinkled faces. People don't want to know. But it's true. Mao said what Snow said he said and it made sense. It makes sense.
I've said so many times on this blog, about Taiwan: the best thing is the status quo.
Just leave things as they are. Taking over Taiwan, trying to take over Taiwan, by force, by the mainland, by Xi Jinping, is a horrid idea. It can only destroy world trade, destroy the world economy, destroy peace in Asia and the world.
Just leave it like it is. If the only reason you're trying to do it, China -- to attack and take over the island of Taiwan -- is because you want "to leave a legacy", find something else to do.
"In 1928, Mao Zedong explicitly advocated that Taiwan should be independent and establish a “Taiwan Republic.”
In 1936, Mao told American journalist Edgar Snow in Yan’an that if the Korean people wished to break free of Japanese imperialism, “we enthusiastically support their struggle for independence,” and that “the same applies to Taiwan.”
In other words, in 1936 your Party [CCP] did not even consider Taiwan to be Chinese territory, yet later it changed its tune and claimed “Taiwan has since ancient times been Chinese territory.” This shows the Party’s habit of rewriting history to suit political needs."
