The island of Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, meets the requirements for an independent country or state status. However, all but a handful of nations refuse to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. The political reasons for this date back to the late 1940s, when the Republic of China was ousted from mainland China by Mao Tse Tung's communist rebels, and ROC leaders fled to Taiwan. The communist People's Republic of China maintains that it has authority over Taiwan, and relations between the island and mainland have been strained.