My mom is from Taiwan, and yes Taiwan and China are "considered" seperate by many countries, one being the U.S. but Taiwan is not actually independent for they have never announced their independence due to conflicts with China. Basically, Taiwan wants to avoid war. I think they should be seperate because
1. Taiwan is a Democracy, China is a communist country
2. They're language is somewhat different
3. And because they're doing just fine one their own and are seen as independent by many countries