Chinese or Cross-Strait unification refers to the potential unification of mainland China and Taiwan into a single state. In the year 1895, the Qing dynasty, recognized as the legitimate government of China at the time, lost the First Sino-Japanese War and was forced to cede Taiwan and Penghu to the Empire of Japan after signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Over sixteen years the Qing dynasty was overthrown and was replaced by the Republic of China. Based on the Theory of the Succession of States, the ROC lay claim to the entire territory which belonged to the Qing, except for Taiwan, which the ROC recognised as belonging to the Empire of Japan at the time; the ROC managed to attain widespread recognition as the legitimate successor state to the Qing dynasty during the years following the ousting of the Qing. In the year 1945, the ROC won the Second Sino-Japanese War, intertwined with World War II, took control of Japanese Taiwan on behalf of the World War II Allies, following the Japanese surrender.

The ROC asserted its claim to Taiwan as "Taiwan Province, Republic of China", basing its claim on the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Communique. Around this time, the ROC nullified the Treaty of Shimonoseki, declaring it to be one of the many "Unequal Treaties" imposed on China during the so-called "Century of Humiliation". At the time, the Kuomintang was the ruling party of the ROC, was recognized as its legitimate representative due to the collaboration of its leader Chiang Kai-shek with the World War II Allies. However, throughout much of the reign of the ROC, China had been internally divided, during a period, known as the "Warlord Era of China". According to the common narrative, the ROC was divided into many different ruling cliques and secessionist states, which were in a constant power struggle following the power vacuum, created after the overthrowal of the Qing. During this period, two ruling cliques came out on top; the power struggle between these two specific political parties has come to be known as the Chinese Civil War.

The Chinese Civil War was fought sporadically throughout the ROC's history. After the Second Sino-Japanese War concluded, the Chinese Civil War resumed, the CCP gained a huge advantage over the KMT. In 1949, the KMT evacuated its government, its military, around 1.2–2 million loyal citizens to Taiwan, which had only been ruled by the KMT for around four years by this time. Back in mainland China, the CCP proclaimed the "People's Republic of China" creating a reality of Two Chinas. Following the creation of Two Chinas, the PRC began to fight a diplomatic war against the ROC on Taiwan over official recognition as the sole legitimate government of China; the PRC won this war, ascended to the position of "China" in the United Nations in 1971, evicting the ROC from that same position. This left an awkward situation where the ROC still ruled Taiwan but was not recognized as a member state of the United Nations. In recent years, membership in the United Nations has become an essential qualifier of statehood.

Most states with limited recognition are not at all recognized by most governments and intergovernmental organizations. However, the ROC on Taiwan is a unique case, given that it has still managed to attain a significant degree of unofficial international recognition though most countries do not recognize its existence; this is due to the fact that the ROC was recognized as the legitimate government of China, providing an extensive framework for unofficial diplomatic relations to be conducted between the ROC on Taiwan and other countries. In the years following the ROC's retreat to Taiwan, Taiwan has gone through a series of significant social, political and cultural shifts, strengthening the divide between Taiwan and mainland China; this has been further exacerbated by Taiwan's history as a colony of the Japanese Empire, which led to the establishment of a unique Taiwanese identity and the desire for Taiwan independence. The Taiwan independence movement has grown stronger in recent decades, has become a viable force on the island since the ROC's transition to multi-party politics, during what has become known as the Democratization of Taiwan.

Due to this new political reality, independence-oriented parties have been able to gain majority control over Taiwan via elections. China has never recognized the existence of Two Chinas. China asserts. China refers to the territory controlled by Taiwan as "Taiwan area", to the government of Taiwan as the "Taiwan authorities". China continues to claim Taiwan as its 23rd Province, the Fujianese territories still under Taiwanese control as parts of Fujian Province. China has established the One-China policy in order to clarify its intention. In 2005, China passed the "Anti-Secession Law" in order to discourage Taiwan independence sentiments and in order to legitimize the use of force against Taiwan, which it claims would fall under the definition of an "internal conflict of China", if Taiwan approaches independence. Most Taiwanese people oppose joining China for various reasons, including fears of the loss of Taiwan's demo

This is a list of the vice-admirals of Leinster, a province in mid-Ireland. Prior to 1585 the whole of Ireland was served by a single vice-admiral, namely Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde. Separate vice-admiralties were established for Munster in 1585, for Ulster by 1602, for Leinster by 1612 and for Connaught by 1615. Source Source: 1585–1612 no appointment known 1612–1614 Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde 1614–1625 no appointment known 1625–1635 Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus 1635 Sir Robert Loftus 1640 Sir George Wentworth 1640–1647 no appointment known 1647– Sir Arthur Loftus 1647–1660 no appointment known 1660–1667? Sir George Wentworth 1668–1689 Hon. Carey Dillon 1691 Henry Wallop 1692–1701 John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath 1702 John Granville 1708–1710 Philip Savage 1710 John Allen 1711–1714 Philip Savage 1714–1728 Richard Fitzwilliam, 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam 1728–1776 Richard FitzWilliam, 6th Viscount FitzWilliam 1777–1816 Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam 1822–1838 James Wandesford Butler, 19th Earl of Ormonde <1847–1874 Sir Thomas St Lawrence, 3rd Earl of Howth

Dave Hakkens is a Dutch industrial designer. He gained fame with his two graduation projects: Phonebloks, a concept for modular telephones, Precious Plastic, a movement to develop and promote machines and organizations for plastic recycling. Hakkens is seen by many as an example of a new generation of designers who have set themselves the goal of improving society by sharing knowledge. In 2009 Hakkens graduated from Sint Lucas Academy in Boxtel, after which he graduated cum laude from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2013. Hakkens gained fame with his two graduation projects: Phonebloks, a concept for modular telephones, Precious Plastic, a movement to develop and promote machines and organizations for plastic recycling; the Dust Ball is a honeycombed spherical cleaning robot for public spaces. John Pavlus of FastCompany called it "a cute, clutter-eating robot that looks like a futuristic vacuum crossed with a Tribble," and said Hakkens's best idea was to make the outer shell strong and flexible enough that you can push or kick it out of the way.

The Toilet 2.0 is a lighter and stronger toilet made with water jets using grey water. Charlie Sorrel of Wired called the Toilet 2.0 concept a modern take on the old-fashioned WC, said it collects waste water from the bath and sink and stores it to use for flushing. Hakkens is known for making videos. Ruben Baart of nextnature.net said Hakkens spends his time building open-source recycling machinery, making videos and creating his own community to give people around the world the knowledge to locally start recycling plastic. Rachel Stevens of Impactboom said Hakkens loves to build machinery and inspirational videos, to "push the world in a better direction." Hakkens is seen by many as an example of a new generation of designers who have set themselves the goal of improving society by sharing knowledge. Claire Cottrell of The Atlantic wrote that Hakkens wanted to address the fact that 90 percent of the pens used get thrown away. In response, he made pens of candy that aren't sticky and won't melt in one's hands, filled with edible ink.

Yuka Yoneda of Inhabit.com said Hakkens realized that people in the creative field, including himself, might be susceptible to pen-chewing behavior, so he created an edible pen that wouldn't be taboo to eat. Ana Lisa of Inhabit.com said Hakkens created a series of colorful recycled composite "Rubble Floor" bricks by crushing and mixing materials from an old building, taking inspiration from Italian-style terrazzo floors made from waste produced in the marble mines. She said the Netherlands is the perfect place to harvest wind power due to its flat landscape and strong breezes, to take advantage of this resource, as a student at the Dutch Design Academy of Eindhoven, Hakkens created Wind Oil – a machine that extracts healthy oil from seeds and nuts by pressing them using a windmill. Rodrigo Caula of DesignBoom wrote, he made a master mold with several materials. With 14 % kiln shrinkage, each form becomes a template for making smaller jugs; the starting 5 liter mold is made into 10 smaller jugs, down to 10 milliliters.

Caroline Williamson of design-milk described the process as making a mold from the original jug, filling it with porcelain, baking so it shrank 14%. Molds were progressively made and shrunk. With each step, the jug lost detail. Hakken and his organization support vegan lifestyles by hiring vegan chefs and providing vegan food at the workspace in Eindhoven. Taahirah Martin of Design Indaba wrote that an operator of a vegan food truck collaborated with Hakkens to create a conference table made out of recycled plastic. Eindhoven 2011: Nomination Brains Award for Hidden Hooks Beijing 2012: Franz Award for'Shrinking Jugs' Eindhoven 2013: Melkweg Award Eindhoven 2013: Social Design Talent Award Eindhoven 2013: Keep an Eye Grant London 2014: Nomination Design of the Year 2014 2016 ECO Coin Award Official website