OK let s get it straight Is China proper a political term or geographical term If it is a geographical term there is no way to include taiwan in China proper because TW is a island far from mainland If it is a political term there is a term used by qing empire called which means inland 18 provinces Here is the proof sorry it is the same link but a short while ago I didn t translate it right translation sometimes china only means the traditional area of china which means inland eighteen province it dosen t included mongolia tibet qinghai Xinjiang manchuria and TAIWAN Here I have to emphasize the word inland and that s why the Qing officer didn t consider taiwan as part of the traditional area of china