@dragonrider45
In Taiwan there are two political parties, usually referred to as the blues and greens. The blues are the KMT and their political allies, essentially what the ROC’s military dictatorship transformed into once liberalization and democratization began. They are pro unification and promote friendly relations with the mainland to this end.
The greens, consisting of the democratic progressive party and associated allies, are made up of the political elements that the KMT dictatorship suppressed. They are pro independence and do not view Taiwan as a ‘Chinese country’. They promote a Taiwan that is founded more on Japanese/Hakka (as opposed to the emigre Han who came over with Chiang) identity and currently control the presidency.
The KMT is thus still viewed pretty favorably in the mainland, especially during the period they fought the Japanese (for obvious reasons). Many mainlanders consider the KMT ‘betrayed’ by the third president who was a former IJA officer that essentially destroyed the military dictatorship (if you want to know more google ‘the white terror’) and allowed the greens to enter politics. As an example recently a movie about the heroic last stand of a KMT garrison in Shanghai against the Imperial Japanese Army became a blockbuster hit in mainland theaters.