The majority of the American public supports a range of U.S. policies in support of Taiwan, including its independence and sending troops to the self-ruled island if China invades, according to a recent poll. For the first time, a slim majority (52 percent) of Americans now favor sending U.S. troops to defend Taiwan according to a poll from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released on Aug. 26. The poll, conducted in July, stemmed from a sample of over 2,000 U.S. adults from 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. “This is the highest level ever recorded in the Council’s surveys dating back to 1982, when the question was first asked,” according to the report (pdf). Taiwan is a de facto independent country with its own military, currency, and democratically-elected government. The Chinese regime, however, claims the island as its own and sees it as a renegade province that …