When did Taiwan separate from China?

The correct answer is 1949. This year marks the end of the Chinese Civil War, when the Kuomintang (KMT) government, led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to Taiwan and established the Republic of China (ROC) there. Concurrently, the Communist Party of China, under Mao Zedong, established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. This event created the political separation between Taiwan and mainland China that persists today.

• 1966 was the start of the Cultural Revolution in mainland China.
• 1989 is associated with the Tiananmen Square protests.
• 1999 was when Macau was handed over to China.

None of these later dates relate to Taiwan's foundational separation.