Diplomatic recognition
History

De facto recognition of states, rather than de jure, is rare. De jure recognition is stronger, while de facto recognition is more tentative and recognizes only that a government exercises control over a territory. An example of the difference is when the United Kingdom recognized the Soviet state de facto in 1921, but de jure only in 1924. Another example is the state of Israel in 1948, whose government was immediately recognized de facto by the United States and three days later de jure by the Soviet Union. Another example is the Republic of Indonesia which was whose government was recognized de facto by the Netherlands in 1946 and de jure by the international community in 1949. Also, the Republic of China, commonly known as " Taiwan ", is generally recognized as de facto independent and sovereign, but is not universally recognized as de jure independent due to the complex political status of Taiwan related to the United Nations' withdrawal of recognition in favor of the People's Republic of China in 1971.
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