The China-Taiwan relationship has been deeply influenced by path dependency, structural shifts in great power politics, and partisan struggles across the Taiwan Strait. One may wonder, what had suddenly changed between 2008 and 2010 to make a landmark free trade deal possible between the archrivals? Why was it signed despite domestic opposition? How did these rivals embrace each other economically when they still harbored significant political differences? Will this economically beneficial agreement to Taiwan come at a political cost? How will this deal influence East Asian regional economic integration, especially between Northeast Asia and ASEAN?