Taiwan

A CIA map of Taiwan

Taiwan (also known as Formosa) is an island country in the western Pacific and east of China. It is the nationalist government of China since 1949. It is called the Republic of China (ROC) (also called Taiwan) which is a country comprising the island of Taiwan and nearby islands (Pescadores islands and parts of Fujian). The Chinese Nationalist government (Kuomintang also called KMT) moved to Taiwan after Communist armed force took over the capital. Currently, the Chinese Nationalist government governs Taiwan. Taiwan is southeast of the communist China, south of Japan, and north of the Philippines.

Formosa means "beautiful island" in Portuguese.

The largest cities on Taiwan are the capital of Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Most people living in Taiwan (sometimes called Taiwanese) are Han. There are also Taiwanese Aborigines who lived on Taiwan before the Han came to live there.

Taiwan has three large Han groups. They are different in language and places where their ancestors came from: the Southern Fujianese (from China's Fujian Province), the Hakka (from China), and Mainlanders (from Mainland China after 1948).

History

• 1517: A Portuguese ship sees the island and names it "Ilha Formosa", or "Beautiful Island" in Portuguese.
• 17th century: From 1624 until 1661 Dutch rule Taiwan's south and the Spanish rule the north. Before that time there were only native people living there. The Dutch drove away the Spaniards. A Chinese general named Koxinga, defeats and drives away the Dutch at the Siege of Fort Zeelandia.
• 1860: Taiwan becomes a treaty port following the Treaty of Tientsin, opening the island to contact with the world. European and American merchants use and trade (especially camphor).
• 1874: Japan invades southern Taiwan, seemingly to "punish" the aborigines there for the murder of ship-wrecked Okinawan fishermen in 1871, but actually to establishing a colony. Japanese forces withdraw later in the year after the Meiji and Qing empires nearly go to war.
• 1884-1885: Taiwan is blockaded by French navy during the Sino-Franco War.
• 1895: Qing China loses the First Sino-Japanese War and gives Taiwan to Japan.
• 1911: The Republic of China begins in China. This occurs after the Qing dynasty ends.
• 1945: Japan loses in World War II and gives up Taiwan and other colonial territories. China (ROC) takes Taiwan for the Allies.
• 1947: Taiwanese widely protest governmental corruption under the Nationalists. Chiang Kai-shek sends in the army to restore order, killing tens of thousands. Some Taiwanese begin the Taiwan independence movement.
• 1949:
  • Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) party and the Communist Party of China (CCP).
  • The Nationalists (KMT) lose the war, and escape to the island of Taiwan. They set up Taipei as the temporary capital of China (ROC).
  • The Communist Party of China (CCP) establishes Beijing as the capital of The People's Republic of China (PRC).
• 1979: The KMT government jails many democracy activists who opposed it (Kaohsiung Incident).
• 1986: The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is formed; it is the first party to form in the ROC other than the KMT. It remains illegal for several years, but the KMT government does not try to ban it.
• 1987: The KMT government lifts the martial law after almost 40 years.
• 2000: Chen Shui-bian (DPP) becomes president.
• 2004: Chen Shui-bian is re-elected after a controversial assassination attempt, in which many KMT-supporters believed, was staged by Chen. However, after unwillingness to cooperate about his medical records the investigation was inconclusive.

Status of Taiwan

There are two Chinese governments in the world: The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). PRC claims control over the island of Taiwan (which is also known as Taiwan province), which is why people want Taiwan to formally declare independence. Today, in reality, the PRC government controls mainland China, and the ROC government governs Taiwan. The PRC government has never occupied Taiwan. The ROC government occupied mainland China from 1911 to 1949, before losing control of mainland China to the communist PRC.

Today, people who live in Taiwan have different ideas. Although many Taiwanese think there is no freedom in China, there are still some Taiwanese want to be united again with China. But most of the people in Taiwan want to keep everything like it is now (independent), at least until China becomes free.

Today most countries of the world recognize the People's Republic of China as China. Even though Taiwan is not recognized by UN as a sovereign nation, most countries still have very close economic and cultural relationship with Taiwan. The government of China have said that if the people of Taiwan formally vote to become the Republic of Taiwan, they will invade Taiwan. So, there is now a situation where both sides are not making any big changes.

In March 2004, China's government passed a law that will allow China to invade Taiwan if the people of Taiwan vote to become the Republic of Taiwan. This law hurt the feelings of the people in Taiwan very much, especially since the government of China does not rule Taiwan. It has caused even more people in Taiwan to not want to be re-united with mainland China.

Other pages

• Political status of Taiwan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Taiwan