History of Taiwan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the history of Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

(including Penghu). For history of the polity which currently governs Taiwan, see history of the Republic of China.

Taiwan (excluding Penghu) was first populated by Negrito

Negrito

The Negrito are a class of several ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia.Their current populations include 12 Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, six Semang peoples of Malaysia, the Mani of Thailand, and the Aeta, Agta, Ati, and 30 other peoples of the Philippines....

, and then Austronesian people

Austronesian people

The Austronesian-speaking peoples are various populations in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speak languages of the Austronesian family. They include Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia,...

. It was colonized by the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Han Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

including Hakka

Hakka people

The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

immigrants from areas of Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

and Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

of mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, across the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

. The Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

also built a settlement in the north for a brief period, but were driven out by the Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

in 1642. The Chinese name of the island is "台灣" ("Taiwan", derived from an aborigine term), and in the past (from the 16th century) has been called Formosa (from Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

Ilha Formosa, " Beautiful Island") by the west.

In 1662, Koxinga

Koxinga

Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...

(Zheng Cheng-gong), a loyalist of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

, which had lost control of mainland China in 1644, defeated the Dutch and established a base of operations on the island. Zheng's forces were later defeated by the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

in 1683. From then, parts of Taiwan became increasingly integrated into the Qing Dynasty before it ceded the island along with Penghu to the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

in 1895 following the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

. Taiwan produced rice and sugar to be exported to Empire of Japan and also served as a base for the Japanese colonial expansion into Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Japanese imperial education was implemented in Taiwan and many Taiwanese also fought for Japan during the war.

In 1945, following the end of World War II

World War II

, the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

(ROC) led by the Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

(KMT) became the governing polity on Taiwan. In 1949, after losing control of mainland China following the Chinese civil war

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, the ROC government under the KMT withdrew to Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

declared martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

. Japan formally renounced all territorial rights to Taiwan in 1952 in the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The KMT ruled Taiwan as a single-party state for forty years, until democratic reforms were mandated during the final year of authoritarian rule under Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...

. The reforms were promulgated under Chiang's successor, Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...

, which culminated in the first ever direct presidential election in 1996. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...

was elected the president, becoming the first non-KMT president on Taiwan. The 2008 election of President Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...

marked the second peaceful transfer of power, this time back to the KMT.

Prehistoric settlement

Taiwan is estimated by anthropologists to have been populated for approximately 30,000 years. Little is known about the original inhabitants, but distinctive jadeware, and corded pottery of the Changpin, Beinan and Tapenkeng (Dapenkeng) cultures show a marked diversity in the island's early inhabitants. Hemp

Hemp

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

fibre imprints have been found in pottery shards over 10,000 years old in Taiwan. Taiwan's aboriginal peoples are classified as belonging to the Austronesian ethno-linguistic group of people, a linguistic group that stretches as far west as Madagascar, and even as far as Easter Island

Easter Island

Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...

in the east and to New Zealand in the south with Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

as the northern most point. Even if there is evidence (e.g.) that speakers of pre-Proto-Austronesian migrated from the South Chinese mainland to Taiwan at some time around 8,000 years ago, it is believed that Austronesian culture on Taiwan began about 6,000 years ago and spread to the entire region now encompassed by the Austronesian languages .

History of the indigenous peoples

Indigenous Taiwanese or indigenous peoples are the native peoples of Taiwan

Taiwan

. Their ancestors are believed to have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese

Han Chinese

immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

began in the 17th century. The Taiwanese Aborigines are Austronesian people

Austronesian people

s, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Malaysia, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

and Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were traditionally distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. Today, the bulk of the contemporary Taiwanese Aborigine population reside in the mountains and the cities. The issue of an ethnic identity

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

unconnected to the Asian mainland has become one thread in the discourse regarding the political identity of Taiwan

Taiwan

. The total population of Aborigines on Taiwan is around 458,000 as of January 2006, which is approximately 2% of Taiwan's population.

For centuries Taiwan's indigenous peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of conquering peoples. As a result of these intercultural dynamics, as well as more dispassionate economic processes, many of these tribes have been linguistically and culturally assimilated

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

. The result has been varying degrees of language death

Language death

In linguistics, language death is a process that affects speech communities where the level of linguistic competence that speakers possess of a given language variety is decreased, eventually resulting in no native and/or fluent speakers of the variety...

and loss of original cultural identity

Cultural identity

Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....

. For example, of the approximately 26 known languages of the Taiwanese Aborigines (collectively referred to as the Formosan languages

Formosan languages

The Formosan languages are the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Taiwanese aborigines currently comprise about 2% of the island's population. However, far fewer can still speak their ancestral language, after centuries of language shift...

), at least ten are extinct, another five are moribund and several others are to some degree endangered. These languages are of unique historical significance, since most historical linguists

Historical linguistics

Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...

consider Taiwan as the original homeland of the Austronesian

Austronesian languages

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...

language family.

Today the indigenous peoples of Taiwan face economic and social barriers, including a high unemployment rate and substandard education. They have been actively seeking a higher degree of self-determination and economic development since the early 1980s. In 1996 the Council of Indigenous Peoples

Council of Indigenous Peoples

The Council of Indigenous Peoples , a ministry-level body under the Executive Yuan in Taiwan, was established in 1996 to provide a central point of government supervision for indigenous affairs, as well as a central interface for the Taiwan's indigenous community to interact...

was promoted to a ministry-level rank within the Executive Yuan

Executive Yuan

The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China , commonly known as "Taiwan".-Organization and structure:...

. A revival of ethnic pride has been expressed in many ways by aborigines, including incorporating elements of their culture into commercially successful pop music. Efforts are underway by indigenous communities to revive traditional cultural practices and preserve their languages. The aboriginal tribes have also become extensively involved in the tourism and eco-tourism industries.

Original Negrito Inhabitants

A festival celebrated by the Saisiyat suggests the early habitation of negrito

Negrito

s in Taiwan. The Saisiyat tribe celebrate the black people in a festival called Ritual of the Little Black People

Pas-ta'ai

Pas-ta'ai, the Ritual to the Short People, is a ritual of the Saisiyat people, a Taiwan aboriginal people of Taiwan. It commemorates a tribe of the "Little Black People" who they say used to live near to them, which some anthropologists believe may have been a tribe of Negritos who may have lived...

(矮靈祭). Migrant Austronesians, who are called aborigines today, are estimated to have arrived 6000 to 1000 years ago from the Malay Archipelago

Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....

. After the arrival of the Austronesians, the negrito population declined, with the last group living nearly 100 years ago near the Saisiyat tribe. According to Saisiyat legend, the Saisiyat and the negritos coexisted peacefully until the negritos started molesting aboriginal women. In response, the Saisiyat decimated the negrito population by destroying a bridge that many of them were crossing, leaving only two survivors. The remaining negritos threatened the Saisiyat with curses and crop failure if they were to forget them, passing down songs and culture by which to remember the "little black people".

Early history

Confusion between Taiwan being rumored as the fabled "Island of Dogs," "Island of Women," or any of the other fabled island thought, by Han literati, to lie beyond the seas, Taiwan was officially regarded by Qing

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

Emperor Kangxi as "a ball of mud beyond the pale of civilization" and did not appear on any map of the imperial domain until 1683. The act of presenting a map to the emperor was equal to presenting the lands of the empire. It took several more years before the Qing court would recognize Taiwan as part of the Qing realm. Prior to the Qing Dynasty, China was conceived as a land bound by mountains, rivers and seas. The idea of an island as a part of China was unfathomable to the Han prior to the Qing frontier expansion effort of the 17th Century.

Dutch and Spanish rule

Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

sailors, passing Taiwan in 1544, first jotted in a ship's log the name of the island "Ilha Formosa", meaning Beautiful Island. In 1582 the survivors of a Portuguese shipwreck spent ten weeks battling malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

and Aborigines before returning to Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

on a raft.

Dutch

Netherlands

traders, in search of an Asian base first arrived on the island in 1623 to use the island as a base for Dutch commerce with Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

and the coastal areas of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The Spanish

Spain

and allies established a settlement at Santissima Trinidad, building Fort San Salvador on the northwest coast of Taiwan near Keelung

Keelung

Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...

in 1626 which they occupied until 1642 when they were driven out by a joint Dutch-Aborigine invasion force. They also built a fort in Tamsui (1628) but had already abandoned it by 1638. The Dutch later erected Fort Anthonio on the site in 1642, which still stands (now part of the Fort San Domingo museum complex). The Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

(VOC) administered the island and its predominantly aboriginal population until 1662, setting up a tax system, schools to teach romanized script of aboriginal languages and evangelizing. Although its control was mainly limited to the western plain of the island, the Dutch systems were adopted by succeeding occupiers. The first influx of migrants from coastal Fujian came during the Dutch period, in which merchants and traders from the mainland Chinese coast sought to purchase hunting licenses from the Dutch or hide out in aboriginal villages to escape the Qing authorities. Most of the immigrants were young single males who were discouraged from staying on the island often referred to by Han as "The Gate of Hell" for its reputation in taking the lives of sailors and explorers.

The Dutch originally sought to use their castle Zeelandia

Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)

Fort Zeelandia was a fortress built over ten years from 1624–1634 by the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, in the town of Anping on the island of Formosa, present day Taiwan, during their 38-year rule over the western part of it...

at Tayowan as a trading base between Japan and China, but soon realized the potential of the huge deer populations that roamed in herds of thousands along the alluvial plains of Taiwan's western regions. Deer were in high demand by the Japanese who were willing to pay top dollar for use of the hides in samurai armor. Other parts of the deer were sold to Han traders for meat and medical use. The Dutch paid aborigines for the deer brought to them and tried to manage the deer stocks to keep up with demand. The Dutch also employed Han to farm sugarcane and rice for export, some of these rice and sugarcane products reached as far as the markets of Persia. Unfortunately the deer the aborigines had relied on for their livelihoods began to disappear forcing the aborigines to adopt new means of survival. The Dutch built a second administrative castle on the main island of Taiwan in 1633 and set out to earnestly turn Taiwan into a Dutch colony. The first order of business was to punish villages that had violently opposed the Dutch and unite the aborigines in allegiance with the VOC. The first punitive expedition was against the villages of Baccloan and Mattauw, north of Saccam near Tayowan. The Mattauw campaign had been easier than expected and the tribe submitted after having their village razed by fire. The campaign also served as a threat to other villages from Tirossen (modern Chiayi

Chiayi

-Administration:-City attractions:*Chiayi Park*Sun Shooting Tower *Lantan *Historic Archives Building of Chiayi City*University of Chiayi*Chiayi Museum...

) to Lonkjiaow (Heng Chun). The 1636 punitive attack on Lamay Island (Hsiao Liuchiu) in response to the killing of the shipwrecked crew of the Beverwijck and the Golden Lion ended ten years later with the entire aboriginal population of 1100 removed from the island including 327 Lamayans killed in a cave, having been trapped there by the Dutch and suffocated in the fumes and smoke pumped into the cave by the Dutch and their allied aborigines from Saccam, Soulang and Pangsoya. The men were forced into slavery in Batavia (Java) and the women and children became servants and wives for the Dutch officers. The events on Lamay changed the course of Dutch rule to work closer with allied aborigines, though there remained plans to depopulate the outlying islands.

Ming loyalist rule

Manchu forces broke through Shanhai Pass

Shanhai Pass

Shanhai Pass , or Shanhaiguan, along with Jiayu Pass and Juyong Pass, is one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei. In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a site of China First Class National Cultural Site.It is a popular tourist destination,...

in 1644 and rapidly overwhelmed the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

. In 1661, a naval fleet led by the Ming loyalist Koxinga

Koxinga

, arrived in Taiwan to oust the Dutch from Zeelandia

Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)

and establish a pro-Ming base in Taiwan.

Koxinga was born to Zheng Zhilong

Zheng Zhilong

Zheng Zhilong also known as Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, a native of Nan'an, Fujian, China. He was a Chinese merchant, pirate and admiral for the Ming Empire. He was the father of Zheng Chenggong , also a military leader. Under the Qing Dynasty, Zheng was elevated to the rank of Count of the Second Rank...

, a Chinese merchant and pirate, and Tagawa Matsu

Tagawa Matsu

Tagawa Matsu , or Weng-shi , was the mother of Koxinga, a Chinese national hero, and Tagawa Shichizaemon , a servant to a Japanese feudal lord. She was a Nagasaki Japanese who lived most of her life in the coastal town of Hirado, then later migrated to China...

, a Japanese woman, in 1624 in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture

Nagasaki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

, Japan

Japan

. He was raised there until seven and moved to Quanzhou

Quanzhou

Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...

, in the Fujian

Fujian

province of China. In a family made wealthy from shipping and piracy, Koxinga inherited his father's trade networks, which stretched from Nagasaki to Macao. Following the Manchu advance on Fujian

Fujian

, Koxinga retreated from his stronghold in Amoy (Xiamen

Xiamen

Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...

) and besieged Taiwan

Taiwan

in the hope of establishing a strategic base to marshal his troops to retake his base at Amoy. In 1662, following a nine month siege, Koxinga captured the Dutch fortress Zeelandia

Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)

and Taiwan

Taiwan

became his base (see Kingdom of Tungning

Kingdom of Tungning

The Kingdom of Tungning was a government that ruled Taiwan between 1661 and 1683. A pro-Ming Dynasty state, it was founded by Koxinga after the Ming government in mainland China was replaced by the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty...

). Concurrently the last Ming pretender had been captured and killed by General Wu Sangui

Wu Sangui

Wu Sangui was a Ming Chinese general who was instrumental in the succession of rule to the Qing Dynasty in 1644...

, extinguishing any hope Koxinga may have had of re-establishing the Ming Empire. He died four months thereafter in a fit of madness after learning of the cruel killings of his father and brother at the hands of the Manchus. Other accounts are more straightforward, attributing Koxinga's death to a case of malaria

Malaria

Qing Dynasty rule

In 1683, following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang

Shi Lang

Shi Lang was a Chinese admiral who served under the Ming and Qing Dynasties. He was commander-in-chief of the Manchu fleets which destroyed the power of the Zheng family in the 1660s, and led the conquest of the Kingdom of Tungning in 1681.-Early life and career:Shi Lang was born to a...

, one of Koxinga's father's trusted friends, Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang submitted to Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

control.

Despite the expense of the military and diplomatic campaign that brought Taiwan into the imperial realm, the general sentiment in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

was ambivalent. The point of the campaign had been to destroy the Zheng-family regime, not to conquer the island. Qing

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

Emperor Kangxi expressed the sentiment that Taiwan was "the size of a pellet; taking it is no gain; not taking it is no loss" (彈丸之地。得之無所加，不得無所損). His ministers counseled that the island was "a ball of mud beyond the sea, adding nothing to the breadth of China" (海外泥丸，不足為中國加廣), and advocated removing all the Chinese to mainland China and abandoning the island. It was only the campaigning of admiral Shi Lang

Shi Lang

and other supporters that convinced the Emperor not to abandon Taiwan. Koxinga's followers were forced to depart from Taiwan to the more unpleasant parts of Qing controlled land. By 1682 there were only 7000 Chinese left on Taiwan as they had intermarried with aboriginal women and had property in Taiwan. The Koxinga reign had continued the tax systems of the Dutch, established schools and religious temples.

From 1683, the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

ruled Taiwan

Taiwan

as a prefecture

Prefecture

A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...

and in 1875 divided the island into two prefectures, north and south. In 1885, the island was made into a separate Chinese province.

The Qing authorities tried to limit immigration to Taiwan and barred families from traveling to Taiwan to ensure the immigrants would return to their families and ancestral graves. Illegal immigration continued, but many of the men had few prospects in war weary Fujian and thus married locally, resulting in the idiom "Tangshan (Chinese) grandfather no Tangshan grandmother" (有唐山公無唐山媽). The Qing tried to protect aboriginal land claims, but also sought to turn them into tax paying subjects. Chinese and tax paying aborigines were barred from entering the wilderness which covered most of the island for the fear of raising the ire of the non taxpaying, highland aborigines and inciting rebellion. A border was constructed along the western plain, built using pits and mounds of earth, called "earth cows", to discourage illegal land reclamation

Land reclamation

Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...

.

From 1683 to around 1760, the Qing government limited immigration to Taiwan. Such restriction was relaxed following the 1760s and by 1811 there were more than two million Chinese immigrants on Taiwan. In 1875 the Taipei government (台北府) was established, under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. Also, there had been various conflicts between Chinese immigrants. Most conflicts were between Han from Fujian and Han from Guangdong, between people from different areas of Fujian, between Han and Hakka settlers, or simply between people of different surnames engaged in clan feuds. Because of the strong provincial loyalties held by these immigrants, the Qing government felt Taiwan was somewhat difficult to govern. Taiwan was also plagued by foreign invasions. In 1840 Keelung

Keelung

was invaded by the British in the Opium War, and in 1884 the French invaded as part of the Sino-French War

Sino-French War

The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...

. Because of these incursions, the Qing government began constructing a series of coastal defenses and on 12 October 1885 Taiwan was made a province, with Liu Mingchuan

Liu Mingchuan

Liu Mingchuan was a Chinese official during the Qing dynasty. He adopted a style name of Xingsan . Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping rebellion at an early age, and worked closely with Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang as he emerged as an important Huai Army officer...

serving as the first governor. He divided Taiwan into eleven counties and tried to improve relations with the aborigines. He also developed a railway from Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

to Hsinchu

Hsinchu

Hsinchu City is a city in northern Taiwan. Hsinchu is popularly nicknamed "The Windy City" for its windy climate.Hsinchu City is administered as a special municipality within Taiwan . The city is bordered by Hsinchu County to the north and east, Miaoli County to the south, and the Taiwan Strait...

, established a mine in Keelung, and built an arsenal to improve Taiwan's defensive capability against foreigners.

Following a shipwreck of a Ryūkyūan vessel on the southeastern tip of Taiwan in winter of 1871, in which the heads of 54 crew members were taken by the aboriginal Taiwanese Paiwan people in Mutan village (牡丹社), the Japan

Japan

ese sought to use this incident as a pretext to have the Qing formally acknowledge Japanese sovereignty over the Ryuku islands as a Japanese prefecture and to test reactions to potential expansion into Taiwan. According to records from Japanese documents, Mao Changxi (毛昶熙) and Dong Xun (董恂), the Qing ministers at Zongli Yamen

Zongli Yamen

Zongli Yamen was the government body in charge of foreign affairs in imperial China during the late Qing dynasty. It was established by Prince Gong in 1861, following the Convention of Peking. It was abolished in 1901 and replaced with a Foreign Office of ministry rank.The former site of the...

(總理衙門) who handled the complaints from Japanese envoy Yanagihara Sakimitsu (柳原前光) replied first that they had heard only of a massacre of Ryūkyūans

Ryukyuans

The are the indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands between the islands of Kyūshū and Taiwan. The generally recognized subgroups of Ryukyuans are Amamians, Okinawans, Miyakoans, Yaeyamans, and Yonagunians. Geographically, they live in either Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture...

, not of Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

, and quickly noted that Ryūkyū

Ryukyu Kingdom

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...

was under Chinese suzerainty, therefore this issue was not Japan's business. In addition, the governor-general of the Qing province Fujian

Fujian

had rescued the survivors of the massacre and returned them safely to Ryūkyū. The Qing authorities explained that there were two kinds of aborigines on Taiwan: those governed by the Qing, and those unnaturalized "raw barbarians... beyond the reach of Qing government and customs." They indirectly hinted that foreigners traveling in those areas settled by indigenous people must exercise caution. After the Yanagihara-Yamen interview, the Japanese took their explanation to mean that the Qing government had not opposed Japan's claims to sovereignty over the Ryūkyū Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

, disclaimed any jurisdiction over Aboriginal Taiwanese, and had indeed consented to Japan's expedition to Taiwan. The Qing Dynasty made it clear to the Japanese that Taiwan was definitely within Qing jurisdiction, even though part of that island's aboriginal population was not yet under the influence of Chinese culture. The Qing also pointed to similar cases all over the world where an aboriginal population within a national boundary was not completely subjugated by the dominant culture of that country.

The Japanese nevertheless launched an expedition

Taiwan Expedition of 1874

The , usually referred to in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan incident , was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines near the southwestern tip of Taiwan in December 1871...

to Mutan village with a force of 2000 soldiers in 1874. The number of casualties for the Paiwan was about 30, and that for the Japanese was 543; 12 Japanese soldiers were killed in battle and 531 by disease. Eventually, the Japanese withdrew just before the Qing Dynasty sent 3 divisions of forces (9000 soldiers) to reinforce Taiwan. This incident caused the Qing to re-think the importance of Taiwan in their maritime defense strategy and greater importance was placed on gaining control over the wilderness regions.

On the eve of the Sino-Japanese War about 45 percent of the island was administered under direct Qing administration while the remaining was lightly populated by Aborigines

Taiwanese aborigines

Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...

. In a population of around 2.5 million, about 2.3 million were Han Chinese

Han Chinese

and the remaining two hundred thousand were classified as members of various indigenous tribes.

As part of the settlement for losing the Sino-Japanese War, The Qing empire ceded the island of Taiwan and Penghu to Japan

Japan

on 17 April 1895, according to the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

The Treaty of Shimonoseki , known as the Treaty of Maguan in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895...

. The loss of Taiwan would become a rallying point for the Chinese nationalist movement in the years that followed.

Japanese rule

Japan had sought to claim sovereignty over Taiwan (known to them as Takasago Koku) since 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

undertook a policy of overseas expansion and extending Japanese influence southward, to the west, was invaded and an attempt to invade Taiwan and subsequent invasion attempts were to be unsuccessful due mainly to disease and attacks by aborigines on the island. In 1609, the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

sent Harunobu Arima on an exploratory mission of the island. In 1616, Murayama Toan

Murayama Toan

Murayama Tōan Antonio was a 17th-century Japanese Governor of the city of Nagasaki . He was born in Nagoya from a humble background, and he was a Christian...

led an unsuccessful invasion of the island. The Mudan Incident of 1871 occurred when an Okinawan vessel shipwrecked on the southern tip of Taiwan and the crew of 54 were beheaded by Paiwan Aborigines. When Japan sought compensation from Qing China, the court rejected compensation on the account that they didn't have jurisdiction over the island. This was to lead to Japan testing the situation for colonizing the island and in 1874 an expedition force of 3,000 (or 2,000) troops were sent to the island, but were not able to take it. It was not until the defeat of the Chinese navy during the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

in 1894-95 for Japan to finally realize possession of Taiwan and the shifting of Asian dominance from China to Japan. The Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

was signed on 17 April 1895, ceding Taiwan and Penghu over to Japan, which would rule the island for 50 years until its defeat in World War II

World War II

.

After receiving sovereignty of Taiwan, the Japanese feared military resistance from both Taiwanese and Aborigines who followed the establishment by the local elite of the short-lived Republic of Formosa

Republic of Formosa

The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its invasion and occupation by Japanese troops...

. Taiwan's elite hoped that by declaring themselves a republic the world would not stand by and allow a sovereign state to be invaded by the Japanese, thereby allying with the Qing. The plan quickly turned to chaos as standard Green troops and ethnic Yue soldiers took to looting and pillage. Given the choice between chaos at the hands of Chinese or submission to the Japanese, the Taipei elite sent Koo Hsien-jung

Koo Hsien-jung

Koo Hsien-jung was a Taiwanese businessman and politician who enjoyed strong links to the Japanese colonial administration of Taiwan. He founded the Koos Group of companies, the largest business group in Taiwan....

to Keelung to invite the advancing Japanese forces to proceed to Taipei and restore order.

Armed resistance was sporadic, yet at times fierce, but was largely crushed by 1902, although relatively minor rebellions occurred in subsequent years, including the Ta-pa-ni incident of 1915 in Tainan county. Nonviolent means of resistance began to take place of armed rebellions and the most prominent organization was the Taiwanese Cultural Association

Taiwanese Cultural Association

The Taiwanese Cultural Association , founded 1921-10-17, was an important organization during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. Founded by Chiang Wei-shui in Dadaocheng, Taipei....

(台灣文化協會), founded in 1921. Taiwanese resistance was caused by several different factors (e.g., the Taishō Democracy). Some were goaded by Chinese nationalism, while others contained nascent Taiwanese self-determination. Rebellions were often caused by a combination of the effects of unequal colonial policies on local elites and extant millenarian beliefs of the local Taiwanese and plains Aborigines. Aboriginal resistance to the heavy-handed Japanese policies of acculturation and pacification lasted up until the early 1930s. The last major Aboriginal rebellion, the Musha Uprising (Wushe Uprising) in late 1930 by the Atayal people angry over their treatment while laboring in the burdensome job of camphor extraction, launched the last headhunting party in which over 150 Japanese officials were killed and beheaded during the opening ceremonies of a school. The uprising, led by Mona Rudao

Mona Rudao

Mona Rudao, or Mouna Rudao was the son of a chief of the Seediq tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. In 1911, he made a visit to Japan...

, was crushed by 2,000-3,000 Japanese troops and Aboriginal auxiliaries with the help of poison gas.

Japanese colonization of the island fell under three stages. It began with an oppressive period of crackdown and paternalistic rule, then a dōka (同化) period of aims to treat all people (races) alike proclaimed by Taiwanese Nationalists who were inspired by the Self-Determination of Nations (民族自決) proposed by Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and finally, during World War II, a period of kōminka (皇民化), a policy which aimed to turn Taiwanese into loyal subjects of the Japanese emperor.

Reaction to Japanese rule among the Taiwanese populace differed. Some felt that the safety of personal life and property was of utmost importance and went along with the Japanese colonial authorities. The second group of Taiwanese were eager to become imperial subjects, believing that such action would lead to equal status with Japanese nationals. The third group was influenced Taiwan independence

Taiwan independence

Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...

and tried to get rid of the Japanese colonials to establish a native Taiwanese rule. The fourth group on the other hand were influenced by Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...

and fought for the return of Taiwan to Chinese rule. From 1897 onwards the latter group staged many rebellions, the most famous one being led by Luo Fuxing (羅福星), who was arrested and executed along with two hundred of his comrades in 1913. Luo himself was a member of the Tongmenghui

Tongmenghui

The Tongmenghui, also known as the Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance and United Allegiance Society, was a secret society and underground resistance movement formed when merging many Chinese revolutionary groups together by Sun Yat-sen, Song...

, an organization founded by Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

and was the precursor to the Kuomintang

Kuomintang

Initial infrastructural development took place quickly. The Bank of Taiwan

Bank of Taiwan

The Bank of Taiwan is a bank headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China . It is administered and owned by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.-History:...

was established in 1899 to encourage Japanese private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

s, including Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

and the Mitsui Group

Mitsui

is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...

, to invest in Taiwan. In 1900, the third Taiwan Governor-General passed a budget which initiated the building of Taiwan's railroad system from Kirun (Keelung

Keelung

) to Takao (Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

). By 1905 the island had electric power supplied by water power in Sun-Moon Lake, and in subsequent years Taiwan was considered the second-most developed region of East Asia (after Japan). By 1905, Taiwan was financially self-sufficient and had been weaned off of subsidies from Japan's central government.

Under the governor Shimpei Goto's rule, many major public works projects were completed. The Taiwan rail system

Rail transport in Taiwan

Taiwan has an extensive network of railways . Though no longer as dominant as it once was, Taiwan's high population density continues to make rail transport an extremely important form of transportation, especially along the densely populated western corridor...

connecting the south and the north and the modernizations of Kirun (Keelung

Keelung

) and Takao (Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung

) ports were completed to facilitate transport and shipping of raw material and agricultural products. Exports increased by fourfold. 55% of agricultural land was covered by dam-supported irrigation systems. Food production had increased fourfold and sugar cane production had increased 15-fold between 1895 to 1925 and Taiwan became a major foodbasket serving Japan's industrial economy. The health care system was widely established and infectious diseases were almost completely eradicated. The average lifespan for a Taiwanese resident would become 60 years by 1945.

In October 1935, the Governor-General of Taiwan held an "Exposition to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Beginning of Administration in Taiwan," which served as a showcase for the achievements of Taiwan's modernization process under Japanese rule. This attracted worldwide attention, including the Republic of China's KMT regime which sent the Japanese-educated Chen Yi

Chen Yi (Kuomintang)

Chen Yi and later Gongqia , sobriquet Tuisu ; 1883 – June 18, 1950) was the Chief Executive and Garrison Commander of Taiwan after it was surrendered by Japan to the Republic of China, which acted on behalf of the Allied Powers, in 1945...

to attend the affair. He expressed his admiration about the efficiency of Japanese government in developing Taiwan, and commented on how lucky the Taiwanese were to live under such effective administration. Somewhat ironically, Chen Yi would later become the ROC's first Chief Executive of Taiwan, who would be infamous for the corruption that occurred under his watch.

The later period of Japanese rule saw a local elite educated and organized. During the 1930s several home rule groups were created at a time when others around the world sought to end colonialism. In 1935, the Taiwanese elected their first group of local legislators. By March 1945, the Japanese legislative branch hastily modified election laws to allow Taiwanese representation in the Japanese Diet.
As Japan embarked on full-scale war in China in 1937, it expanded Taiwan's industrial capacity to manufacture war material. By 1939, industrial production had exceeded agricultural production in Taiwan. At the same time, the "kominka" imperialization project was put under way to instill the "Japanese Spirit" in Taiwanese residents, and ensure the Taiwanese would remain loyal subjects of the Japanese Emperor ready to make sacrifices during wartime. Measures including Japanese-language education, the option of adopting Japanese names, and the worship of Japanese religion were instituted. In 1943, 94% of the children received 6-year compulsory education. From 1937 to 1945, 126,750 Taiwanese joined and served in the military of the Japanese Empire, while a further 80,433 were conscripted between 1942 to 1945. Of the sum total, 30,304, or 15%, died in Japan's war in Asia.

The Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

operated heavily out of Taiwan. The "South Strike Group" was based out of the Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University) in Taiwan. Many of the Japanese forces participating in the Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa

Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa

The Aerial Battle of the Taiwan Seas took place between October 12 and 16, 1944, off the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, and was fought by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the approaching Task Force 38 of the United States Third Fleet and was one of a series of Air raids on Japan...

were based in Taiwan. Important Japanese military bases and industrial centers throughout Taiwan, like Takao (now Kaohsiung), were targets of heavy American bombing.

In 1942, after the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

entered in war against Japan and on the side of China, the Chinese government under the KMT renounced all treaties signed with Japan before that date and made Taiwan's return to China (as with Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...

) one of the wartime objectives. In the Cairo Declaration

Cairo Declaration

The Cairo Declaration was the outcome of the Cairo Conference in Cairo, Egypt, on November 27, 1943. President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China were present...

of 1943, the Allied Powers declared the return of Taiwan

Taiwan

to China as one of several Allied demands. In 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered with signing of the instrument of surrender

Japanese Instrument of Surrender

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that enabled the Surrender of Japan, marking the end of World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist...

and ended its rule in Taiwan as the territory was put under the administrative control of the Republic of China government in 1945 by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Per the provisions in Article 2 of San Francisco Peace Treaty, the Japanese formally renounced the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu islands, and the treaty was signed in 1951 and came into force in 1952. As of the moment when the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force, the political status of Taiwan and Penghu Islands were still uncertain. The Republic of China

Republic of China

and Japan

Japan

signed Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty on April 28, 1952 in Taipei

Taipei

and the treaty came into force on August 5. Writing in the American Journal of International Law, professors Jonathan I. Charney and J. R. V. Prescott argued that "none of the post–World War II peace treaties explicitly ceded sovereignty over the covered territories to any specific state or government."

Republic of China rule

Under martial laws

The Republic of China established Taiwan Provincial Government in September 1945 and proclaimed on October 25, 1945 as "Taiwan Retrocession Day

Retrocession Day

Retrocession Day is an annual observance in the Republic of China to commemorate the end of 50 years of Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan on October 25, 1945.-Background:...

." This is the day in which the Japanese troops surrendered. The validity of the proclamation is subject to some debate, with some supporters of Taiwan independence

Taiwan independence

arguing that it is invalid, and that the date only marks the beginning of military occupation

Military occupation

Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...

that persists to the present. During the immediate postwar period, the Kuomintang (KMT) administration on Taiwan was repressive and extremely corrupt compared with the previous Japanese rule, leading to local discontent. Anti-mainlander violence flared on February 28, 1947, prompted by an incident in which a cigarette seller was injured and a passerby was indiscriminately shot dead by Nationalist authorities. During the ensuing crackdown by the KMT administration in what became known as the 228 incident

228 Incident

The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...

, tens of thousands of people were killed, and the incident became a taboo

Taboo

A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

topic of discussion for the entire martial law

Martial law

era.

From the 1930s onward a civil war was underway in mainland China between Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

's ROC government and the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

led by Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

. When the civil war ended in 1949, 2 million refugees, predominantly from the Nationalist government, military, and business community, fled to Taiwan. On October 1, 1949 the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

(P.R.C.) was founded in mainland China by the victorious communists; several months before, Chiang Kai-shek had established a provisional ROC capital in Taipei

Taipei

and moved his government there from Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

. Under Nationalist rule, the mainlanders dominated the government and civil services.

Chiang Kai-shek died in April 1975, and was succeeded to the presidency by Yen Chia-kan

Yen Chia-kan

Yen Chia-kan , or Yen Chia-jin , better known as C. K. Yen, succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as President of the Republic of China upon Chiang's death on April 5, 1975. He served out the remainder of Chiang's term until May 20, 1978.-Biography:C. K...

while his son Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...

succeeded to the leadership of the Kuomintang (opting to take the title "Chairman" rather than the elder Chiang's title of "Director-General"). He set the stage that led to incredible economic successes of the territories starting in the mid 1980s. In 1987, Chiang ended martial law and allowed family visits to mainland China

Mainland China

. His administration saw a gradual loosening of political controls and opponents of the Nationalists were no longer forbidden to hold meetings or publish papers. Opposition political parties, though still illegal, were allowed to form. When the Democratic Progressive Party

Democratic Progressive Party

The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...

was established in 1986, President Chiang decided against dissolving the group or persecuting its leaders, but its candidates officially ran in elections as independents in the Tangwai movement.

In an effort of bringing more Taiwan-born citizens into government services, Chiang Ching-kuo hand-picked Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui

as vice-president of the Republic of China, first-in-the-line of succession to the presidency. However, it is unclear whether he was in favor of having Lee succeeding him as Chairman of the Nationalist Party.

Economic developments

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, post-war economic conditions compounded with the then-ongoing Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War

caused severe inflation

Inflation

In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

across mainland China and in Taiwan, made worse by disastrous currency reforms and corruption. This gave way to the reconstruction process and new reforms.

The KMT took control of Taiwan's monopolies that had been owned by the Japanese during colonial period. Approximately 91% of Taiwan's GNP

GNP

Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

was nationalized. Also, Taiwanese investors lost their claim to the Japanese bond certificates they possessed. These real estate holdings as well as American aid such as the China Aid Act and the Chinese-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction helped to ensure that Taiwan would recover quickly from war. The Kuomintang government also moved the entire gold reserve

Official gold reserves

A gold reserve is the gold held by a central bank or nation intended as a store of value and as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders , or trading peers, or to secure a currency....

from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, and used this reserve to back the newly-issued New Taiwan Dollar

New Taiwan dollar

The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...

to stabilize the new currency and put a stop to hyperinflation.

The KMT authorities implemented a far-reaching and highly successful land reform program on Taiwan during the 1950s. The 375 Rent Reduction Act alleviated tax burden on peasants and another act redistributed land among small farmers and compensated large landowners with commodities certificates and stock in state-owned industries. Although this left some large landowners impoverished, others turned their compensation into capital and started commercial and industrial enterprises. These entrepreneurs were to become Taiwan's first industrial capitalists. Together with businessmen who fled from mainland China, they once again revived Taiwan's prosperity previously ceased along with Japanese withdrawal and managed Taiwan's transition from an agricultural to a commercial, industrial economy.

From 1950 to 1965, Taiwan received a total of $1.5 billion in economic aid and $2.4 billion in military aid from the United States. In 1965 all American aid ceased when Taiwan had established a solid financial base. Having accomplished that, the government then adopted policies for building a strong export-driven economy, with state projects such as the Ten Major Construction Projects

Ten Major Construction Projects

The Ten Major Construction Projects were national infrastructure projects during the 1970s in Taiwan. The government believed the state lacked key utilities such as highways, seaports, airports, and power plants. Moreover, Taiwan was experiencing significant effects from the 1973 oil crisis...

that provided the infrastructure required for such ventures. Taiwan has developed steadily into a major international trading power with more than $218 billion in two-way trade and one of the highest foreign exchange reserves

Foreign exchange reserves

Foreign-exchange reserves in a strict sense are 'only' the foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, Special Drawing Rights and International Monetary Fund reserve positions...

in the world. Tremendous prosperity on the island was accompanied by economic and social stability. Taiwan's phenomenal economic development earned it a spot as one of the Four Asian Tigers.

Democratic reforms

Until the early 1970s, the Republic of China

Republic of China

was recognized as the sole legitimate government of China by the United Nations and most Western nations, refusing to recognize the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

on account of the Cold War. The KMT ruled Taiwan under martial law

Martial law

until the late 1980s, with the stated goal of being vigilant against Communist infiltration and preparing to retake mainland China. Therefore, political dissent was not tolerated.

The late 1970s and early 1980s were a turbulent time for Taiwanese as many of the people who had originally been oppressed and left behind by economic changes became members of the Taiwan's new middle class. Free enterprise had allowed native Taiwanese to gain a powerful bargaining chip in their demands for respect for their basic human rights. The Kaohsiung Incident

Kaohsiung Incident

The Kaohsiung Incident also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident or the Formosa Magazine incident was the result of pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on December 10, 1979....

would be a major turning point for democracy in Taiwan.

Taiwan also faced setbacks in the international sphere. In 1971, the ROC government walked out of the United Nations shortly before it recognized the PRC government in Beijing

Beijing

as the legitimate holder of China's seat in the United Nations. The ROC had been offered dual representation, but Chiang Kai-shek demanded to retain a seat on the UN Security Council, which was not acceptable to the PRC. Chiang expressed his decision in his famous "the sky is not big enough for two suns" speech. In October 1971, Resolution 2758

China and the United Nations

China's seat in the United Nations and membership of the United Nations Security Council was originally occupied by the Republic of China since October 24, 1945. During the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China repelled the government of the ROC from Mainland China to the island of...

was passed by the UN General Assembly and "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" (and thus the ROC) were expelled from the UN and replaced as "China" by the PRC. In 1979, the United States switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded by his son Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo

Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...

. When the younger Chiang came to power he began to liberalize the system. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party was formed. This organization was formed illegally, and inaugurated as the first party in opposition to Taiwan. This was formed to counter the KMT. Martial law was lifted one year later by Chiang Ching-kuo. Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui

Lee Teng-hui

, a Taiwanese born technocrat to be his Vice President. The move followed other reforms giving more power to Taiwanese born citizens and calmed anti-KMT sentiments during a period in which many other Asian autocracies were being shaken by People Power movements.

Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988. Chiang's successor, President Lee Teng-hui, continued to hand more government authority over to Taiwanese born citizens. He also began to democratize the government. Taiwan underwent a process of localization

Taiwanese localization movement

Taiwanization , also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China...

, under Lee. In this localization process, local culture and history was promoted over a pan-China viewpoint. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank instead of the usual Provincial Bank of Taiwan. He also largely suspended the operation of the Taiwan Provincial Government

Taiwan Province

Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...

. In 1991 the Legislative Yuan

Legislative Yuan

The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

and National Assembly

National Assembly of the Republic of China

The National Assembly of the Republic of China refers to several parliamentary bodies that existed in the Republic of China. The National Assembly was originally founded in 1913 as the first legislature in Chinese history, but was disbanded less than a year later as President Yuan Shikai assumed...

elected in 1947 were forced to resign. These groups was originally created to represent mainland China constituencies. Also lifted were the restrictions on the use of Taiwanese languages

Languages of Taiwan

The language with the most native speakers in Taiwan is Taiwanese Hokkien, or "Taiwanese" for short. Hokkien is a topolect of the Chinese family of languages originating in southern Fujian and is spoken by many overseas Chinese throughout Southeast Asia...

in the broadcast media and in schools.

However, Lee failed to crack down on the massive corruption that developed under authoritarian KMT party rule. Many KMT loyalists feel Lee betrayed the ROC by taking reforms too far, while other Taiwanese feel he did not take reforms far enough.

Democratic period

Lee ran as the incumbent in Taiwan's first direct presidential election in 1996 against DPP candidate and former dissident, Peng Min-ming. This election prompted the PRC to conduct a series of missile tests in the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate so that electorates would vote for other pro-unification candidates, Chen Li-an

Chen Li-an

Chen Li-an , sometimes spelled Chen Lu-an, is an electrical engineer, mathematician and former Taiwanese politician.-Biography:Son of former Vice President Chen Tsyr-shiou and earned his masters' and Ph.D. in mathematics from New York University. He had a close friendship with Wang Yung-ching, a...

and Lin Yang-kang

Lin Yang-kang

Lin Yang-kang is a politician in the Republic of China .-Biography:Born in Nantou County, Taiwan, Lin graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor of science degree...

. The aggressive tactic prompted U.S. President Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

to invoke the Taiwan Relations Act

Taiwan Relations Act

The Taiwan Relations Act is an act of the United States Congress passed in 1979 after the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and the breaking of relations between the United States and the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan by President Jimmy Carter...

and dispatch two aircraft carrier battle groups into the region off Taiwan's southern coast to monitor the situation, and PRC's missile tests were forced to end earlier than planned. This incident is known as the 1996 Taiwan Straits Crisis

Third Taiwan Strait Crisis

The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21, 1995 to March 23, 1996...

.

One of Lee's final acts as president was to declare on German radio that the ROC and the PRC have a special state to state relationship. Lee's statement was met with the PRC's People's Army conducting military drills in Fujian and a frightening island-wide blackout in Taiwan, causing many to fear an attack.

Peaceful change of political party in power

The 2000 presidential election

ROC presidential election, 2000

The Election for the 10th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China , the second ever direct elections for President and Vice President of the Republic of China on Taiwan and the 10th under the 1947 Constitution, were held on March 18, 2000...

marked the end of KMT rule. Opposition DPP

Democratic Progressive Party

candidate Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian

won a three way race that saw the Pan-Blue

Pan-Blue Coalition

The Pan-Blue Coalition 泛藍聯盟 or Pan-Blue Force is a political alliance in the Republic of China , consisting of the Kuomintang , the People First Party , and the New Party . The name comes from the party colours of the Kuomintang...

vote split between independent James Soong

James Soong

James Soong Chu-yu , is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....

and KMT candidate Lien Chan

Lien Chan

Lien Chan is a politician in Taiwan. He was Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 2000, and was the Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2000 to 2005...

. President Chen garnered 39% of the vote.
In 2004, President Chen was re-elected to a second four year term after an assassination attempt which occurred the day before the election. Two shots were fired, one bullet grazing the President's belly after penetrating the windshield of a jeep and multilayers of clothing, the other bullet penetrated the windshield and hitting the vice president's knee cast(She was wearing a knee cast due to an earlier injury). Police investigators have said that the most likely suspect is believed to have been Chen Yi-hsiung

Chen Yi-hsiung

Chen Yi-hsiung is the prime suspect in the 3-19 shooting incident, a failed attempt to assassinate the president of Taiwan Chen Shui-bian, and perhaps vice president Annette Lu, on 19 March 2004, one day prior to the 2004 presidential election...

, who was later found dead.

In 2007, President Chen proposed a policy of Four Wants and One Without

Four Wants and One Without

Four Wants and One Without or Four Yeses and One No is a policy proposed by the former president of the Republic of China , Chen Shui-bian, in a speech at a function of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs on March 4, 2007...

, which in substance states that Taiwan wants independence; Taiwan wants the rectification of its name; Taiwan wants a new constitution; Taiwan wants development; and Taiwanese politics is without the question of left or right, but only the question of unification or independence. The reception of this proposed policy in Taiwanese general public was unclear. It, however, was met with a cold reception by both the PRC and the United States. The PRC Foreign Minister emphasised that the Anti-Secession Law was not a piece of unenforceable legislation, while the US Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack described Chen's policy as "unhelpful".

The KMT retook the office of president when Ma Ying-jeou was elected in March 2008. The party also retained control of the legislature.

A spate of arrests of members of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has drawn allegations that the Beijing-friendly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which once ruled Taiwan under martial law, is back in the business of political repression.

The most controversial are the arrests on allegations of corruption of Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's former president; Chiou I-jen, a former National Security Council secretary-general; and Yeh Sheng-mao, former director-general of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau.

"I am extremely concerned about the political situation in Taiwan, and I am personally very angry at the way the current government is handling national affairs and the way our beloved Taiwan is heading: back to the authoritarian past," said Joseph Wu, former de facto ambassador of Republic of China to the United States under the Chen administration.

Potential futures

Though current politics are at an uneasy standstill, claims of legitimacy have been made by three different sides. The People's Republic of China stakes claim of the Taiwan Province and denounces the Taiwan independence movement, the Republic of China declares control and a return to mainland China while denouncing the independence movement, and the independence movement either denounces both governments' claims of control and proposes an independent Republic of Taiwan or proclaims that the Republic of China has become synonymous with Taiwan and that Taiwan as the Republic of China is a separate nation-state from China.

External links

Taiwan's 400 years of history, from "Taiwan, Ilha Formosa" (a pro-independence organization)
Reed Institute's Formosa Digital Library
History of Taiwan from FAPA (a pro-independence organization)
Taiwan History China Taiwan Information Center (PRC perspective)
Museum Fort San Domingo Exhibition in Tamsui about the Dutch history of Taiwan
Taiwan Memory-Digital Photo Museum Taiwan old photos digital museum plan
America and Taiwan, 1943-2004
Formosa Betrayed by George H. Kerr

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Prehistoric settlement

History of the indigenous peoples

Original Negrito Inhabitants

Early history

Dutch and Spanish rule

Ming loyalist rule

Qing Dynasty rule

Japanese rule

Republic of China rule

Under martial laws

Economic developments

Democratic reforms

Democratic period

Peaceful change of political party in power

Potential futures

See also

External links