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:This article discusses the history of Taiwan (including the Pescadores). For history of the polity which currently governs Taiwan, see history of the Republic of China. Taiwan (including the Pescadores) was first populated by Austronesian peoples. It was colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century, when influx of Han people from the continent across the Taiwan Strait took place. The Spanish later settled in the North for a brief period, but were driven out by the Dutch. In 1662, it became a base for Koxinga, a Ming loyalist. It was defeated by the Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty of China in 1683. The Qing Dynasty was forced to cede the island to Japan in 1895 after the 1st Sino-Japanese War. Then it was returned to the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945 after Japanese defeat in the 2nd World War. In 1949, after losing the Chinese mainland as a result of the Chinese civil war, the ROC government under the Kuomintang (KMT) withdrew to Taipei, which has been the seat of the government of the ROC ever since. History of the aboriginal peoples Main article: Taiwanese aborigines 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, Puyuma and Tapenkeng (Dapenkeng) cultures show a marked diversity in the island's early inhabitants. Today's 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, to Easter Island in the east and to New Zealand in the south with Taiwan as the northern most point. Austronesian culture on Taiwan begins about 4,000 B.C. Early history Several entries that may refer to Taiwan appear in Chinese historical records, but otherwise no records exist of Taiwan in the early period. Between 607 and 610, some generals of Sui Dynasty embarked on several military operations on Liuqiu (流求國), described in the Book of Sui (《隋書流求傳》). Many scholars think that the Liuqiu of the Sui Dynasty was what is the island of Taiwan. In 1292, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty tried to force minorities in Yizhou (夷州) to pay tribute. Between 1335 and 1340, Wang Dayuan (汪大渊) wrote a book (《岛夷志略》) which describes Liuqiu (琉求) after he had visited it. In 1375, the Ming Dynasty dispatched a delegation to the now Ryukyu Islands. Thereafter the Chinese referred to the Ryukyu Islands as "Liuqiu" (琉球) and an island south of the Ryukyu Islands as "little Liuqiu" (小琉球), which may be the island of Taiwan. Between 1403 and 1424, the great fleet of Ming Dynasty's admiral Zheng He possibly visited Taiwan. None of these records were definite (the earlier records being set in mythical or legendary contexts), and it was not certain that the island(s) referred to is indeed Taiwan. Permanent Chinese settlement on Penghu began in the 1100s but the same on the main island of Taiwan did not take place until several centuries later. Despite 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 Ching 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 Ching court would recognize Taiwan as part of the Ching realm. Prior to the Ching Dynasty, the Middle Kingdom was conceived as a land bound by mountains, rivers and seas. The idea of an island as a part of the Middle Kingdom was unfathomable to the Han Chinese prior to the Ching frontier expansion effort of the 17th Century. The presence of the Great Wall demonstrates some earlier concepts of "China's" borders in relation to the PRC's current holdings and claims. The "suspicious history" of Taiwan is often cited by Chinese nationalists to support their claim that "Taiwan has belonged to China since antiquity". Taiwanese nationalists do not regard these claims as valid. Japanese invasions Japan had sought to claim sovereignity over Taiwan (known as Takayama Koku) since 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi undertook a policy of overseas expansion and extending Japanese influence southward*. Korea, 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 sent Haruno Arima on an exploratory mission of the island. In 1616, Murayama Toan led an unsuccessful invasion of the island. In 1871, an Okinawan vessel shipwrecks on the southern tip of Taiwan and the crew of 54 were beheaded by the 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 troops were sent to the island. It was not until the defeat of the Chinese navy during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95 was Japan to finally realize possession of Taiwan and the shifting of Asian dominance from China to Japan. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed in 1895 ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores over to Japan, which would rule the island for 50 years until its defeat in World War II. Dutch and Spanish rule
Ming loyalist rule Main article: Kingdom of Tungning Manchu forces broke through Shanhai Pass in 1644 and rapidly overwhelmed the Ming Dynasty. In 1661, a naval fleet led by the Ming loyalist Koxinga, arrived in Taiwan to oust the Dutch from Zeelandia and establish a pro-Ming base in Taiwan. Koxinga, born in 1624 in Japan to Japanese mother and a Chinese father, Iquan, in a family made wealthy from shipping and piracy, inherited his father's trade networks, which stretched from Nagasaki to Macao. Following the Manchu advance on Fujian, Koxinga retreated from his stronghold in Amoy (Xiamen) and besieged 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 and Taiwan became his base (see Kingdom of Tungning). Concurrently the last Ming pretender had been captured and killed by General Wu Sangui, 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 simple, chalking up Koxinga's passing to a case of malaria. Qing Dynasty rule In 1683, following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang, one of Koxinga's father's trusted friends, Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang submitted to Manchu (Qing Dynasty) control. Koxinga's followers were forced to depart from Taiwan to the more unpleasant parts of Qing controlled land. By 1682 there were only 7000 Han 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 ruled Taiwan as a prefecture and in 1875 divided the island into two prefectures, north and south. In 1887 the island was made into a separate Chinese province. The Manchu authorities tried to limit immigration to Taiwan and barred families from travelling 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 "mainland grandfather no mainland 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. Han 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. Following a shipwreck of an Okinawan vessel on the southern tip of Taiwan in 1871, in which the heads of 54 crew members were taken by the Mu Dan (Paiwan) people, the Japanese sought to use this as a pretext to expand. The Qing Dynasty refused compensation on account of Okinawan people were not Japanese and this issue were not Japan's business. The Qing official, however, did state that some Taiwanese aborigine were not under the influence of Chinese Civilization and indirectly hinted that foreigners travelling in those areas settled by aborginal people must exercise caution. The Japanese claimed this was an indication that Taiwan was not part of China and the Japanese should have a free hand to include Taiwan into the Empire of Japan. The Qing Dynasty made it clear to the Japanese that Taiwan was definitely within Chinese jurisdiction, even though part of that island's aboriginal population was still not under the influence of Chinese Civilization. The Qing also pointed to similar cases all over the world where an aboriginal population within a national boundary was not under the influence of the dominant culture of that country. The Japanese nevertheless launched a expedition with an 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 as about Qing Dynasty sent 3 divisions of forces (9000 soldiers) to reinforce Taiwan. The Okinawan affair was more of a trial balloon sent up by the Japanese to test the situation on Taiwan for a possible colonization campaign of their own. This 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. The second test of Qing commitment came during the French blockade of Keelung harbor during the Sino-French War of 1884-1885. The result was a brief bombardment of Qing positions and a French amphibious operation. The French had some limited early gains but was eventually forced to withdraw. The Qing finally made Taiwan a province and appointed Liu Mingchuan as the first governor of Taiwan to initiate Taiwan development in 1887. In the waning years of Qing control over Taiwan, Governor Liu Mingchuan initiated a series of modernizing reforms and infrastructure projects, including 60 km of railroad track laid between Keelung and Hsinchu. This segment of railroad became too old in the Japanese eye, and was demolished for modernization later under Japanese rule. 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 Aboriginal. As part of the settlement for losing the Sino-Japanese War, China ceded the island of Taiwan and the Pescadores to Japan in 1895. The loss of Taiwan would become a rallying point for the Chinese nationalist movement in the years that followed. Japanese rule
Republic of China rule Main article: History of the Republic of China on Taiwan Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) rule of Taiwan began in October 1945 after the end of World War II. 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 accidentally shot dead by Nationalist authorities. For several weeks after the February 28 Incident the rebels held control of much of the island. Feigning negotiation, the Nationalists assembled a large military force (carried on United States naval vessels) that attacked Taiwan, massacring nearly 30,000 Taiwanese and imprisoning thousands of others. The killings were both random and premeditated as local elites or educated Taiwanese were sought out and disposed of. Many of the Taiwanese who had formed home rule groups under the Japanese were the victims of 2-28. This was followed by the "White Terror" in which many thousands of Taiwanese were imprisoned or executed for their real or perceived opposition to the Kuomintang military regime, leaving many native Taiwanese with a deep-seated bitterness to the mainlanders. Until 1995, the KMT authorities suppressed accounts of this episode in Taiwan history. In 1995 a monument was dedicated to the victims of the "2-28 Incident", and for the first time the ROC President Lee Teng-hui publicly apologized for the Nationalists' brutality. From the 1930s onward a civil war was underway in China between Chiang Kai-shek's ROC government and the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zedong. When the civil war ended in 1949, 2 million refugees, predominantly from the Nationalist government, military, and business community, fled to Taiwan. In October 1949 the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) was founded on the mainland by the victorious communists; several months before, Chiang Kai-shek had established a "provisional" ROC capital in Taipei and moved his government there from Nanjing. Under Nationalist rule, the mainlanders dominated the government and civil service forcing 37,000 Taiwanese out of the government sector. Economic developments
Democratic reforms Until the early 1970s, the Republic of China was recognized as the sole legitimate government of China by the United Nations and most Western nations, both of which refused to recognize the People's Republic of China on account of the Cold War. The KMT ruled Taiwan under martial law until the late 1980s, with the stated goal of being vigilant against Communist infiltration and preparing to retake the mainland. 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 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 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 was passed by the UN General Assembly and "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" (and thus the ROC) was 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's eventual successor, his son Chiang Ching-kuo, began to liberalize Taiwan's political system. The events of 1979 highlighted the need for change and groups like Amnesty International were mobilizing a campaign against the government and President Chiang Ching-kuo. Finally, in 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party was formed illegally and inaugurated as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter the KMT. A year later Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law. Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a native Taiwanese technocrat to be his Vice President. The move followed other reforms giving more power to the native Taiwanese and calmed anti-KMT sentiments during a period in which many other Asian autocracies were being shaken by People Power movements. After the 1988 death of Chiang Ching-Kuo, his successor as President Lee Teng-hui continued to hand more government authority over to the native Taiwanese and democratize the government. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which local culture and history was promoted over a pan-China viewpoint. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and disbanding the Taiwan Provincial Government. Under Lee, the original members of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly, elected in 1947 to represent mainland constituencies, were forced to resign in 1991. Restrictions on the use of Taiwanese languages in the broadcast media and in schools were lifted as well. However, Lee failed to crack down on the massive corruption that developed under authoritarian KMT party rule. Many KMT loyalists feel Lee betrayed the R.O.C. by taking reforms too far, while other Taiwanese feel he did not take reforms far enough. 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 to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate so that electorates would vote for other pro-unification candidates, Chen Li-an and Lin Yang-kang. The aggressive tactic prompted U.S. President Clinton to invoke the Taiwan Relations Act 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. 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. Lee's assertion that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation separate from the mainland was popular among Taiwanese. However, many suspected that his two nation theory was intended to ultimately create a Republic of Taiwan, which was not popular among the electorate. In the 2000 presidential election marked the end to KMT rule. Opposition DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian won a three way race that saw the pro-reunification vote split by independent James Soong and KMT candidate Lien Chan. Chen garnered 39% of the vote. Historical controversy
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