History UsefulNotes / Taiwan

Europeans noticed the island at about the same time. Though the first Europeans to take note of Taiwan were Portuguese (hence "Formosa"), they did not lay claim to the island. Instead, control of Formosa was disputed by the Spanish and the Dutch, with the latter eventually prevailing. Then in 1661, a Ming loyalist and pirate lord named Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", which was [[UsefulNotes/WhyMaoChangedHisName transliterated]] as Koxinga) assembled a fleet and expelled the Dutch, hoping to turn Formosa into a base for the reconquest of the mainland from the Qing. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan. Interestingly enough, Zheng Cheng Gong/Koxinga is considered a national hero in China, Taiwan and even Japan [[note]]Zheng Cheng Gong was born in Hirado, part of modern day Nagasaki, to a Japanese mother of a minor Samurai family, and his birthname was Tagawa Fukumatsu. His exploits were popularized during the Tokugawa period in the form of theater[[/note]].

At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, China's Nationalist government was awarded the island during post-war negotiations. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar to [[RedChina the communists]] in 1949, the Republic of China, led by the dictator UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek and the other Nationalists, fled to the island, with the communists establishing the ''People's'' Republic of China in the resulting vacuum on the mainland. Mao had plans to follow Chiang and capture Taiwan in late 1949, but in June 1950, UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar broke out. Two days after war broke out in Korea, the United States sent their Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan, and an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou attempted PLA invasion]] of Taiwan failed. Since then Taiwan maintained a quasi-sovereign status thanks to the protection of the United States. It was placed under martial law from 1949 to the 1980s, when Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), began to democratize the nation's political system, turning it from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy. Also around this time, the incredibly wealthy government-in-exile (the ruling nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), ''personally'' had holdings worth around $10 billion US, a consequence of police state rule) started to lose control: while Taiwan would become one of the Four Great Asian Tigers, Taipei itself lost most international recognition in 1971 as the government of all of China as the People's Republic of China made greater headway in the international theater. Today, the only remaining allies are a few countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as the Vatican.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty occupied the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. The effort to unify Taiwan under one administrative body was by no means a small feat, for during the Qing, there were more than a hundred rebellions until 1895. It took years for the Japanese to gradually pacify the island through policy and force of arms before things settled. Under Japanese administration until 1945, Taiwan's infrastructure was thoroughly modernized, including rail transportation, roads, power grid, water supplies, sewage network, telecommunication and many others. The Japanese administration also established compulsory education as well as higher education, such as the National Taiwan University, which remains one of the best universities in Taiwan.

At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, China's Nationalist government was awarded the island during post-war negotiations. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar to [[RedChina the communists]] in 1949, the Republic of China, led by the dictator UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek and the other Nationalists, fled to the island, with the communists establishing the ''People's'' Republic of China in the resulting vacuum on the mainland. Mao had plans to follow Chiang and capture Taiwan in 1949, but the United States sent their Seventh Fleet to dissuade that, and an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou attempted PLA invasion]] of Taiwan failed. Since then Taiwan maintained a quasi-sovereign status thanks to the protection of the United States. It was placed under martial law from 1949 to the 1980s, when Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), began to democratize the nation's political system, turning it from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy. Also around this time, the incredibly wealthy government-in-exile (the ruling nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), ''personally'' had holdings worth around $10 billion US, a consequence of police state rule) started to lose control: while Taiwan would become one of the Four Great Asian Tigers, Taipei itself lost most international recognition in 1971 as the government of all of China as the People's Republic of China made greater headway in the international theater. Today, the only remaining allies are a few countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as the Vatican.

** Legislative Yuan President: You Si-kun

* '''Area:''' 36,197 km
(13,976 sq mi)

** Premier: Su Tseng-chang
** Legislative Yuan President: Yu Shyi-kun

[[AC:The flag of the Republic of China]]

[[AC:National Emblem of the Republic of China]]

[[AC:The national anthem of the Republic of China]]

[[AC:The national anthem of Taiwan]]

[[AC:The national anthem of the Republic of China]]

[[AC:The Taiwanese flag]]

[[AC:The Taiwanese national anthem]]

The Kinmenese and Matsunese also favor the Nationalists due to their peculiar histories, their strong dislike of Taiwanese independence, and their refusal to identify as "Taiwanese". This should not be surprising, as both of these islands have their own regional identity separate from Taiwan, did not share a common history with Taiwan, and was not administered altogether by a singular government body until recently. In addition, both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei, regardless of the party in power. Kinmen in particular, suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help in 2013. This deal with mainland China sparked outrage from the Taiwanese people, which in turn led the off-shore islanders to become increasingly distrustful of Taiwan[[note]]This ironically occurred at a time when the China-friendly KMT was in power, who were expected cooperate with China on this issue[[/note]]. On the other hand, most Taiwanese view both Kinmen & Matsu effectively as part of China anyway, and are rather irritated when politicians from these two islands engage in legislations that would affect Taiwan's domestic & foreign policies. Currently in these two regions, there have been localization campaigns which actively promote their distinctive cultural heritages coupled with a rejection of certain Taiwanese cultural elements. Local politicians have been pushing for more rights and freedom from Taiwan but still remaining as part of the latter's administrative body, and definitely short of actually unifying with the Chinese mainland for very obvious reasons.

Starting in the late Eighties/early Nineties, the opposition parties gained more voice in the public arena, especially given the Nationalist party's rampant corruption issues and endless infighting. The Nationalists were never particularly popular among the Taiwanese Han outside of the party and the military, since they were seen to be ignoring "native" Taiwanese interests... never mind that indigenous Taiwanese had been had been forcibly assimilated or forced into the mountainous areas long before the Nationalists arrived. As pressure mounted, the Nationalist party began removing restrictions on free speech and free press, and Congress began the long, arduous process of amending the constitution to correct the most obvious inequities. Hilariously, the Taiwanese Aboriginals themselves overwhelmingly favor KMT over all opposition parties... never mind the Nationalists would continue their own brand of assimilation policies such as curbing Aborigine languages and/or using dubious 'education' materials such as ridiculous stories of Wu-Feng, who was just a minor official during the Qing Dynasty, but reached minor mythical status in post-1945 Taiwan as an icon who 'civilized' the aborigines.

Taiwan is an East Asian country and island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' (Chinese: 中華民國, ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Penghu constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese" and this has become a point of tension for some Taiwanese. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

Taiwan is a East Asian country and island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' (Chinese: 中華民國, ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Penghu constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese" and this has become a point of tension for some Taiwanese. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

Taiwan is a country and island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' (Chinese: 中華民國, ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Penghu constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese" and this has become a point of tension for some Taiwanese. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

Starting in the late Eighties/early Nineties, the opposition parties gained more voice in the public arena, especially given the Nationalist party's rampant corruption issues and endless infighting. The Nationalists were never particularly popular among the Taiwanese Han outside of the party and the military, since they were seen to be ignoring "native" Taiwanese interests... never mind that indigenous Taiwanese had been had been forcibly assimilated or forced into the mountainous areas long before the Nationalists arrived. As pressure mounted, the Nationalist party began removing restrictions on free speech and free press, and Congress began the long, arduous process of amending the constitution to correct the most obvious inequities. Hilariously, the Taiwanese Aboriginals themselves overwhelmingly favor KMT over all opposition parties... never mind the Nationalists would continue their own brand of assimilation policies with 'dubious' education materials such as ridiculous stories of Wu-Feng, who was just a minor official during the Qing Dynasty, but reached minor mythical status in mid-20th century Taiwan as an icon who 'civilized' the aborigines.