What are the important events in Taiwan's history?
Taiwan's earliest inhabitants left no records, but anthropological
evidence suggests that Taiwan's indigenous peoples were Proto-Austronesians.
Settlers from China came to Taiwan as early as the 12th century
A.D., but large-scale immigration did not begin until the 17th
century when Europeans also began to arrive.
Both the Dutch and the Spanish set up short-lived colonial
outposts on Taiwan in the 17th century. The Dutch drove the
Spaniards out in 1642, and were themselves evicted from the
island by the Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga in 1663. Over
the next 20 years, Koxinga's troops built many schools and
set up an elaborate irrigation system on the island. Industry
consisted of refining salt and sugar, and rice cultivation
spread across Taiwan's western plains.
In 1683, the Ching dynasty forces conquered Taiwan and established
administrative districts in sites that today have become some
of Taiwan's biggest cities: Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi.
Despite the Ching dynasty's efforts to limit immigration to
Taiwan, the island's population continued to grow. Agriculture
flourished, and soon Taiwan was producing more rice than it
needed. The excess was shipped to China, along with sugar,
tea, camphor, and deer hides.
In the 1800s, Japan and other foreign powers were attracted
to Taiwan's natural wealth. As incidents of foreign aggression
against Taiwan increased, the Ching dynasty slowly became
aware of the island's strategic importance. As a result, capable
officials such as Shen Pao-chen, Ting Jih-chang, and Liu Ming-chuan
were appointed by the Ching court to develop Taiwan's infrastructure
and strengthen its defenses. In 1885, the Ching dynasty made
Taiwan a province of China.
Despite their efforts to reinforce China's sovereignty over
Taiwan, the Ching dynasty was forced to cede the island to
Japan after losing the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. Fifty years
of Japanese colonialism left a mixed legacy. Athough the Japanese
had forcibly suppressed Chinese language and customs, they
contributed greatly to modernizing the island's agriculture
as a production base for supplying Japan.
The Republic of China was established in 1912. When the
Japanese surrendered to Allied forces in 1945 following their
defeat in World War II, they returned Taiwan to the ROC. However,
most of the island's infrastructure had been destroyed during
World War II, and GNP per capita was US$53. China was soon
enveloped in a civil war, and by 1949 the communists had occupied
most of the country, forcing the ROC government to relocate
to Taiwan. At that point, the outlook for Taiwan was bleak.
With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, US President
Harry S. Truman ordered the US Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan
and began providing economic and military aid. On August 23,
1958, the Chinese communists began an extensive artillery
bombardment of Kinmen in the Battle of the Taiwan Strait.
The communist attack failed, however, and ROC President Chiang
Kai-shek used the ensuing decade of relative stability to
reinvigorate Taiwan's economy. The government completed land
reforms and a series of economic development plans during
the 1950s and 1960s, drastically reducing inflation and rapidly
increasing the island's productivity.
In 1971, the United Nations passed Resolution 2758, giving
China's UN seat to communist-ruled Beijing. In the decade
that followed, numerous countries switched diplomatic recognition
from Taipei to Beijing. President Chiang Ching-kuo and his
successor Lee Teng-hui countered these moves with a program
of pragmatic diplomacy, economic development, and democratic
reform, thereby re-asserting the ROC's status in the international
community.
In 1996, the people of Taiwan confidently completed their
first direct presidential election. In the presidential election
of 2000, the victorious Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
ended five decades of government by the Kuomintang (KMT).
The DPP smoothly completed the peaceful change of governing
party.
What is the history and current status of Taiwan's indigenous
peoples?
Recent archaeological discoveries strongly indicate that Taiwan's
indigenous peoples came from at least two places: southern China
and Austronesia. As early settlers from southern China came
to Taiwan in the early 1600s, the indigenous peoples were displaced,
and most moved to mountainous areas or along the eastern coast.
There are currently ten major indigenous tribes in the Taiwan
area, comprising less than 2 percent of the population. Although
most indigenous tribes have already been assimilated into
Taiwan's modern culture, some continue to maintain their traditional
ways of life. Taiwan's indigenous peoples are widely recognized
for their contributions to the arts, particularly music, dance,
and handicrafts.
The government has raised the quality of life of Taiwan's
indigenous peoples and helped them integrate into the Taiwan
lifestyle. Special commissions have been established at central
and local levels to handle indigenous peoples' affairs. At
the same time, indigenous peoples are increasingly active
in local and national politics. As of June 2001, two served
as ambassadors-at-large and national policy advisors to the
president, nine held seats in the Legislative Yuan, and two
were city councilors in special municipalities. Fifty-five
served as city and county council members, and 30 as magistrates
in rural townships with predominantly indigenous constituents.
