Taiwan’s Earliest Inhabitants

Early Chinese Immigration

Western Encroachment

Chinese Administration

Japanese Rule

The Republic of China

The "Two Chinas"

Modern Taiwan

Taiwan’s Earliest Inhabitants

Though traditional Chinese culture is preserved in Taiwan more strongly than perhaps anywhere else in the world, there was no significant Chinese immigration to Taiwan until the 15^th century. Before that, Taiwan was inhabited primarily by aborigines who appear to have migrated from the Pacific islands thousands of years ago. Significant pockets of people descended from these aborigines still inhabit Taiwan, especially the central mountainous regions.

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Early Chinese Immigration

By the 7th century a distinct ethnic group of Chinese known as the Hakka began to trickle into Taiwan. The Hakka originally migrated from the northern Chinese province of Henan to the coastal provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. From there many of them migrated to Taiwan, where they became a significant minority of the population. Though the Hakka have in many ways assimilated to the broader culture of Taiwan, they retain a distinct dialect of Chinese and remain among the most conservative practitioners of traditional Chinese ancestor worship. From the 15^th century onward, Chinese from Fujian Province in China (directly across the Taiwan Straits) began to migrate to Taiwan in large numbers. Their descendants make up the majority population of Taiwan today. They speak a dialect of Chinese (referred to as "Hokkien" or simply "Taiwanese") almost identical to the Fujianese dialect on the mainland.

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Western Encroachment

In 1517, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to land on Taiwan’s shores. They named the island Ilha Formosa ("Beautiful Island"), the name by which Taiwan was long known. The Dutch invaded the island in 1624 and established a capital at what is now the southern city of Tainan. The Spanish took control of the northern part of the island in 1626 but were expelled by the Dutch in 1641.

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Chinese Administration

The Dutch were themselves expelled from Taiwan in 1661 by a Chinese Ming dynasty general known as Koxinga, who retreated to Taiwan from the mainland in order to flee from the newly risen Qing (Manchu) dynasty armies. Koxinga established the first organized Chinese administration of Taiwan, but he was eventually overthrown by Manchu armies in 1682. From 1684 to 1887 Taiwan remained a county of Fujian Province, and in 1887 itself became a province of China.

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Japanese Rule

When China lost the Sino-Japanese war in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Although for the next 50 years the Japanese ruled Taiwan with an iron fist, their efficient government contributed greatly to Taiwan’s subsequent educational and economic development, which soon surpassed that of Mainland China.

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The Republic of China

After Japan’s defeat in World War II, China regained sovereignty over Taiwan. The government of China at that time was under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT, or Nationalist Party), led by Chiang Kaishek. The Taiwanese people, happy to be out from under Japanese rule, at first welcomed the KMT troops that occupied Taiwan. Discontent grew quickly, however, because of KMT misrule, and on February 28, 1947, thousands of Taiwanese civilians were killed after anti-KMT riots were repressed by KMT troops. The "2-28" incident, as it became known because of the date when it occurred, today remains a strongly symbolic event for those advocating Taiwanese independence.

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The "Two Chinas"

In 1949 the Communists gained control of the mainland, and Chiang Kaishek’s troops and supporters (about 1.5 million Chinese) fled to Taiwan. Expecting an imminent invasion by the Communists, the KMT hastily prepared to defend the island and from it launch an eventual re-invasion of the mainland. No invasion by either side was forthcoming, however, and the KMT’s "temporary" stay in Taiwan turned into a long-term occupation. This stalemate resulted in a situation that continues until this day—the "two Chinas," one on the Communist-controlled mainland and one on KMT-controlled Taiwan, each claiming to be the rightful government of the whole of China.

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Modern Taiwan

In the early years of KMT rule, the political environment in Taiwan was tightly controlled. In recent years, however, significant political reform has taken place. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was founded, and in 1987 martial law (in place since the early days of KMT rule) was finally lifted. Shortly afterwards, Lee Tenghui became the first Taiwan-born person to hold the post of president. In 1996 the voters reelected Lee, despite a series of nerve-wracking missile tests by China designed to scare Taiwan voters into supporting candidates who were more pro-China than Lee. In the spring of 2000, Taiwan experienced another first when it elected its first non-KMT president, Chen Shuibian of the DPP

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(Text for this page adapted from www.lonelyplanet.com)