Message Board
Photo Gallery
For New Students
|
|
Taiwan Island, the Penghu Island group (Pescadores), and the vicinity islands, are located in the Southeast Asia of the Pacific Ocean. Taiwan Island alone occupies 99% of the total area of 35,961 square kilometers. It is 377 kilometers long from north to south and from east to west, it is 142 kilometers across at its widest.
1. Taiwan's origins: The Proto-Malays, belonging to the South Paleo-Mongoloid racial group, lived on Taiwan 5,000 years ago during the Neolithic Ages and Alluvial Epoch. These aborigines were the forerunners in Taiwan's dawning era. Some of them were mixed with immigrants from southeastern coast of China (the Han people) through intermarriage. Others were driven into the mountain areas. In 1557 Portuguese sailors reached Taiwan and named it "Ilha Formosa" (=beautiful island). During the past 400 years, the history of Taiwan has mainly concerned Taiwan's Han people. But the aborigines of today are an integral part of the Taiwanese Nation.
2. Dutch Imperial Period (1624--1661): In 1624 the Dutch founded forts in south at present Tainan. In 1626 the Spainish built bases in the north at present Chi-lung and Tan-shui. However the Dutch succeeded in expelling the Spaniards in 1641 and gained control of the whole island.
3. Koxinga Period (1661--1683): In 1661 Koxinga (a general of the Ming dynasty of China who had to flee from the Manchus) launched a surprise attack to force the Dutch to abandon Taiwan and established an independent kingdom.
4. Manchu Period (1683--1895): Taiwan fell to the Manchus (Ching Dynasty in China) in 1683. The Ching Dynasty did not consider Taiwan as part of its territory until 1887 when Taiwan was made a province. There were countless native Taiwanese rebellions against the colonialist rule of Ching Dynasty resulting the phrase "every three years a minor rebellion, every five years a major one. "Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895. The Taiwanese Democratic Republic was established to fight against the Japanese invasion. The republic lasted only for four months.
6. Japan Imperial Period (1895--1945): Japan developed Taiwan as a front outpost in its expanding empire. The economy was modernized and capitalized. Railroads were built and the island was industrialized. The first higher institution, Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University), was founded in 1928. Taiwanese resistance against the Japanese colonialist rule involved armed forces during the first 20 years and subsequently took various forms of self-determination.
7. Kuomintang (KMT) Regime Period (1945--1996): At the end of World War II Japan gave up title to Taiwan, without specifying to whom. Chiang Kai-shek (the head of KMT) and his troops, representing the Allied forces, occupied Taiwan and established a KMT regime. A revolution, called 228 revolution, against the outside KMT Chinese regime broke out on February 28, 1947. Driven by the Chinese communists, Chiang Kai-shek's KMT took refuge on Taiwan in 1949. Chiang Kai-shek handed his power to his son Chiang Ching-Kuo. Upon the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in 1988, Lee Teng-hui succeeded Chiang's presidency until 1990. Under Chiang's KMT regime, the martial law was imposed for almost forty years. The Taiwanese, having never accepted subjugation, continued from the 228 revolution to resist the Chiang's KMT regime. In 1964 Peng Ming-min published an article "The Declaration of the Formosans" to advocate Taiwan independence. There were countless anti-KMT activities including Chung-li Incident in 1977 and Kaohsiung Incident in 1979. Democratic Progressive Party, the first Taiwanese political party, was formed in 1986. Lee Teng-hui became the president for another term in 1990 by a token election. He continued the policy of Chiang's KMT regime.
8. Independent Taiwan (1996): Lee Teng-hui was elected the president of Taiwan in the first direct presidential election on March 23, 1996.
Brief conclusion: The history of Taiwan is a history of rebellions against outside regimes. Their struggle is for an independent country.
(By Dr. H. H. Kuo, 1996, TSA)
|
|
