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TAIWAN COAT OF ARMS
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 Location of Taiwan within the continent of Asia | |||
 Map of Taiwan | |||
 Flag Description of Taiwan: red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays; the blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895; it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party; blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy; red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood; the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours) | |||
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Official name Chung-hua Min-kuo (Republic of China)
Form of government multiparty republic with one legislative house (Legislative Yuan [1131])
Head of state President: Ma Ying-jeou
Head of government Premier: Mao Chi-kuo
Seat of government Taipei
Official language Mandarin Chinese
Official religion none
Monetary unit New Taiwan dollar (NT$)
Population (2013 est.) 23,361,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 13,973
Total area (sq km) 36,191
Urban-rural population
- Urban: (2012) 59.7%
- Rural: (2012) 40.3%
Life expectancy at birth
- Male: (2012) 76.2 years
- Female: (2012) 82.7 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate
- Male: not available
- Female: not available
GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2010) 20,602
1Includes 6 elected seats reserved for aboriginal peoples.
Background of Taiwan
Taiwan, Chinese (Wade-Giles romanization) T’ai-wan or (Pinyin) Taiwan, Portuguese Formosa, island, located about 100 miles (161 km) off the southeast coast of the China mainland. It is approximately 245 miles (394 km) long (north-south) and 90 miles across at its widest point. The largest city, Taipei, is the seat of the government of the Republic of China (ROC; Nationalist China). In addition to the main island, the ROC government has jurisdiction over 22 islands in the Taiwan group and 64 islands to the west in the Pescadores archipelago.
Taiwan is bounded to the north by the East China Sea, which separates it from the Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa, and mainland Japan; to the east by the Pacific Ocean; to the south by the Bashi Channel, which separates it from the Philippines; and to the west by the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait, which separates it from the China mainland.
From the mid-1660s to 1895, Taiwan was administered by the imperial Chinese government, after which (until 1945) the island was ruled by the Japanese as a colony. In 1945 Taiwan reverted to China, and in 1949 it became the last territory controlled by the Nationalist government. The government of the ROC continued to claim jurisdiction over the Chinese mainland, whereas the government of the People’s Republic of China on the mainland claimed jurisdiction over Taiwan; both governments remained in agreement that the island is a sheng (province) of China. Taipei was the provincial capital until 1967, when the capital was moved to Chung-hsing Hsin-ts’un.
Geography of Taiwan
The Land
- Relief
Taiwan is part of the great island system rimming the western Pacific Ocean. The island of Taiwan is formed by a fault block trending north-northeast to south-southwest and tilted toward the west. The more gently rising western face of the block borders the shallow Taiwan Strait, under which the continental shelf connects the island to the Chinese mainland. The terraced tablelands and alluvial plains along the western face of the block provide the principal areas of dense population and the major cities. The steeply sloping eastern face of the block marks the edge of the continental shelf and the beginning of the Pacific Ocean. Aside from one major rift valley, the east coast provides little room for human settlement.
The coastline on the west is simple and straight, bordered with low sand dunes and lagoons. Deepwater ports are situated at Chi-lung (Keelung), at the northern tip of the island, and at Kao-hsiung, on the southwestern coast.
The crest of the Chung-yang Shan-mo (Central Range) lies east of and parallel to the island’s axis. Scores of peaks rise to about 10,000 feet, the highest being Yü Shan (13,113 feet [3,997 metres]) in the south-central part of the island. Around the mountainous area are numerous independent hills with an average height of 5,000 feet.
- Drainage and soils
The rivers, nearly all of which rise in the Chung-yang Shan-mo, are short and subject to extreme seasonal variations in flow. Lacking steady currents, most rivers are unreliable for irrigation or hydroelectric power generation. Late-summer typhoons, however, bring torrential rains that are liable to cause floods, especially in the plains, necessitating an extensive system of dikes. The principal rivers are the Tan-shui Ho in the northwest, the Cho-shui Hsi, in the west, and the Kao-p’ing Hsi in the south. Alluvial soil on the plains and in the valleys covers about one-fourth of the island and is its chief resource. The upland soils, subject to drastic erosion, are leached, acid, and infertile.
- Climate
Taiwan straddles the tropical and subtropical zones and has warm summers and mild winters. The climate is moderated by the warm waters of the Kuroshio (Japan Current). The summer is long, lasting from April until November (200 days or more). In cold months the mean monthly temperature is about 59 °F (about 15 °C). Beginning with April, the mean monthly temperature is above 68 °F (20 °C). The highest mean monthly temperature, 86 °F (30 °C), is reached from June to September. Lowland Taiwan is frost-free while the central mountains are covered with snow in winter.
Mean annual precipitation is 102 inches (2,580 millimetres), although in some years the precipitation in summer alone may exceed 200 inches in some parts of the islands. The upland area receives more rain than the lowlands, and the east receives more than the west. In addition, rainfall is heavier in the north, where winters are drizzly, than in the south, where winters are sunny. Most typhoons and, therefore, most precipitation are concentrated in the months of July, August, and September.
- Plant and animal life
There are green plants on the plains all the year round, and more than half of Taiwan is covered by forests. As the climate varies with elevation, so does the natural vegetation. Stands of mixed bamboo, palm, and tropical evergreen grow in the lowlands; subtropical evergreen forests, including camphor laurel, are found from 2,000 to 6,000 feet; broad-leaved evergreen forests of the temperate zone are represented by cedars, cypress, junipers, rhododendrons, maples, and cryptomeria (Japanese cedar) from 6,000 to 8,000 feet; and coniferous forests are found above 7,500 feet.
Animal life, similar to that of the southern Chinese mainland, includes deer, wild boars, bears, monkeys, goats, wildcats, and panthers. Birds include pheasant, geese, flycatchers, kingfishers, larks, and many other species. Fish abound in the coastal areas.
- Settlement patterns
The population density of Taiwan has always been highest on the western coastal plains and basins and lowest in the central and eastern mountains. Chinese settlement of Taiwan historically proceeded from south to north along the western coast. Before the introduction of modern transportation, the most convenient access to the interior was along river valleys, and it was up these that the immigrant population expanded.
Urbanization was the dominant settlement pattern of the 20th century. There has been a noticeable migration from rural areas to towns, especially since mid-century, when the urban population increased from less than half to more than three-fourths of the total population. Three major urban areas have developed: Taipei and its port of Chi-lung in the north and the two port cities of Kao-hsiun in the south and Tʾai-chung in the west.
Demography of Taiwan
The people
- Ethnolinguistic groups
The original inhabitants of Taiwan were Malayo-Polynesian aborigines. Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have historically been referred to in terms of their language groups, the largest of which are the Ami, Atayal, and Paiwan. Chinese immigrants largely displaced or assimilated the plains aborigines and carried on a protracted conflict with the mountain aborigines, who were subdued only by the Japanese. The aborigines, nearly all of whom now live in the foothills and highlands, constitute about 2 percent of the population. Although several aboriginal dialects and many tribal customs have been retained, the people have increasingly become assimilated, linguistically and culturally, into modern Taiwanese society. Nonetheless, many indigenous groups increased their political activity in the early 21st century, with 14 gaining official recognition as of 2008.
The great majority of the population—those now called Taiwanese—are descendants of the original immigrants from the Chinese provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung. The Hokkien from southern Fukien constitute the largest of the immigrant groups; their dialect of Chinese is often called the Taiwanese dialect. The Hakka, originally from northern Kwangtung, also have a distinct dialect.
The most recent addition to Taiwan’s population are the predominantly Mandarin-speaking Nationalist adherents, who came to Taiwan from all parts of China in the late 1940s. These “mainlanders” still compose about 15 percent of the population. Because of their prominence in the Nationalist government, Mandarin has become the principal language of Taiwan.
- Religions
Numerous religions have been introduced into Taiwan from many parts of the world. The Chinese brought their religions, principally Buddhism and Taoism. In 1622 the Dutch introduced Protestant Christianity; two years later the Spanish brought Roman Catholicism to the island. In addition, Confucianism has immensely influenced the Chinese people of Taiwan in ethics, morality, and academic thinking. Religion, however, is not a divisive factor on Taiwan. The Chinese tend to be eclectic about religion, many practicing a little of several kinds.
The principal religions in Taiwan, in addition to the forms of worship of the aborigines, are Taoism and Buddhism. Christians constitute a small but significant percentage of the population; about three-fifths are Protestant and the rest Roman Catholic. There are also a large number of Muslims, most of whom live in the larger cities.
- Demography
The population of Taiwan tripled in the first half of the 20th century. From mid-century, however, the rate of growth steadily declined from about 4 percent to less than 2 percent per year. Modern health measures had lowered the death rate, and Nationalist land reform temporarily raised the birthrate by expanding rural opportunities. In response to growing urban opportunities, however, families soon began concentrating more resources on fewer children. In addition, the government actively promoted family planning and birth control.
- Family structure
The family has long been the most important organizing unit in traditional Taiwanese society. Based on the Confucian precepts of filial piety and ancestor worship, the patrilineal extended family performs many of the savings, investment, and production functions of Western corporations and provides many of the social services assumed by Western governments. The family owns property, pools its resources, and diversifies the occupations of its members, thus maximizing the returns and spreading the risks across the multiple branches and generations.
Economy of Taiwan
During the 20th century Taiwan’s economy has been transformed from agricultural to industrial, and the island’s postwar economic development has been one of the most spectacular of any developing country. In constant prices, gross national product increased more than 10 times between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s. The major reason was vigorous export promotion in an expanding global economy. Per capita product and personal income quintupled, while a relatively equal distribution of income became more equitable. The major reasons were the initially broad distribution of ownership of land and capital and the high returns to labour, first in agriculture and later in the export industries. The obligation to increase and repay family resources has motivated the individual Chinese and has produced much of the rapid growth of Taiwan’s economy. This growth has proceeded in three phases. The first (c. 1905–55) was the modernization of agriculture and the development of other primary or extractive industries. The second (c. 1935–85) was the development of modern secondary manufacturing industries. The third (since 1965) began the modernization of service industries.
- Resources
Although more than 50 kinds of minerals have been found in Taiwan, total mineral resources are modest. In the north, copper, gold, iron, sulfur, and pyrite exist in only token amounts. In the east, limestone, marble, and dolomite are abundant, although their exploitation contributes little to the economy. Coal reserves are rapidly becoming exhausted. Petroleum and natural gas exist in small quantities on shore, but the continental shelf may contain extensive reserves, particularly of natural gas. Forests are most abundant in the high mountains, but their inaccessability makes exploitation uneconomical.
- Agriculture
Until the mid-20th century Taiwan’s best assets were its fertile soils, tropical climate, and large agricultural labour force. Agriculture provided the logical starting point for economic development after World War II. Since about 1970, however, rising agricultural costs have made agricultural exports uncompetitive, and Taiwan has had to rely increasingly on food imports.
One-quarter of Taiwan’s total area is arable, and all available land is fully cultivated, including sloping areas, dry riverbeds, and reclaimed tidal lands. The single most important crop is rice, with which more than one-half of the total cultivated area and most of the irrigated portion is planted. More than two-thirds of the paddy fields are double-cropped. The Japanese introduced improved strains of rice, chemical fertilizers, and modern irrigation methods, and the Nationalists continued to modernize rice production. Rice yields per acre have therefore increased dramatically, although this has created an oversupply.
Sugarcane, tea, and fresh bananas, once principal exports, are still important domestically. Other fruits, such as pineapples, litchis, longans, oranges, grapes, and strawberries, abound. Most vegetables—including mushrooms and asparagus, which are canned for export—are produced in the central and southern regions.
- Forestry and fisheries
With many mountains, Taiwan has abundant timber. Inaccessibility, low quality, and high costs limit production, however, and have made it necessary to import lumber. In addition, overcutting and inadequate reforestation measures have caused erosion and destructive floods.
With the exception of eels and snails, which are high-value exports, fishery production is mostly for domestic consumption. The warm currents off the east coast provide good deep-sea fishing grounds, especially for tuna.
- Mining and quarrying
Petroleum has replaced coal as the major energy source. Domestic natural gas also is produced. The quarrying of marble and dolomite is increasing as rail connections are improved. Salt is produced by solar evaporation along the southwestern coast.
- Energy
Northern Taiwan once produced some coal, but its poor reserves are now exhausted. Heavy rainfall and high mountains hold great hydroelectric potential, but most economical sites have been exploited, and hydropower provides a declining proportion of the energy supply. In the 1960s and ’70s the principal growth in energy sources came from thermal electric power generation using imported petroleum. Rising oil costs and national defense needs, however, accelerated the development of nuclear electric power. By the 1980s three nuclear plants accounted for one-third of Taiwan’s installed capacity and about one-half of actual generation.
- Industry
In the 1950s and ’60s Taiwan’s comparative trade advantage lay in its abundant cheap labour supply. Consequently, labour-intensive light industry predominated, producing such nondurable consumer goods as foodstuffs and textiles, at first largely for domestic consumption but after 1960 increasingly for export. By the 1960s and ’70s investment had shifted to more capital-intensive heavy industries turning out consumer durables (appliances, vehicles), producer nondurables (steel, petrochemicals), and producer durables (machinery, ships). Some capital-intensive industries, particularly those run by state firms, have proved unprofitable, but the government maintains them to supply the private sector and to bolster national defense. In the 1970s labour became scarce and wages increased, making Taiwan’s labour-intensive exports less competitive. Consequently, both government and private business accelerated efforts to develop skill-intensive high-technology industries such as those producing specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, precision instruments, sophisticated electronics, and information-processing systems.
- Trade
Because of Taiwan’s limited resources and intermediate technology, its manufactures long depended heavily on imported materials, equipment, and technology (particularly from Japan and the United States). Moreover, because of the limited domestic market, Taiwan’s manufactures also depended heavily on exports (particularly to the United States). Thus until the mid-1980s Taiwan balanced a chronic trade deficit with Japan against a chronic trade surplus with the United States. In the 1980s Taiwan attempted to diversify its trade with Europe and the Third World.
By the late 20th century manufactured goods accounted for more than 95 percent of all exports, led by electronic products and appliances, articles of clothing, footwear, textile yarns and fabrics, toys and sporting goods, and metal products. Imports were highly diversified, consisting of a variety of consumer goods and raw materials, including petroleum and petroleum products, electronic products, nonelectrical machinery, and chemicals.
- Services
Since the mid-1970s there has been an accelerating shift from traditional personal services (small shops and restaurants) to modern personal services (department stores and hotels) and modern commercial services (finance and communications). Commerce and services became internationalized as Taiwan handled a larger proportion of its own trade, imported foreign services such as fast food, and exported services such as construction management and computer programming. Nevertheless, most private businesses remained family firms, most of them small. The cultural importance of the family has made Taiwan’s economy lean and flexible, but it also has inhibited an increase in the scale and modernization of accounting, finance, advertising, and trade.
- Management of the economy
Since 1945 the state has played a dominant economic role, although a private sector also has functioned. Since about 1975 private business increasingly charted its own course, often ahead of government initiatives and often in collaboration with foreign firms. Economic development has since acquired much momentum of its own. The government continues, however, to run key industries (electricity, steel, petroleum), construct basic infrastructure (railways, highways, waterways), oversee the financial system (both government and private banks), and initiate the development of new sectors by facilitating the transfer of technology and by disseminating market information.
Taxes in Taiwan include income, legacy, commodity, stamp, stock, farm, land, increment on land value, and business taxes. They are levied according to a progressive rate; people with small incomes pay little tax.
The Chinese Federation of Labour (CFL) is a nationwide organization of industrial and craft unions. Other national labour organizations include those for seamen, railway workers, and postal workers. There are local unions in all factories, transportation and public utility units, and occupational and vocational groups.
- Transportation
The primary internal transport links are the well-developed highway and railway networks, although domestic air travel is also important. The principal roads consist of a highway running around the perimeter of the island; three east–west highways crossing the island in the northern, middle, and southern regions; and a north–south expressway connecting the major west coast cities. Passenger-bus transportation is provided between large cities and small towns throughout the island. Few people own cars, but many have motorcycles. The railway system of Taiwan consists of a trunk line that roughly parallels the north–south expressway and a smaller line along the east side of the island that extends to the southeastern port of T’ai-tung; the construction of a line in the south will complete the encirclement of the island. The major domestic air routes are between Taipei and the larger cities.
External transport links are by sea and air. The international seaports are Chi-lung, Kao-hsiung, T’ai-chung, Su-ao, and Hua-lien. Chi-lung, Kao-hsiung, and T’ai-chung have good facilities for anchoring large ships; Hua-lien has facilities that are somewhat more limited. The Chiang Kai-shek Airport at T’ao-yüan is the facility for international air travel in northern Taiwan. The southern part of the island is served by the international airport at Kao-hsiung.
Government and Society of Taiwan
- Government
For centuries Taiwan has been ruled by outsiders—Imperial Chinese bureaucrats, colonial Japanese administrators, and, most recently, Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT) refugees from the Chinese mainland. In 1949, with the success of the communist rebellion in mainland China, the KMT retreated to Taiwan and set up office. For most of the post-World War II period (1945–90), the Nationalist government’s claim to rule Taiwan was predicated on its claim to rule all of China, and so-called temporary emergency measures in effect led to the creation of an authoritarian regime in Taiwan based on martial law. By the 1990s, however, the Nationalist party-state had largely shifted its focus to Taiwan, restaffing its leadership with Taiwanese and submitting itself to election, and the government began initiating liberalization measures. Some groups on Taiwan agitated for independence, but such calls were met with considerable opposition from the government of the People’s Republic of China.
CONSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
Formally, the KMT applied to postwar Taiwan the constitution they had drawn up in 1947 for all of China. This eclectic document includes elements from traditional China (personnel and investigative councils), from Western parliamentarism (a cabinet and premier approved by the legislative body), and from Western presidentialism (a president elected by a National Assembly). The 1947 constitution permits democracy, guarantees civil liberties, and promotes political participation and cultural development.
The central government also includes five constitutionally mandated councils (yüans): Legislative, Executive, Judicial, Examination, and Control. The Legislative Yuan, the membership structure of which parallels that of the National Assembly, enacts legislation. The Executive Yuan, the cabinet, is headed by a premier, who is appointed by the president but is nominally answerable to the Legislative Yuan. The Judicial Yuan oversees the court system. The Examination Yuan fulfills the functions of a civil service commission, and the Control Yuan oversees government administration.
The constitution also provides for provincial and local administrative institutions. The island of Taiwan and the cities of Taipei and Kao-hsiung have provincial status. At the local level are 16 counties (hsien) and five municipalities (shih), which, according to the constitution, are self-governing. In reality, however, they have had little autonomy from the national government.
POWER STRUCTURE
In practice, for most of the period since 1949, Taiwan has been ruled by a dictator who led three sectors: an external and internal security apparatus, a quasi-Leninist party, and a technocratic government. The dictator’s position as “paramount leader” was the most important, tying together institutional sectors through personal networks. The security sector was the ultimate foundation of the regime, reinforced by a large military budget. The KMT was the arena for promoting personnel and deciding policy. For more than four decades the National Assembly consisted mostly of the same representatives that had been elected on the mainland in 1948, supplemented by minority additions periodically elected by Taiwan. The KMT held regular elections for representatives to the community, local, and provincial offices, but these posts had little power. The government managed the economy with a success that became an example among developing countries and which facilitated Taiwanese acceptance of Nationalist rule.
Beginning in 1986, responding to opposition and public demands, the KMT began allowing increased liberalization of government. The KMT abolished martial law in 1987 and legalized the formation of opposition political parties; opposition candidates, notably those of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), began winning seats in the legislature. In 1991 the KMT rescinded the emergency provisions and forced all original mainland national representatives to retire. A National Security Council was created. With the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2000 and 2001, respectively, the DPP became the first party to oust the KMT from the government. In 2008, however, both the presidency and control of the legislature (with more than a two-thirds majority) returned to the KMT.
- Armed forces
The military and security forces have had considerable power, particularly during the decades of martial law. The armed forces include the air force, army, navy, combined service force, military police, and garrison force.
- Education
Both the Chinese government and the Chinese family have long believed in investing heavily in education, in the postwar period increasingly for girls as well as for boys. In the past, educational opportunities usually were open only to the elite. The Japanese during the early 20th century, when they ruled the island, began to extend primary education to ordinary Taiwanese in an effort to train loyal citizens and literate workers. Taiwan now has one of the best-educated populations in Asia, second only to that of Japan. The preferred educational route is through liberal arts, looking to a career in government, or through professional training at a prestigious university. As postwar economic development gathered momentum, however, both government and families have also recognized the value of commercial and technical education.
Education is compulsory for nine years (six years of primary school and three years of middle school); secondary education includes senior high schools and vocational schools. There are also preschool education and social education, including adult education and special education. There are over 100 institutions of higher education, more than two-thirds of them private. Among the major public ones are the National Taiwan University (founded 1928) at Taipei, National Cheng Kung University (1931) at T’ai-nan, National Chung Hsing University (1961) at T’ai-chung, and National Sun Yat-sen University (1980) at Kao-hsiung.
- Health and welfare
Modern health practices were instituted early in the 20th century by the Japanese and were further developed by the Nationalist government. The Japanese largely eliminated tropical diseases—which until then had been a principal barrier to development in Taiwan—by installing water- and sewage-treatment plants and by training and equipping medical personnel. Taiwan now has a well-developed hospital system and medical profession. Life expectancy and infant-mortality rates are about the same as in most Western countries.
The overall economic growth and the Chinese custom of families caring for their elderly and unemployed members have kept government welfare spending low, but, because the birth rate is decreasing as the number of elderly is increasing, concern has been growing about the Chinese family’s ability to provide social security in the future. The government has thus been instituting social insurance programs covering an increasing percentage of the population.
The rapid growth of Taiwan’s large urban centres has resulted in housing shortages, which generally have been met by private developers. The government has built some apartments that have then been sold to the public by means of long-term, low-interest loans. In addition, the government has provided free housing for the poor.
Culture Life of Taiwan
History of Taiwan
Early History through World War II
There is evidence of inhabitation dating back roughly 20,000 years, possibly by now-extinct Negritos (see Pygmy). The origins of Taiwan's Austronesian aborigines, who may have arrived c.8,000 years ago, are a matter of debate. Some believe that these early inhabitants migrated from the Malay Archipelago, while others assert that they came from what is now SE China. The earliest Chinese settlements on Taiwan began in the 7th cent., chiefly from the mainland provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. The island was reached in 1590 by the Portuguese, who named it Formosa [ = beautiful]. In 1624 the Dutch founded forts in the south at present Tainan, while the Spanish established bases in the north. The Dutch, however, succeeded in expelling the Spaniards in 1641 and assumed control of the entire island. They in turn were forced to abandon Taiwan in 1662, when Koxinga, a general of the Ming dynasty of China who had to flee from the Manchus, seized the island and established an independent kingdom. However, the island fell to the Manchus in 1683. Chinese immigration increased, and the aboriginal population was gradually pushed into the interior.
Japan, attracted by the island's strategic and economic importance, acquired Taiwan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) after the First Sino-Japanese War. Japan exploited the island for the benefit of the Japanese home economy and tried to establish Japanese as the language of the island. The island was scarcely used, however, for Japanese colonization. Under Japan, Taiwan's economy was modernized and industrialized, railroads were built, and the large cities expanded. During World War II, Taiwan was heavily bombed by U.S. planes. In accordance with the Cairo declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Conference of 1945, Taiwan was returned to China as a province after the war.
- Nationalist Rule
In 1949, as the Chinese Communists gained complete control of the mainland, the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of his army took refuge on the island. The Chinese Communists planned an invasion of Taiwan in 1950, but it was thwarted when President Truman ordered the U.S. 7th Fleet to patrol Taiwan Strait. Japan renounced all claims to Taiwan and the Pescadores in the peace treaty of 1951, but Taiwan's territorial status remained a major issue among the great powers. In 1953, President Eisenhower announced the lifting of the blockade of Taiwan by the U.S. navy. In 1955, following repeated attacks by the People's Republic of China against the Nationalist-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu, the United States entered into a mutual security treaty with the Nationalists in which the U.S. promised to defend Taiwan from outside attack.
In 1958 there was continuous, intensive shelling of Quemoy and Matsu, and an invasion was again threatened. China reiterated its demands to the island, but the United States reasserted its determination to defend Taiwan, although it stressed that there was no commitment to help the Nationalist government return to the mainland. By the spring of 1959 bombardment of the islands had diminished, but no agreement had been reached. At that time, the Nationalist army was trained and equipped by the United States and there was also a sizable navy and modern air force. In support of Chiang's repeated declaration to free China from the Communists, Taiwan long served as a base for espionage and guerrilla forays into the Chinese mainland and for reconnaissance flights over China.
Internally, the Nationalist government implemented land reforms, which improved the lot of the peasants by allowing tenants to purchase their own land; much of it was bought by the government from big landlords and sold to tenant farmers under lenient terms. With U.S. economic aid, Taiwan enjoyed spectacular economic growth after 1950. The aid program was so successful that it became superfluous and was terminated after 1965. Chiang Kai-shek, elected to his fifth six-year term as president in 1972, was criticized for dictatorial methods. Between a native Taiwanese movement for independence and the continuing threat from China, the position of the Nationalist government was far from secure in the 1960s and 70s. Chiang died in 1975 and was replaced as president in 1978 by his son, Chiang Ching-kuo.
China's seat in the United Nations was taken away from the Republic of China and given to the People's Republic in 1971. Taiwan's international position continued to weaken in the early 1970s as the United States sought to improve relations with the People's Republic of China and as more large countries, such as Canada and Japan, moved to recognize the mainland government. The United States established formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on Jan. 1, 1979, which necessitated the cutting of its defense ties with Taiwan. To compensate, the United States passed (1979) the Taiwan Relations Act, which allows for the sale of defensive arms to Taiwan. Taiwan was also expelled (1980) from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in favor of the People's Republic of China. (the country does, however, belong to the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Official social and economic contact is maintained with the United States through the American Institute on Taiwan and the Coordination Council for North American Affairs.
- Contemporary Taiwan
The process of liberalization and democratization increased in Taiwan throughout the 1980s. The government's new openness included the recognition of some of its past actions, such as the Nationalist government's massacre of thousands of native Taiwanese in 1947. Although friction has lessened between the island Chinese, who make up about 85% of the population, and those who came from the mainland, it has remained a problem. Martial law, in effect since 1949, was lifted in 1987 and many jailed political dissidents were released. Opposition parties were legalized in Jan., 1989. Relations with mainland China were eased somewhat during the 1980s so that Taiwanese were allowed to visit after 1987, but the crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989 fanned Taiwanese mistrust of the mainland.
Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988 and was replaced by Lee Teng-hui, a Taiwan native, who was reelected by the national assembly in 1990. In 1991, Lee ended emergency rule, and all the members of the national assembly, many of whom were mainland delegates originally elected in 1947, stepped down. In elections for a new national assembly, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), which continued to promise unification with the mainland, held on to a majority, but the Democratic Progressive party, strongly advocating an independent "Republic of Taiwan," won nearly a third of the seats; the KMT retained its hold on the legislature throughout the 1990s.
In 1995 and 1996, Beijing conducted missile tests and ultimately military exercises near Taiwan in an effort to inhibit Taiwanese moves toward democracy and independence. In 1996, President Lee, who was opposed by the Beijing government, won a landslide victory in Taiwan's first-ever direct elections for president. A major earthquake hit central Taiwan in Sept., 1999, killing more than 2,000 people and causing massive infrastructure damage.
In the 2000 Taiwanese presidential election, a KMT split resulted in the election of the opposition candidate, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive party (DPP); the KMT retained control of the legislature. Chen did not move officially to alter Taiwan's status. In Oct., 2000, Chen cancelled a half-built nuclear power plant, creating a political crisis with the KMT-dominated legislature, which accused him of exceeding his powers; the crisis ended when Chen reversed himself in Feb., 2001. Limited direct travel and trade with China was permitted by Taiwan from Matsu and Quemoy beginning in Jan., 2001, and in November restrictions on Taiwanese investment in China were lifted. In the December legislative elections the DPP won the largest bloc of seats for the first time, but a bare majority of the seats were won by KMT and its offshoot, the People First party.
In late 2003 Taiwan passed a law permitting the holding of referendums; the move was stridently criticized by China, which believed the law would be used to obtain a vote for independence, and also criticized by the United States, which regarded such a vote as unnecessarily provocative. Chen won reelection in Mar., 2004, narrowly defeating KMT candidate Lien Chan in a two-person race. In the last days of the campaign Chen was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt; the opposition accused him of staging the shooting in an effort to win votes. The narrow victory also led to opposition calls for a recount, but the election was ultimately upheld after challenges in the courts.
Chen's victory led to DPP hopes for gains in the legislative elections in Dec., 2004, but the party failed to win a majority. The vote was seen as a defeat for Chen, who resigned as DPP chairman. China's adoption (Mar., 2005) of an antisecession law, which called for the use of force if peaceful means failed to achieve reunification with Taiwan, sparked protests in Taiwan.
In April and May China hosted Taiwanese opposition leaders in an attempt to undermine President Chen, but elections for a constitutional assembly in mid-May resulted in a plurality for the DPP. In Dec., 2005, however, the DPP did poorly in local elections. Chen's announcement in Feb., 2006, that the National Unification Council, a largely symbolic body on unification with the mainland, would cease to function brought a sharp response from China, which regarded the action as a possible move toward independence.
Revelations in May that the president's son-in-law was under investigation for insider trading—he was indicted for insider trading in July and convicted in December—led Chen to cede control of the cabinet to the prime minister. It also resulted in a recall move (June) against the president in the legislature, but the opposition measure failed to win the required two-thirds majority. In September there were a series of demonstrations against the president and in support of a second recall move; the move failed in October. In Nov., 2006, prosecutors charged Chen's wife with corruption over the handling of secret state funds and said that Chen himself would have been indicted but was protected by his presidential immunity. Chen denied the charges, but it led the opposition to mount a third recall move in the legislature, which also failed (Nov., 2006).
In the local elections in Dec., 2006, the DPP did better than expected, as its supporters did not abandon the party despite the scandals involving Chen. A major undersea earthquake S of Taiwan during the same month damaged a number of telecommunications cables and disrupted international communications among a number of E and SE Asian nations. The Jan., 2008, legislative elections resulted in a landslide victory for the KMT, which won more than two thirds of the seats, and the KMT candidate for president, Ma Ying-jeou, subsequently (March) easily defeated the DPP candidate.
The vice president–elect met in April with China's president; the highest level official contact between Taiwan and China since 1949, it was seen as sign of better relations between the two. In Nov., 2008, Taiwan and China signed agreements that led to improved trade and transportation between them; additional accords have since been agreed, with a landmark bilateral trade pact that removed tariffs on many products signed in June, 2010. Former President Chen and his wife, among others, were indicted on corruption charges in Dec., 2008; they were convicted in 2009 and on other charges in 2010 and 2011. In Aug., 2009, a typhoon caused significant destruction in S Taiwan and killed more than 600 persons; the government's poor handling of the disaster led to the resignation of the prime minister. Ma was reelected in Jan., 2012; in the legislative elections, the KMT retained a sizably reduced majority of the seats.
Disclaimer
This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].
Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.