HISTORY
- Dutch and Spanish settlers established bases in Taiwan in the early 17th century.
- Around 1.2 million people relocated from China to Taiwan along with the Republic of China (Taiwan) government in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The ROC was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan. The ROC government began exercising jurisdiction over Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II.
The ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 while fighting a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, the ROC has continued to exercise effective jurisdiction over the main island of Taiwan and a number of outlying islands, leaving Taiwan and China each under the rule of a different government. The authorities in Beijing have never exercised sovereignty over Taiwan or other islands administered by the ROC.
Historical Timeline
The following timeline focuses on Taiwan’s recorded history dating from about 400 years ago, although it has been home to Malayo-Polynesian peoples for many millenniums.
1500s
It is commonly believed that European sailors passing Taiwan record the island’s name as Ilha Formosa, or beautiful island.
Taiwan continues to experience visits by small numbers of Chinese merchants, fishermen and pirates.
1624
The Dutch East India Company establishes a base in southwestern Taiwan, initiating a transformation in aboriginal grain production practices and employing Chinese laborers to work on its rice and sugar plantations.
1626
Spanish adventurers establish bases in northern Taiwan but are ousted by the Dutch in 1642.
1662
Fleeing the Manchurian conquest of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Ming loyalists under Zheng Cheng-gong, or Koxinga, drive out the Dutch from Taiwan and establish authority over the island.
1683
Qing dynasty (1644-1912) forces take control of Taiwan’s western and northern coastal areas.
1885
Taiwan is declared a province of the Qing Empire.
1895
Following defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), the Qing government signs the Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which it cedes sovereignty over Taiwan to Japan, which rules the island until 1945.
1911~1912
Chinese revolutionaries overthrow the Qing Empire and establish the ROC.
1943
During World War II, ROC leader Chiang Kai-shek meets with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Cairo. After the conclusion of the conference, the Cairo Declaration is released, stating that “…Formosa [Taiwan], and the Pescadores [the Penghu Islands], shall be restored to the Republic of China…”
1945
The ROC, U.K. and U.S. jointly issue the Potsdam Declaration, calling for Japan’s unconditional surrender and the carrying-out of the Cairo Declaration.
After World War II, ROC government representatives accept the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan. The Chief Executive of Taiwan Province Chen Yi sends a memorandum to the Japanese governor-general of Taiwan, stating that “As the Chief Executive of Taiwan Province of the ROC,…I restore all legal territory, people, administration, political, economic, and cultural facilities and assets of Taiwan [including the Penghu Islands].”
1947
The ROC Constitution is promulgated Jan. 1 and is scheduled to take effect Dec. 25. In March and the following months, ROC troops dispatched from China suppress a large-scale uprising of Taiwan residents sparked by the February 28 Incident.
1948
As full-scale civil war rages in China between the Kuomintang-led ROC government and CCP, the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion are enacted, overriding the ROC Constitution and greatly expanding presidential powers. This begins the period of White Terror that lasts until 1991 when the Temporary Provisions are lifted.
1949
The ROC government relocates to Taiwan, followed by 1.2 million people from China.
Oct. 25 sees the Battle of Kuningtou on Kinmen, in which the ROC armed forces defeat the CCP on the northwestern coast of the island.
Martial law is declared in Taiwan and continues to be in force until 1987.
1952
Following the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan signed by 48 Allied nations on behalf of the United Nations, the Treaty of Peace is signed between the ROC and Japan at Taipei Guest House, formally ending the state of war between the two parties. It is recognized that under Article 2 of the San Francisco Treaty, Japan has renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) as well as the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands. All treaties, conventions and agreements concluded before Dec. 9, 1941, between China and Japan become null and void as a consequence of the war.
1954
The ROC-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty is signed in Washington.
1958
Aug. 23 sees the start of an artillery duel between the ROC garrison on Kinmen and Chinese forces that lasts more than 40 days.
1966
The first Export Processing Zone is established in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan. The creation of such zones propels Taiwan toward becoming a developed nation, setting a paradigm for other countries to follow.
1968
The nine-year compulsory education system is launched at a time when fewer than nine countries globally have compulsory education systems of this length or more.
1971
On Oct. 25, the United Nations General Assembly passes U.N. Resolution 2758 recognizing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only legitimate representative of China to the global body. The ROC withdraws from the U.N.
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