Until the 17th century Taiwan is only sporadically mentioned in Chinese history. At the beginning of the XVII century. Dutch and Spanish explorers established settlements on the island’s west coast. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong, also known as Koxinga, who fled from mainland China, conquered the island from the Dutch. After 20 years, the island was occupied by China and incorporated into Fujian Province.

In 1886, the island was given the status of a province, but 9 years later, Taiwan, along with the Pescador Islands (Penghu Islands) and the Ryukyu Island, was transferred to Japan under the terms of the Shimonoseki Treaty, which ended the Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese introduced their language to the island, improved means of communication and transport, the health care system, farming methods and the use of energy resources. By the time of the first census in 1905, carried out by the Japanese, the Chinese population of the island had reached almost 3 million people. Check a2zdirectory for old history of Taiwan.

During World War II, the island served as a stronghold for Japan to penetrate the southern regions of the Pacific Ocean, in connection with which it was bombed by the allies. In 1945 he was returned to China. The first post-war governor, General Chen Yi, abused his power to such an extent that in early 1947, the outraged Taiwanese rebelled. Thousands of people were killed before government forces from the mainland put down the uprising. Two years later, when the civil war in China ended with the victory of the Communists in the mainland, the entire government of the Republic of China and about 2 million other Chinese left for Taiwan.

Relying on large-scale American assistance, President Chiang Kai-shek carried out agrarian reform in Taiwan, restored the railways, took measures to develop industry and improve the level of education. In 1971, the PRC was admitted to the UN, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) left its seats in this international organization. By the beginning of the 1970s. most countries of the world began to consider their trade relations with Taiwan separately from the issue of diplomatic recognition of this country.

In 1972, the US declared that the issue of Taiwan’s future should be decided by the Chinese themselves. In 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died, and his son, Jiang Jingguo, took over as head of the Republic of China. Under his leadership, Taiwan completed the process of transforming a small, poor and backward island province into a modern, dynamic, industrialized region.

In 1986, the activities of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party were officially allowed, and the people of Taiwan were granted the right to visit their relatives living in the PRC. In 1987, the law on martial law, which had been in force since 1949, was repealed.

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The people of Taiwan are brought up in Confucian traditions. They are characterized by loyalty to their land, a stable attitude to preserve the independence of the island, its political and economic system, frugality, diligence, obedience, practicality, pragmatism, the desire to benefit from everything, create conditions for raising living standards and ensuring a worthy place in society, respect for historical past of their country, a sense of superiority over the mainland Chinese.

The Taiwanese are extremely friendly and sympathetic. They especially respect those guests of the island who are interested in their culture.