Taiwan’s Independent History 

Mapping Taiwan’s History

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“It might be time for the rest of us — like Nixon did in 1971 —
to recognize reality: there is China and there is Taiwan.”

— William C. Fox, Exploring History

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Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan

The raw truth is that no government of China, neither the current Communist administration nor the previous Kuomintang regime, has a persuasive legal or moral claim to sovereignty over Taiwan. During the 300 years of Qing Dynasty presence on the island, which ended in 1895 with Japanese annexation, China exercised a feeble and constantly challenged administration on only the Western third of Taiwan. After Taiwan was handed to Chiang Kai-shek at the end of the Second World War in 1945 — an illegal bequest as will be shown — the mainland Kuomintang government was already on the run from the Communists. Large areas of China were never under effective Kuomintang control and Chiang lost it all to Mao Zedong by the end of 1949. Thus, there has never been a Chinese administration which exercised government over both the Mainland and Taiwan at the same time.
      Beijing’s lust now to possess Taiwan is excited by the same passions that have driven other empires over the last five centuries to gather the island under their imperial mandates. Taiwanese, for whom the island has simply been a refuge from the horrors of life elsewhere, are cursed for living on an outcrop of mountains and plains that sits on the strategic meeting place between the Far East and Southeast Asia. It is also a spot in the oceans that can give control over the south China coast. For that unhappy accident of geography Taiwanese have paid dearly throughout their history and continue to pay.

Jonathan Manthorpe, Forbidden Nation (Palgrave Macmillan, October 14, 2005).

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Jonathan Manthorpe, a journalist who has covered China and Taiwan for the Vancouver Sun and other newspapers, has written the supremely useful single volume history of Taiwan, from its pre-Chinese Malay-Polynesian origins to the present day. The book is titled Forbidden Nation, and as the name suggests Manthorpe devotes most attention to the interaction between Taiwanese nationalism and the dynasts and colonialists who have suppressed it: mainland emperors, Japanese imperialists, the Chiang Kai-Shek regime, and now the Communist rulers of Beijing.
      The KMT would rule Taiwan as a police state for almost 40 years. Manthorpe again does justice to the good and bad of KMT rule: the amazing economic development it oversaw — and also the stifling repression, including some 45,000 summary executions between 1949 and the end of martial law.

The memory of that repression remains one of the great themes of Taiwan politics to this day.

David Frum, review of Forbidden Nation.

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The U.S. cannot and will not abandon a democratic Taiwan.

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Chiang Kai-Shek died in 1975. He was succeeded by his son, Chiang Ching-Kuo . . . As the United States drew closer to Communist China in the 1970s, the younger Chiang perceived that a small authoritarian island could expect little consideration of its vital interests. But what if the island were not so authoritarian? . . . Chiang relaxed the rigor of his rule, and in 1983 he chose a native Taiwanese, former Taipei mayor Lee Teng-Hui, as his vice president — and thus successor. On July 7, 1987, martial law was lifted. Ching-Kuo died in January 1988. In 1996, Taiwan held its first free, fair, and competitive elections.
      Manthorpe illustrates an important point about American foreign policy — which is that values always do matter, however little foreign-policy practitioners may like it. Taiwan’s transition to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s transformed the US-Taiwan relationship. The US might well have abandoned an authoritarian Taiwan to the mainland. It came close to doing so in 1949-1950, and again in 1971-1978. It cannot and will not abandon a democratic Taiwan.

David Frum, review of Forbidden Nation, continued.

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Thus, for a significant period in its early existence, the CCP, including Mao himself, considered Taiwanese a distinct nationality and advocated for Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation separate from China. It would be good to remind leaders in Beijing of this fact, and encourage them to look for peaceful solutions along those lines. Their current policies can only lead to conflict.

Gerrit van der Wees, The Diplomat.

When the CCP Thought Taiwan Should Be Independent

The Chinese Communist Party’s position on Taiwan is far from consistent.
Just look at Chairman Mao’s initial stance.

The problem with Beijing’s [current] position is twofold: first, it has no solid historical basis, and second, historically speaking it is relatively recent. Thus it is not as ‘principled’ and ‘consistent’ as it is portrayed to be.
      The claim that Taiwan was part of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties is debatable at best. It was certainly not part of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): When the Dutch East India Company arrived in Taiwan in 1624, it found no evidence of any Ming administrative structure, while before that time, it was only inhabited by native aborigines of Malay Polynesian descent.
      The new Manchu Emperor wasn’t really interested in the island at all; his main goal was to defeat the last remnants of the Ming Dynasty. In 1683, the Kangxi Emperor even stated that ‘Taiwan is outside our Empire and of no great consequence.’ He offered to let the Dutch buy it back.

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“Taiwan is outside our Empire and of no great consequence.”

— Kangxi Emperor, 1683

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From 1683 to 1895 Formosa was formally administered as part of the province of Fukien, but in reality it was a wild and open frontier. More than 100 armed revolts took place during that period. The inhabitants viewed the Qing Dynasty as very much as a colonial regime and in no way saw themselves as ‘part of China.’ It was not until 1887 that Taiwan was formally elevated to the status of ‘Province of China,’ but that only lasted eight years — an inconvenient truth for Beijing.
      But the main point of this analysis is that the position of the CCP leaders in particular has not always held that Taiwan is ‘an inalienable part of China.’ 
      In the April 1895 Peace Treaty of Shimonoseki, which concluded the 1894-95 Sino-Japanese War, it was decided that – inter alia – sovereignty over Taiwan would be formally transferred in perpetuity from the Qing Empire to Japan.

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Between 1928 and 1943, Chinese Communist Party leaders
consistently recognized Taiwan as a distinct nation.

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Taiwan had not been consulted in any way in this decision, and in May 1895 the local gentry convinced Qing Governor Tang Jingsong to declare the independent Republic of Formosa, while ‘Black Flag’ general Liu Yongfu commanded an army of some 100,000 soldiers.
      But the newly formed republic was no match for the modern Japanese army, and by October 1895 the Japanese had routed Liu and his troops. Still, local armed resistance against the Japanese continued for almost a decade, forging a newfound ‘Taiwanese’ identity.
      Certainly during the first decade of the ROC’s existence, the various Chinese governments typically treated Taiwan with utmost indifference and at times referred to Taiwan as a separate country.
      For example, political historian Alan M. Wachman cites several statements from ROC “founding father” Sun Yat-sen and eventual leader Chiang Kai-shek in which they equated Taiwan’s situation to colonized Korea and Vietnam, and expressed support for the island’s independence from Japan.
By the late 1920s, the young CCP . . . did develop a very distinct position vis-à-vis Taiwan, which was totally the opposite of the party’s present position.
      As is described in detail in the seminal study by Frank S. T. Hsiao, and Lawrence R. Sullivan. ‘The Chinese Communist Party and the Status of Taiwan, 1928-1943,’ between 1928 and 1943 Communist Party leaders consistently recognized the Taiwanese as a distinct “nation” or “nationality” (minzu).
      The CCP also acknowledged the ‘national liberation movement’ on Japan-occupied Taiwan as the struggle of a ‘weak and small nationality’ that was separate from the Chinese revolution and potentially sovereign.
      This was expressed most clearly by Chairman Mao Zedong in his 1937 interview with American journalist Edgar Snow, who quoted Mao as saying: ‘. . . we will extend them (the Koreans) our enthusiastic help in their struggle for independence. The same thing applies for Taiwan.’ This position was reiterated in subsequent years by CCP luminaries like Zhou Enlai.

Gerrit van der Wees, “When the CCP Thought Taiwan Should Be Independent,” The Diplomat / May 03, 2022.

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PRE-HISTORY

Why Taiwan Is Important 

“It is the opinion of many that Taiwan is the origin point of the Austronesian expansion through the Pacific Ocean, whose descendent groups today include ethnic groups in the Philippines, Micronesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor, Madagascar, and Polynesia. 

“Most historical linguists also believe Taiwan to be the original homeland of the Austronesian language family. So, we can understand that this 36,000-square kilometers holds great importance from a very early stage in human history.”

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The Dutch, Koxinga, and Qing Campaigns | The Conquests of Taiwan (1624-1683)

VIDEO [42 min] — Strategy Stuff / May 1, 2021

DESCRIPTION: We examine the three successful conquests of the island from 1624-1683: the initial colonization by the Dutch East India Company (1624-62), the takeover by Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong or Koxinga (1661-62), and the final conquest by Qing Admiral Shi Lang (1682-1683).

SCRIPT: The Conquests of Taiwan (1624-1683)

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When Taiwan was China’s

Taiwan was once a province of China, but for only a brief period: 1887 to 1895, and the era laid the foundation for a separate identity in Taiwan.
      In the early 1870s Japan made military incursions into the area in order to punish local pirates, while from 1884 to 1885 France briefly occupied northern Taiwan. The Japanese expansion and the French episode convinced the Qing court in Beijing that it was necessary to pay more attention to Taiwan, and governor Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳) was asked by the Court to prepare to make Taiwan a province in its own right.
      Liu’s first order of business was to try to bring the Aboriginal population under his control: from 1885 through 1887 he conducted three major military campaigns but lost one-third of his men, while in the end only one-third of Aboriginal areas were under his control. Still, in 1887 Taiwan was officially declared a province of China, and Liu was made its first governor.
      Liu also tolerated dissent and his policies started to attract intellectuals from China, escaping the oppressive atmosphere under the late Qing dynasty rule. The mix of these intellectuals and local gentry brought about a flourishing culture of art and literature. It resulted in the birth of a local identity that saw itself as distinct from China. This also formed the powerbase for the subsequent Formosa Republic.
      While during this brief interlude of eight years, Taiwan was indeed ruled as a province of China, at the same time the era established a more solid basis for a separate Taiwanese identity: a multicultural mix of the Aboriginal, Hakka and Hokkien heritages.

From Gerrit van der Wees, “When Taiwan was China’s (for seven years),” Taipei Times / February 27, 2018.

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Formosa Republic

The Republic of Formosa existed only for five months. The Japan troops staged themselves near Keelung, northern coast of Taiwan in May 29, 1895. They carried out a battle of five months that swept south toward Tainan capital city. On the night of June  4, 1895, General Chiu and President Tang escaped to Tamsui and the Japanese captured Keelung.
      Liu yung-fu took over as the leader of the Republic in Tainan after the escape of Tang. He refused to serve as President but served as the commander-in-chief of the resistance against the Japanese. Although the Japanese advance was slowed by Formosa’s guerilla activities, they defeated them. On October 21, 1895, Tainan fell ending organized resistance to Japan and marking beginning of Japanese rule in Taiwan.

“What and Where Was the Republic of Formosa?” World Atlas.

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Formosa’s Rise and Fall

The brief Republic of Formosa’s chapter in Taiwan’s history carries important
lessons for Taiwan today: Ensure that the country has adequate military and
build a solid network of significant allies who can come to the nation’s defense

On May 23, 1895, the Taiwanese declared independence through the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Formosa. A few weeks earlier, on April 17 1895, the Qing Dynasty government in Beijing, represented by viceroy Li Hongzhang (李鴻章), had signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and under the provisions of the treaty, Taiwan had been ceded to Japan in perpetuity.
      The short-lived Republic of Formosa was in a sense way ahead of its time. It tried to lay the foundation for the idea that Asians were ready for progressive rule, based on the democratic concepts which had their basis in the American and French republics. It did show the deep-seated desire of the educated and literate part of the population for representative government.
      Additionally, the invasion by a common enemy — the Japanese — became a very formative period in Taiwan’s history and helped shape a Taiwanese identity, as it forced the very disparate population groups (Hoklo-speakers, Hakka and Aborigines) that had until then competed with each other for land and other resources, to work together to fend off the incoming invaders.
      Thus, the Republic of Formosa’s chapter in Taiwan’s history carries important lessons for Taiwan today: Ensure that the country has adequate military capabilities to defend itself, build a solid network of significant allies who can be counted on and who have the capabilities and the political will to come to the country’s defense.

Gerrit van der Wees, “The rise and fall of the Republic of Formosa,” Taipei Times / June 4, 2018. Gerrit van der Wees is a former Dutch diplomat. From 1980 through 2016 he served as the editor of Taiwan Communique. He teaches History of Taiwan at George Mason University.

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JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD (1895-1945)

Empire of Japan’s Aggression

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Japanese Occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945)

Facts and Details

Musha Incident

The Musha Incident (Chinese and Japanese: 霧社事件; pinyin: Wùshè Shìjiàn; Wade–Giles: Wu4-she4 Shih4-chien4; rōmaji: Musha Jiken; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bū-siā Sū-kiāⁿ), also known as the Wushe Rebellion and several other similar names, began in October 1930 and was the last major uprising against colonial Japanese forces in Japanese Taiwan. In response to long-term oppression by Japanese authorities, the Seediq indigenous group in the settlement of Musha (Wushe) attacked a Japanese village, killing over 130 Japanese. In response, the Japanese led a relentless counter-attack, killing over 600 Seediq in retaliation.

“Musha Incident,” Wikipedia, retrieved October 12, 2023.

Warriors of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Blood-stained rainbow

A new film highlights the island’s aborigines

A FILM that depicts Taiwan’s half-century of Japanese colonial rule from the point of view of a fierce tribe of indigenous headhunters is generating a surge of national pride on the island. “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” was surrounded by buzz at this year’s Venice Film Festival. But that was nothing compared with its reception in Taiwan since opening on September 9th.
Made by an acclaimed Taiwanese director, Wei Te-sheng, with John Woo, a Hollywood force, as producer, the film has already broken records.

The Economist | TAIPEI | September 17, 2011.

Mona Rudao — Taiwan Hero

Chief Mona Rudao (also known as Monaludo or Mona Radau) was born as the first son of Rudao Bai, the chief of the Mahebo Community of the Atayal tribe, in 1882. This favoured background helped him to be one of only 6 aborigines to graduate from ‘normal’ school in Formosa (Taiwan) under the Japanese. As the educated son of an Atayal chief, who necessarily spoke Japanese, Mona Rudao was subsequently honoured with a visit to the Japanese ‘motherland.’
      At the end of 1930 he was dead. Reputed to be the leader of the Atayal braves who carried out the attack on a school in Wushe in the same year, Chief Mona Rudao and his followers were mercilessly hunted down. Chief Mona Rudao committed suicide on 1 December 1930 in a cave. 
      The Japanese only located his body four years later. His remains were taken to the Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University Department of Archaeology where they were displayed as a warning to all Taiwanese. After much confusion over identity and location, Chief Mona Rudao was finally honoured and laid to rest at Wushe, Nantou County in 1981.
      A 20NT coin to honour Chief Mona Rudao was minted in 2001 for general usage. 
Chief Mona Rudao had become a Taiwanese icon.

Mona Rudao, “Introduction,” Takao Club.

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WORLD WAR II

Taiwan under Japanese rule

DESCRIPTION: Taiwanese had had been under Japanese rule for roughly four decades when the Second Sino-Japanese War (World War II) began. Many Taiwanese were supportive of Japanese cause. 
The Taiwanese living in China were strongly anti-Japanese.
      “In China, the Taiwanese community and political organizations sought to unite under a more centralized front, known as the Alliance of Taiwanese Revolutionary Organization to help the Chinese combat the Japanese, as well as to influence the Nationalist Government on how to assist Taiwan and correctly govern the nation once the Chinese liberate it from Japanese control. The Alliance was not only a political movement, but also a military and intelligence movement. Each organization had its own espionage and guerilla tactics against the Japanese, as well as involvement in spreading propaganda to support their cause. The organizations were the Taiwanese Revolutionary League, Taiwan Volunteers, and Taiwan Party Headquarters.”
      The video highlights Luke Diep-Nguyen’s 2020 book, Taiwan — The Israel of the East: How the US, China, and Japan Influenced the Forming of a New Nation.

Where Are Taiwanese Soldiers in History?

According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 207,183 Taiwanese — 126,750 military personnel (1937-1945) and 80,433 soldiers (1942-1945) — fought in the Sino-Japanese and the Pacific wars in the Japanese Imperial army. A total of 30,304 were killed in action, and more than 15,000 were listed as missing.
      Casualty rates among Taiwanese were around 15 percent, much higher than those for Japanese troops.
      Many Taiwanese men volunteered because they were taught that fighting for the Japanese emperor was an honor and that they would receive better payment as soldiers. Approximately 20,000 of them were Aborigines.

“The Forgotten Souls: Where Are Taiwanese Soldiers in History?” Thinking Taiwan.

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“Taiwan has been colonized multiple times, by the Dutch, the Chinese and the Japanese.
Some colonizers, such as the Japanese, are remembered more fondly than others.”

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Nostalgia for Japan

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POST-WAR: 228 INCIDENT, WHITE TERROR, MARTIAL LAW

The Precursor to Taiwan’s White Terror Era

“One of Taiwan’s darkest hours is 228. Some only remember contraband cigarettes, but the situation
in Taiwan during 1945 to 1947 led to three weeks of indiscriminate arrests, killings and executions.”

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Formosa Betrayed

BOOK — by George Kerr / PDF.

Special exhibition on former US Diplomat and author of Formosa Betrayed, George Kerr

The 228 Massacre

On the night of February 27, 1947, agents from the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau attempted to confiscate contraband cigarettes from a 40-year-old woman selling them in front of a tea house in Taipei.
      When she asked for the agents to return her money and cigarettes, one of the agents beat her on the head with his pistol. An angry crowd gathered to confront the agents for their excessive use of force. As the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents fled, one fired into the crowd, killing a bystander.
      Compounding on existing discontent over rising unemployment rates, inflation, and government corruption, this incident sparked mass protests the following morning on February 28, 1947.
      Initially, protestors marched on the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau to call for action against the agents involved in the previous day’s shootings. When a crowd swarmed the Governor-General’s office, his guards opened fire on the protestors.
This violence sparked an open rebellion that lasted for several weeks and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
      The declaration of martial law on this day marked the beginning of the White Terror.
      Local leaders formed the 228 Incident Settlement Committee and presented the ROC government with the 32 Demands, a list of proposals for provincial administration reform. The list included demands for greater autonomy, free elections, and an end to government corruption.
      However, a violent crackdown on the uprising began on March 8, 1947 when reinforcements from the Nationalist army arrived in Taiwan. By the end of March, Chen Yi had ordered the imprisonment or execution of all Taiwanese organizers that he could identify, killing between 3,000 and 4,000 people throughout the island.
      The 228 Massacre remained unacknowledged for 48 years until 1995, when President Lee Teng-Hui, a victim of 228, issued a formal apology on behalf of the government. He declared February 28th as a national holiday, officially known as Peace Memorial Day, meant to honor and remember the victims of the 228 Massacre.

“228 Massacre,” OFTWAIWAN.

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Post War Conditions

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THE HISTORICAL DIVIDE BETWEEN TAIWAN & CHINA

White Terror

White Terror is perhaps the darkest period of time for Taiwan. Starting with the 228 Massacre in 1947 until the end of the martial law in July 15, 1987, the White Terror had wiped out an entire generation, culturally and historically. The Republic of China, under the aim of taking back all of China, targeted any individuals in Taiwan that spoke up against the government or had a strong sense of Taiwanese identity.

“White Terror,” OFTAIWAN

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Victims of Taiwan’s White Terror

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Activists Commemorate Victims of Taiwan’s White Terror Era

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Martial Law

Martial law ran from 1949 to 1987, running for 38 years, making it the longest martial law imposed at the time. Today, it is now the second longest as the longest martial law period is the still active martial law imposed on Syria since 1963.
      On 1987, July 14, President Chiang Ching-Kuo declared that on July 15, martial law will be lifted. All other laws set in order with the martial law to increase executive branch power were also removed.

“Martial Law,” OFTAIWAN.

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Nixon Goes to China

President Nixon Announces Trip to China

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“In anticipation of the inevitable speculation which will follow this announcement, I want to put our policy in the clearest possible context. Our action in seeking a new relationship with the People’s Republic of China will not be at the expense of our old friends. It is not directed against any other nation. We seek friendly relations with all nations. Any nation can be our friend without being any other nation’s enemy.”

—  President Richard Nixon, July 15, 1971

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50 Years of UN Resolution 2758

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U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Part I

— From World War II to 1979

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TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT

U.S. Congress, Taiwan Relations Act, Adopted April 10, 1979

Responding to President Jimmy Carter’s derecognition of Taiwan, the U.S. Congress adopted this measure, which was written to have been effective retroactively from January 1, 1979.

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TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT
PUBLIC LAW 96-8 96TH CONGRESS

An Act

To help maintain peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific and to promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Short Title
Section 1. This Act may be cited as the “Taiwan Relations Act”.

Findings and Declaration of Policy
Section 2.
The President — having terminated governmental relations between the United States and the governing authorities on Taiwan recognized by the United States as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979, the Congress finds that the enactment of this Act is necessary —
— to help maintain peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific; and
— to promote the foreign policy of the United States by authorizing the continuation of commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan.

It is the policy of the United States—

— to preserve and promote extensive, close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China mainland and all other peoples of the Western Pacific area;
— to declare that peace and stability in the area are in the political, security, and economic interests of the United States, and are matters of international concern;
— to make clear that the United States decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means;
— to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States;
— to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character; and
— to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.

Nothing contained in this Act shall contravene the interest of the United States in human rights, especially with respect to the human rights of all the approximately eighteen million inhabitants of Taiwan. The preservation and enhancement of the human rights of all the people on Taiwan are hereby reaffirmed as objectives of the United States.

TO READ THE FULL ACT [here]

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The Taiwan Relations Act at 30, part 6 — Dr. Joseph Wu 

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35 Years Later: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Taiwan Relations Act

Welcome Keynote & Panel 1

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Formosa Incident

The Formosa Incident or the Kaohsiung Incident occurred on December 10, 1979. 

Viewing the Republic of China’s actions targeting Taiwanese intellectuals, including exiling, blackmailing, and even murdering, as a violation against human rights, Formosa Magazine prepared for a rally to celebrate the International Human Rights Day on December 10.
      Multiple applications were made to the government to gain permission to assemble, but they were all denied. Despite this, Formosa Magazine decided to continue with the rally . . . .
      On December 9, the government issued a curfew for the following day. In order to “maintain society order,” there would be no public assemblies.
      As evening came around, tens of thousands of people gathered at what is now the Formosa Boulevard MRT Station. At the same time, riot police were forming around the crowd. Organizers tried to speak to the police force to allow them to assemble until 11 pm.
      At 8 pm, police forces started to hurl tear gas into the crowd, but speakers continued onstage. At around 10 pm, more tear gas were shot into the crowd and riot police started to approach the rally with riot shields. Armed with sticks and stones, the people at the rally started to fight against the police.
      The next day, on December 11, 1979, the government started arresting individuals involved in the illegal public assembly. A total of 152 people were indicted.
      This marked the first planned civil movement in modern Taiwan history and sparked the movement for a fight for the Taiwanese identity. After this event, people all around Taiwan started to care more about Taiwan politics. However, this also led to a stronger crackdown from the government leading to the murder of a number of prominent leaders in the Taiwan movement. These actions by the Chinese Nationalist Party started to be admonished by the international human rights community.
      Among the people prosecuted, 8 people were known to be leaders and are known as the “KaoHsiung Eight”
      Among these eight were Chen Chu (陳菊), current KaoHsiung Mayor, and Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former vice president. These also included three former chairmen of the later formed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
      In addition, the lawyer team that defended the KaoHsiung eight were also being highlighted. One of which would later become the first non-Chinese Nationalist Party president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-Bian (陳水扁.)

Formosa Incident, OFTAIWAN.

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Turning Point for Democracy: 1979 Formosa Incident Remembered in Taiwan

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Kaohsiung Incident Anniversary

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DEMOCRACY ARRIVES 

How the KMT Let Go

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“The relationship between the two sides of the strait is a special relationship. It’s a special state-to-state relationship.”

— Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui / July 1999

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Lee Teng-hui’s Legacy

Former President Lee Teng-hui was a pivotal figure in Taiwan’s transition from a police state to a full-fledged democracy. Over his 12 years in office, Lee spearheaded many reforms, culminating in Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. As Taiwan’s first native-born leader, Lee continued to be an outspoken advocate for Taiwan even after his tenure. His commitment to democratic values even earned him the title “Mr. Democracy” in the international media. 
      It’s January 13, 1988. Taiwan’s leader Chiang Ching-kuo has just died. That very night, Lee was sworn in as president of Taiwan at the Presidential Office. From that very moment, Lee started working on an enormous task: reforming Taiwan. After securing a second term in 1990, Lee faced his first challenge.
      That year, just before his inauguration, the weeklong Wild Lily student protests took off in Taipei. Lee agreed to convene a national affairs conference with non-governmental organizations to spur reform in Taiwan. Lee also kicked off a series of amendments to the Constitution. In March 1991, the Executive Yuan adopted the Guidelines for National Unification, which, among other issues, highlighted that any unification of Taiwan and China should first respect the rights and interests of the Taiwanese. Later, in April, the National Assembly abolished the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion, which had been enacted in 1948 to establish martial law in Taiwan. Not long after, the first steps were taken to abolish the National Assembly and transfer its powers to the Legislative Yuan. First, the National Assembly held direct elections, with legislative elections following in 1992. That year, the Constitution was further revised to instate direct presidential elections instead of the assembly electing a leader.
      In 1995, Lee visited his U.S. alma mater, Cornell University, where he gave a commencement speech titled “Always in My Heart.” That was his first time he publicly referred to Taiwan as “The Republic of China on Taiwan.” That, together with policies restricting direct contact between Taiwan and China spurred censure from Beijing. But it also boosted Lee’s popularity in Taiwan. 
      In 1996, Lee won Taiwan’s first direct presidential election with 54% of the vote. While in office, he spearheaded six constitutional amendments, conducted a complete reelection of the national legislature and institutionalized direct elections for Taiwan’s provincial governor and president. He took a step further in 1999, defining cross-strait relations as a “special state-to-state relationship.” Newsweek in 1996.

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Sunflower Movement

Thousands of Taiwanese protest China pact

      More than hundred thousand Taiwanese have rallied against a trade pact with China. Taiwan’s president says the deal will improve the economy, but campaigners say it will make their territory too economically dependent on China. Al Jazeera’s Azhar Sukri reports.
      From the VIDEO: Filling the streets of the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, these people are angry about a plan to bring the economy closer to China’s.
      “Fight for Democracy! Retract the Service Pact!”
“The government approved such a crucial trade pact within just 30 seconds,” explains one woman. “We cannot accept this because it directly affects the Taiwanese people.”

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“From a political perspective, as the Communist Party had once announced, it is much easier to buy Taiwan instead of invade Taiwan using [military] forces.”

— Prof. Huang Guo Chang, advisor to the Sunflower Movement

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The Sunflower Revolt: Protests in Taiwan

      The Republic of China, or Taiwan as it is better known, has been independent from mainland China for over half a century. However China claims the island as its territory and has a stated aim of re-unification.
      Throughout March protests gripped the streets of the capital Taipei in response to the manner a service trade agreement was being pushed through the congress. The trade agreement allows Chinese companies to invest in a host of Taiwanese industries, moving the country towards greater economic integration with China. It is seen by many as an act of commercial colonization by China and a threat to Taiwan’s autonomy and democracy. 
      On March 18th a group of students overwhelmed police and occupied the Legislative Yuan (Taiwanese Parliament). Dubbed the Sunflower Movement they remained camped in the parliament for 24 days. One of their core demands is to hold off any further trade talks between Taiwan and China, until an oversight mechanism has been implemented.

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Eighth Anniversary of Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement

      A moment that changed the face of Taiwanese politics and heralded a worldwide shift in perspective. On March 18, 2014, demonstrators stormed Taiwan’s legislature and stayed there for 23 days. . . . They were there to protest the Cross Strait Service Trade Agrement.
      But the legacy of the Sunflower Movement wasn’t just felt in Taiwan, it influenced Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, which erupted later the same year, and presaged a sea-change in how the rest of the world viewed China under its increasingly aggressive and authoritarian new leader, Xi Jinping.

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Island’s Sunrise by Fire Extinguisher 

      Starting from March 18th, whether it is the students in the conference hall or the group of students who are guarding the whole day outside the conference hall, the song that is most often heard and rang out from the speakers or the people’s mouths is composed by the Fire Extinguisher Band “Good Night Taiwan” . . . It sings the aspirations of the people at the bottom to pursue happiness and freedom, and is in line with Taiwan’s expectations. Looking forward to a peaceful future, this song has become a must-play song for the movement every day. Therefore, when the atmosphere . . . fell into a downturn due to the distortion of the media, the student groups began to think about one thing: how to gather power with the energy of art. 
      [T]he student groups of the National Taipei University of the Arts (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Fine Arts, the Department of Film, the Department of New Media, and the Department of Animation at Taipei University of the Arts) mustered up the courage to invite Yang Dazheng, the lead singer of the Fire Extinguisher Band, to sing at the scene, hoping that “The Fire Extinguisher Band” . . . also felt the same way about being able to write an exclusive song for this movement and happily agreed.
      At the moment when this idea was implemented, lead singer Tai Zheng went to the Legislative Yuan to find inspiration for song creation. That day coincided with the occupation of the Executive Yuan on March 23. Seeing the protests and violent suppression broadcast on television, Lin Feifan, one of the representatives of the student movement [said] to Taisho: “What I think of now is that we need a little gentle power.” 

Google Translated description.

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“Now we need a little gentle power.”

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Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan’s first female president

      In her victory speech, she vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan’s democracy and both sides must ensure there are no provocations.
Despite the past eight years of reduced tensions and much improved relations built by the KMT and China, Taiwanese voters have voted for Ms Tsai from the pro-independence party instead. Basically, they’ve voted to keep Beijing at a distance.
      This reflects not only widespread dissatisfaction with President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT over insufficient measures to improve the lacklustre economy, low wages and widening wealth gap — it also reflects growing worries by Taiwanese people that the island may become too economically dependent on China and that this will make it hard for Taiwan to fend off pressures by Beijing to reunify with it one day.
      The message voters have sent Beijing is that, while they want reduced tensions and good relations, they cherish Taiwan’s sovereignty, democracy and self-rule even more.

“Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan’s first female president,” BBC, January 17, 2016.

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U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Part II

— From 1979 through the Trump Era

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“The idea is we don’t have a need to declare ourselves an independent state. We are an independent country already. We call ourselves the Republic of China-Taiwan.”

— Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen

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Taiwan Report

— News and Analysis that affects Taiwan’s Future

RESOURCE — report.tw

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Taiwan’s two youth uprisings and voter turnout

Eminent political scientist Nathan Batto posted figures showing that youth turnout in the 2020 election was dramatically higher than in 2016, right after the Sunflower Movement. How could that be!? Taiwan Report News delves into it and more in this three-part series.

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VIDEO — [9 min] Taiwan Report News Brief / June 6, 2021.

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CHINA THREATENS WAR 

China planning to invade Taiwan? 

Xi Jinping clinched a historic third five-year term as China’s leader, and there are dire warnings about what that means for the country. The head of the US Navy has cautioned that the world needs to be prepared for the Chinese invasion of Taiwan by the end of the year.

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“Their next step is to annex Taiwan.”

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The Chinese Invasion Threat: 

Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia

BOOK By Ian Easton / Published 2017.

A Book Talk with Ian Easton

DESCRIPTION: The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a conversation with Ian Easton on his new book, The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy. Over the past two decades, the People’s Republic of China has undergone a profound economic, military, and political transformation. . . . Now, with Xi Jinping on the precipice of securing more executive power than any leader since Mao Zedong, gaining insights into China’s increasingly ambitious global strategy is more crucial than ever. In The Final Struggle, Easton works to shed light on the inner machinations of Beijing’s political system, using primary sources and internal political documents to provide an unprecedented view into Xi Jinping’s China. In doing so, he underlines the grave implications of failing to respond to China’s growing challenge to the international order.

Ian Easton on Xi Jinping and the CCP’s Grand Strategy

DESCRIPTION: Ian Easton, senior director at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy, joins the podcast to talk about Xi Jinping, the ideology that shaped Jinping and by which he rules, and why his vision for the world should not be dismissed.

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“Her promise to stand up for Taiwan saw her reelected by a landslide in Sunday’s vote.”

— BBC News, January 14, 2020

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China warned to show Taiwan respect

President Tsai: “The idea is we don’t have a need to declare ourselves an independent state. We are an independent country already. We call ourselves the Republic of China-Taiwan.”

President Tsai: “China has been intensifying its threat. . . . And also with the things happening in Hong Kong, people get a real sense that this threat is real.”

BBC’s John Sudworth: “[President Tsai] says she plans to further strengthen Taiwan’s democracy. The very thing that divides it from its authoritarian neighbor may in the end prove its most powerful defense.”

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U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Part III

— From 2020 to the present

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Eyeing China, Taiwan urges alliance against ‘aggressive actions’

“The rapid militarisation of the South China Sea, increasing and frequent grey-zone tactics in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea, coercive diplomacy used against countries and corporations . . . are all destabilising the Indo-Pacific region,” Tsai said, without directly naming China.

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“It is time for like-minded countries, and democratic friends in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, to discuss a framework to generate sustained and concerted efforts to maintain a strategic order that deters unilateral aggressive actions.”

— Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen

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It’s Getting More Likely The Japanese Would Fight for Taiwan

      Japanese leaders apparently have resigned themselves to war in the event China invades Taiwan.
Ideally during a counter-invasion campaign, the Japanese government not only would allow U.S. force to launch combat operations from American bases on Japanese soil—Japanese troops also would join the operations.
      There’s a growing likelihood they’d do so, if the rhetoric coming out of Tokyo is any indication. “We are family with Taiwan,” Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan’s defense minister, said during an online event on Monday. Taiwan’s integrity “is clearly related to Okinawa’s protection.”
      A clear willingness by Japan to send its troops into battle over Taiwan severely could complicate Chinese planning. Perhaps to the point of making an invasion unacceptably risky.
      That’s the whole point of Tokyo’s new willingness at least to discuss an active role in Taiwan’s defense. “We have to show deterrence to China,” Nakayama said.

Daniel Axe, “It’s Getting More Likely the Japanese Would Fight for Taiwan” – Forbes / July 2021.

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Biden: US would defend Taiwan militarily

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, in one of the most forceful and overt statements in support of Taiwan in decades.

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President Biden on Taiwan 

President Biden tells 60 Minutes that U.S. men and women would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. 

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TAIWAN MEANS BUSINESS

Pound for Pound, Taiwan Is the Most Important Place in the World

Its excellence in the computer chip market puts it at the
center of the battle for global technological supremacy.

      Its excellence in the computer chip market puts it at the center of the battle for global technological supremacy.
      After World War II, only two major emerging economies managed to grow faster than 5 percent for five decades in a row and to rise from poverty into the ranks of developed economies. One was Taiwan, the other South Korea. They kept advancing up the industrial ladder by investing more heavily in research and development than did any of their rivals among emerging economies. Now they are among the research leaders of the developed economic world as well.
      Taiwan has tried to position itself as the “Switzerland” of chips, a neutral supplier, but it increasingly finds itself at the center of the jousting between China and the United States. U.S. sanctions against China’s leading smartphone maker, Huawei, were designed in part to block Huawei’s access to chips from T.S.M.C. Beijing responded by accelerating a campaign to build its own advanced chip plants on Chinese soil. And the Trump administration countered by inviting T.S.M.C. to build a U.S. chip fabrication plant, which will be in Arizona.
      Unlike Taiwan’s other factories, which are scattered worldwide, its chip fabrication plants are concentrated on its home island, just 100 miles off the mainland coast of China. In the event of military conflict or rising tension, U.S. access to those chip fabrication plants could be vulnerable to missile threat or naval blockade.
      Historically, the importance of Taiwan was calculated in geopolitical terms. A small democracy thriving in the shadow of a Communist giant stirred sympathy and support in Washington. Now, as a byproduct of its successful economic model, Taiwan has become a critical link in the global tech supply chain, adding economic weight to the geopolitical calculations. And that weight is likely to increase as the battle for global tech supremacy heats up.

Ruchir Sharma, “Pound for Pound, Taiwan Is the Most Important Place in the World,” New York Times / December 14, 2020.

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Taiwan Ranks Among Top 10 Democracies in Annual Index 

      Taiwan ranked as the eighth-strongest democracy in the world last year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s new 2021 
      Democracy Index, and as the second strongest in Asia and Australasia, even as democracies elsewhere continue to struggle.
      Beyond the 2021 EIU Democracy Index, Taiwan regularly ranks highly in other global rankings measuring political freedom and equality — considered by many to be a remarkable turnaround for a society that lived under martial law from 1949 to 1987.

”Taiwan Ranks Among Top 10 Democracies in Annual Index” — Voice of America / February 11, 2022.

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President Tsai addresses Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2023

      On May 15, at the invitation of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation (AoD), President Tsai Ing-wen addressed the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2023.
      The president said that while Taiwan deals with threats from China with resilience and courage, it is the partnership we have with like-minded countries that will prove to be the most effective defense of all, adding that by standing and working together, we can only make each other stronger.

Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) / May 15, 2021.

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“Our experience is one of resilience. It is an experience of upholding democratic and progressive values, the existence of which is being constantly challenged. The vibrant democracy Taiwan is today, bears testament to what a determined practitioner of democracy, characterized by good governance, can achieve.”

— Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen

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