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129-620: It has a population total of 14,131 and an area of 18.2105 square kilometres. Shigang, Wanan, Jiufang, Jinxing, Longxing, Wanxing, Meizi, Tuniu, Dexing and Hecheng Village. This article about a location in Taiwan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Taiwan Taiwan , officially the Republic of China ( ROC ), is a country in East Asia . The main island of Taiwan , also known as Formosa , lies between

258-743: A Taiwanese identity , though moderates supporting the status quo have gained broad appeal in the 21st century. Since 1949 many countries must choose between the PRC and the ROC with which to establish formal diplomatic relations and shape their respective " One China " policy. Initially excluded from the United Nations in favor of Taipei, Beijing has gained increased recognition as the legitimate government of China. The ROC has formal diplomatic relations with only twelve nations but maintains unofficial bilateral ties and membership in international organizations as

387-506: A province . Taipei became the permanent capital in 1893. Liu's efforts to increase revenues on Taiwan's produce were hampered by foreign pressure not to increase levies. A land reform was implemented, increasing revenue which still fell short of expectation. Modern technologies such as electric lighting, a railway, telegraph lines, steamship service, and industrial machinery were introduced under Liu's governance, but several of these projects had mixed results. A campaign to formally subjugate

516-667: A Japanese expedition was sent to survey Taiwan. After being attacked by the Indigenous people, they took some prisoners and returned home. In 1616, a Japanese fleet of 13 ships were sent to Taiwan. Due to a storm, only one ship made it there and is presumed to have returned to Japan. In 1624, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) established Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan (in modern Tainan ). The lowland areas were occupied by 11 Indigenous chiefdoms , some of which fell under Dutch control, including

645-443: A Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people." Revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen proposed the name Chunghwa Minkuo as the assumed name of the new country when the revolution succeeded. During the 1950s and 1960s, after the ROC government had withdrawn to Taiwan, it was commonly referred to as "Nationalist China" (or " Free China ") to differentiate it from "communist China" (or " Red China "). Over subsequent decades,

774-710: A Taiwanese independence activist, applying such a notion on the Republic of China's territorial claim for Taiwan is invalid because the conqueror of World War II is the whole body of the Allied Powers rather than the Republic of China alone. The Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan is supported by some politicians and jurists to this day, such as the Government of the United States and

903-526: A democracy. Chiang Ching-kuo , Chiang Kai-shek's son, served as premier from 1972 and rose to the presidency in 1978. He sought to move more authority to " bensheng ren " (residents of Taiwan before Japan's surrender and their descendants). Pro-democracy activists Tangwai emerged as the opposition. In 1979, the Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung on Human Rights Day . Although

1032-650: A good proportion of islanders and re-privatizing businesses. After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed. A series of Chinese Communist offensives in 1949 led to the capture of its capital Nanjing on 23 April and the subsequent defeat of the Nationalists on the mainland. The Communists founded the People's Republic of China on 1 October. On 7 December 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek evacuated his Nationalist government to Taiwan and made Taipei

1161-951: A name for the island, or the part of it closest to Penghu . Elsewhere, the name was used for the Ryukyu Islands in general or Okinawa specifically; the name Ryūkyū is the Japanese form of Liúqiú . The name also appears in the Book of Sui (636) and other early works, but scholars cannot agree on whether these references are to the Ryukyus, Taiwan or even Luzon . The name Formosa ( 福爾摩沙 ) dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors noted it on their maps as Ilha Formosa ( Portuguese for " beautiful island "). The name Formosa eventually "replaced all others in European literature" and remained in common use among English speakers into

1290-536: A non-state entity. Taiwan (excluding Penghu ) was first populated by Austronesian people . Chinese people started settling in southern Taiwan by the late 16th century. The island was partially colonized by the Dutch who arrived in 1623. The Dutch colony was ousted by the Kingdom of Tungning , which lasted from 1661 to 1683, and was the first ethnic Han government to rule part of the island of Taiwan . From 1683,

1419-490: A province of China again on 26 October 1945. However the final legal dispensation awaited a peace treaty and formal ratification. In 1949, Mao Zedong's forces defeated Chiang Kai-shek's ROC forces in the Chinese Civil War , thus taking control of mainland China and founding the People's Republic of China (PRC). Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang government fled to Taiwan , which was still under ROC control (as

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1548-522: A rebellion" (三年一反、五年一亂), primarily in reference to the period between 1820 and 1850. Many officials stationed in Taiwan called for an active colonization policy over the 19th century. In 1788, Taiwan Prefect Yang Tingli supported the efforts of a settler named Wu Sha to claim land held by the Kavalan people . In 1797, Wu Sha was able to recruit settlers with financial support from the local government but

1677-508: A separate minzu , a term that can refer to people, nation, race, or ethnic group. They theorize that being Chinese hinged on belonging to the same culture, but by then Taiwan had already undergone Japanization . In a 1937 interview with Edgar Snow , Mao Zedong stated "we will extend them (the Koreans) our enthusiastic help in their struggle for independence. The same thing applies for Taiwan." The CCP's stance might have been intended as

1806-593: A surplus of $ 46.5 million. Along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, Taiwan became known as one of the Four Asian Tigers . Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s. Eventually, especially after Taiwan's expulsion from the United Nations , most nations switched diplomatic recognition to

1935-541: A temporary measure to build a coalition against the Empire of Japan , which had colonized both Korea and Taiwan. Regardless of its motivation, Mao's 1937 statement does not bind the CCP because the party was not in power. In 1943 Chiang's Nationalists argued that after the end of the war, Taiwan should be restored to the Republic of China . The CCP followed suit and considered Taiwan an integral part of China. Representatives of

2064-457: A two-year grace period, which few saw as feasible. Estimates say around 4,000 to 6,000 departed before the expiration of the grace period, and 200,000 to 300,000 followed during the subsequent disorder. On 25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed the Republic of Formosa to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at Tainan and quelled this resistance on 21 October 1895. About 6,000 inhabitants died in

2193-461: Is claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with 11 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See . Many others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates . International organizations in which

2322-481: Is considered by some as giving a legal support to the Republic of China's claim to Taiwan as "de jure" territory. The treaty stipulates that all treaties, conventions, and agreements between China and Japan prior to 9 December 1941 were null and void, which according to Hungdah Chiu, abolishes the Treaty of Shimonoseki ceding Taiwan to Japan. The interpretation of Taiwan becoming the Republic of China's '"de jure" territory

2451-509: Is contentious. Despite being a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member of the United Nations after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead. The ROC maintained its claim of being the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased to regard the Chinese Communist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its control over mainland China. Taiwan

2580-412: Is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City , and Keelung . With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries . Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han Chinese immigration began under a Dutch colony and continued under

2709-506: Is supported by several Japanese court decisions such as the 1956 Japan v. Lai Chin Jung case, which stated that Taiwan and the Penghu islands came to belong to the ROC on the date the Treaty of Taipei came into force. Nevertheless, the official position of the Government of Japan is that Japan did not in the Treaty of Taipei express that Taiwan and Penghu belong to the Republic of China, that

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2838-404: Is that any seizure of Taiwan by the PRC “constitutes an attempt to seize by force territory which does not belong to it" because the Allied Powers had yet to come to a decision on the status of Taiwan. According to Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang, a minority of scholars and politicians have argued that the international status of Taiwan is still undecided , and that this has been used as an argument against

2967-680: Is that the Act of Surrender, and SCAP General Order no. 1, authorized the surrender of Japanese forces, not Japanese territories. In 1952, Winston Churchill said that Taiwan was not under Chinese sovereignty and the Chinese Nationalists did not represent the Chinese state, but that Taiwan was entrusted to the Chinese Nationalists as a military occupation. Churchill called the Cairo Declaration outdated in 1955. The legality of

3096-459: Is the "Republic of China". Shortly after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located on the Chinese mainland, the government used the short form "China" ( Zhōngguó , 中國 ) to refer to itself, derived from zhōng ("central" or "middle") and guó ("state, nation-state"). The term developed under the Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne , and was then applied to

3225-736: The East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean , with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles). The largest metropolitan area

3354-485: The Formosa Air Battle was fought between American carriers and Japanese forces in Taiwan. Over 200,000 of Taiwanese served in the Japanese military , with over 30,000 casualties. Over 2,000 women, euphemistically called " comfort women ", were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial Japanese troops. After Japan's surrender , most Japanese residents were expelled . While Taiwan was under Japanese rule,

3483-506: The Japanese rule of these islands and restored them under Chinese administration as intended by the major Allies of World War II . Due to the rivalry between the ROC and the PRC, post-war agreements did not specify the owner of the islands. The ROC constitution still claims both mainland China and Taiwan as its territory; it no longer considers the CCP as a rebellious group but admits it as

3612-528: The Kingdom of Middag . When the Dutch arrived, southwestern Taiwan was already frequented by a mostly transient Chinese population numbering close to 1,500. The VOC encouraged Chinese farmers to immigrate and work the lands under Dutch control and by the 1660s, some 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese were living on the island. Most of the farmers cultivated rice for local consumption and sugar for export while some immigrants engaged in deer hunting for export. In 1626,

3741-584: The Kingdom of Tungning , the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history . The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China , which had overthrown the Qing in 1912 under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen , took control following the surrender of Japan in 1945. The immediate resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in

3870-654: The Nanjing decade , and growing calls to push back against Japanese aggression led to the formation of the Second United Front before the Second Sino-Japanese War . ROC leaders such as Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek had expressed support for Korea's, Vietnam's, and Taiwan's independence from Japan. Academics Frank S. T. Hsiao and Lawrence R. Sullivan state that the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP) viewed Taiwanese at that time as

3999-454: The People's Republic of China 's claim over Taiwan. They point to President Truman 's statement on the pending status of Taiwan in 1950, the lack of specificity on whom the title of Taiwan was transferred to in the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, and the absence of explicit provisions on the return of Taiwan to China in the 1952 Treaty of Taipei. However Wang notes that this is a weak argument, citing 2 LASSA OPPENHEIMER, INTERNATIONAL LAW, under

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4128-427: The Philippines were launched from Taiwan. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily from Taiwanese ports, and its think tank " South Strike Group " was based at Taihoku Imperial University . Military bases and industrial centers, such as Kaohsiung and Keelung , became targets of heavy Allied bombings , which destroyed many of the factories, dams, and transport facilities built by the Japanese. In October 1944,

4257-532: The Plains Indigenous peoples rarely rebelled against the government and the mountain Indigenous peoples were left to their own devices until the last 20 years of Qing rule. Most of the more than 100 rebellions during the Qing period, such as the Lin Shuangwen rebellion , were caused by Han settlers. Their frequency was evoked by the common saying "every three years an uprising, every five years

4386-522: The ROC government retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after it was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since then, the effective jurisdiction of the ROC has been limited to Taiwan, Penghu , Kinmen , Matsu , and smaller islands . The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought an end to

4515-550: The Republic of China was founded on mainland China on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. Central authority waxed and waned in response to warlordism (1915–28), Japanese invasion (1937–45), and the Chinese Civil War (1927–49), with central authority strongest during the Nanjing decade (1927–37), when most of China came under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT). During World War II ,

4644-623: The Ryukyu Islands 30,000 years ago. Slash-and-burn agriculture practices started at least 11,000 years ago. Stone tools of the Changbin culture have been found in Taitung and Eluanbi . Archaeological remains suggest they were initially hunter-gatherers that slowly shifted to intensive fishing. The distinct Wangxing culture , found in Miaoli County , were initially gatherers who shifted to hunting. Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan

4773-589: The Spanish Empire occupied northern Taiwan as a trading base, first at Keelung and in 1628 building Fort Santo Domingo at Tamsui . This colony lasted until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces. The Dutch then marched south, subduing hundreds of villages in the western plains. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in Beijing in 1644, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) pledged allegiance to

4902-537: The Taiwan Area , and Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which Taiwanese culture and history were promoted over a pan-China viewpoint while assimilationist policies were replaced with support for multiculturalism . In 1996, Lee was re-elected in the first direct presidential election . During Lee's administration, both he and his party were involved in corruption controversies that came to be known as " black gold " politics. Chen Shui-bian of

5031-465: The U.S. Secretary of State , to carry out his decision on "neutralizing" Taiwan in drafting the Treaty of Peace with Japan ( San Francisco Peace Treaty) of 1951. According to George H. Kerr 's memoir Formosa Betrayed , Dulles devised a plan whereby Japan would first merely renounce its sovereignty over Taiwan without a recipient country to allow the sovereignty over Taiwan to be determined together by

5160-475: The White Terror , as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist. Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned or executed for their real or perceived link to the Chinese Communist Party. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was destroyed. Following

5289-554: The Yongli Emperor and attacked the Qing dynasty along the southeastern coast of China. In 1661, under increasing Qing pressure, he moved his forces from his base in Xiamen to Taiwan, expelling the Dutch the following year. The Dutch retook the northern fortress at Keelung in 1664, but left the island in 1668 in the face of indigenous resistance. The Zheng regime, known as the Kingdom of Tungning , proclaimed its loyalty to

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5418-477: The Zhu Yigui settler rebellion in 1722, separation of aboriginals and settlers became official policy via 54 stelae used to mark the frontier boundary. The markings were changed four times over the latter half of the 18th century due to continued settler encroachment. Two aboriginal affairs sub-prefects, one for the north and one for the south, were appointed in 1766. During the 200 years of Qing rule in Taiwan,

5547-468: The succession of states theory . The position of the PRC is that the ROC and PRC are two different factions in the Chinese Civil War, which never legally ended. Therefore, the PRC claims that both factions belong to the same sovereign country—China. Since, as per the PRC, Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to China, the PRC's government and supporters believe that the secession of Taiwan should be agreed upon by all 1.3 billion Chinese citizens instead of just

5676-451: The temporary capital of the ROC. Some 2 million people, mainly soldiers, members of the ruling Kuomintang and intellectual and business elites, were evacuated to Taiwan, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million. These people and their descendants became known in Taiwan as " waisheng ren " ( 外省人 ). The ROC government took to Taipei many national treasures and much of China's gold and foreign currency reserves. Most of

5805-519: The "mainland authorities". The PRC claims Taiwan as a Chinese province and has not ruled out the use of military force in the pursuit of Chinese unification . It has proposed " one country, two systems " as a model for unification, though this has been rejected by the Taiwanese government. Within Taiwan, there is major political contention between eventual Chinese unification with a pan-Chinese identity contrasted with formal independence promoting

5934-512: The 1943 Cairo Declaration specified that Formosa and the Pescadores be returned by Japan to the ROC; the terms were later repeated in the 1945 Potsdam Declaration that Japan agreed to carry out in its instrument of surrender . On 25 October 1945 , Japan surrendered Taiwan to the ROC, and in the Treaty of San Francisco , Japan formally renounced their claims to the islands, though without specifying to whom they were surrendered. In

6063-549: The 1950s and were defeated by Communists in 1961 . Since losing control of mainland China, the Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over 'all of China', which it defined to include mainland China (including Tibet), Taiwan (including Penghu), Outer Mongolia , and other minor territories . Martial law , declared on Taiwan in May 1949, continued to be in effect until 1987, and was used to suppress political opposition. During

6192-583: The 1960 Sheng v. Rogers case, it was stated that, in the view of the U.S. State Department , no agreement has purported to transfer the sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC, though it accepted the exercise of Chinese authority over Taiwan and recognized the Government of the Republic of China as the legal government of China at the time. The position of the US stated in the Department of State Bulletin in 1958

6321-401: The 20th century. In 1603, a Chinese expedition fleet anchored at a place in Taiwan called Dayuan, a variant of "Taiwan". In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company established a commercial post at Fort Zeelandia (modern-day Anping ) on a coastal sandbar called "Tayouan", after their ethnonym for a nearby Taiwanese aboriginal tribe, possibly Taivoan people . This name

6450-399: The 23 million residents of Taiwan. Furthermore, the position of PRC is that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 , which states "Recognizing that the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations", means that the PRC is recognized as having the sovereignty of all of China, including Taiwan. Therefore,

6579-416: The CCP did not have a navy at that time). Tensions often soared in the following decades. The PRC shelled offshore islands held by Taiwan in the 1950s, and the ROC for many years harbored ambitions of recovering the mainland from the CCP. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the United Nations and most non-Communist nations still recognized the ROC as the sole government of China. Non-Communist nations referred to

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6708-536: The CCP-controlled mainland as "Red China" during this time. In 1971, the UN General Assembly voted to move the "China" United Nations seat from the ROC to the PRC. The United States recognized the Kuomintang government in Taiwan (ROC) as the legitimate representative of all China until 1979. And the ROC itself claimed to be the sole legitimate representative of all China until 1988. As of

6837-496: The Cairo Declaration was not recognized by the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, Anthony Eden , in 1955, who said there was a difference of opinion on which Chinese authority to hand it over to. In 1954, the United States denied that the sovereignty of Taiwan and the Penghu islands had been settled by any treaties, although it acknowledged that the Republic of China effectively controlled Taiwan and Penghu. In

6966-767: The DPP was elected as the first non-KMT president in 2000 . However, Chen lacked legislative majority. The opposition KMT developed the Pan-Blue Coalition with other parties, mustering a slim majority over the DPP-led Pan-Green Coalition . Polarized politics emerged in Taiwan with the Pan-Blue preference for eventual Chinese unification , while the Pan-Green prefers Taiwanese independence . Chen's reference to " One Country on Each Side " of

7095-497: The Indigenous peoples ended with the loss of a third of the army after fierce resistance from the Mkgogan and Msbtunux peoples. Liu resigned in 1891 due to criticism of these costly projects. By the end of the Qing period, the western plains were fully developed as farmland with about 2.5 million Chinese settlers. The mountainous areas were still largely autonomous under the control of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous land loss under

7224-498: The Japanese diplomatic circle. When the 228 Incident erupted on 28 February 1947, the U.S. Consulate-General in Taipei prepared a report in early March, calling for an immediate intervention in the name of the U.S. or the United Nations . Based on the argument that the Japanese surrender did not formally transfer sovereignty, Taiwan was still legally part of Japan and occupied by the United States (with administrative authority for

7353-500: The Japanese formally renounced the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu islands, and the treaty was signed in 1951 and came into force in 1952. At the date when the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force, the political status of Taiwan and Penghu Islands was still uncertain. The Republic of China and Japan signed the Treaty of Taipei on April 28, 1952, and the treaty came into force on August 5, which

7482-787: The Legislative Yuan and prevented the ratification of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement in what became known as the Sunflower Student Movement . The movement gave rise to youth-based third parties such as the New Power Party , and is viewed to have contributed to the DPP's victories in the 2016 presidential and legislative elections , the latter of which resulted in the first DPP legislative majority in Taiwanese history. In January 2024, William Lai Ching-te of

7611-479: The Musha Incident of 1930. Intellectuals and laborers who participated in left-wing movements were also arrested and massacred (e.g. Chiang Wei-shui and Masanosuke Watanabe ). Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project . Chinese-language newspapers and curriculums were abolished. Taiwanese music and theater were outlawed. A national Shinto religion was promoted in parallel with

7740-519: The PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis. Domestically, the major political contention is between parties favoring eventual Chinese unification and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with those aspiring to formal international recognition and promoting a Taiwanese identity ; in the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. In his Daoyi Zhilüe (1349), Wang Dayuan used " Liuqiu " as

7869-501: The PRC under a policy of " mutual non-denial ". Under Ma, Taiwan and China opened up direct flights and cargo shipments. The PRC government even made the atypical decision to not demand that Taiwan be barred from the annual World Health Assembly . Ma also made an official apology for the White Terror. However, closer economic ties with China raised concerns about its political consequences. In 2014, university students occupied

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7998-406: The PRC. Until the 1970s, the ROC government was regarded by Western critics as undemocratic for upholding martial law, severely repressing any political opposition, and controlling the media. The KMT did not allow the creation of new parties and competitive democratic elections did not exist. From the late 1970s to the 1990s, Taiwan underwent political and social reforms that transformed it into

8127-518: The Penghu islands to the head of the Taiwan Investigation Commission, Chen Yi . On 26 October, the government of the Republic of China declared that Taiwan had become a province of China. The Allied Powers, on the other hand, did not recognize the unilateral declaration of annexation of Taiwan made by the government of the Republic of China. In accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of San Francisco Peace Treaty ,

8256-424: The Pescadores are not covered by any existing international disposition, sovereignty over the area is an unsettled question subject to future international resolution." The position of the PRC is that the ROC ceased to be a legitimate government upon the founding of the former on 1 October 1949 and that the PRC is the successor of the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China, with the right to rule Taiwan under

8385-407: The Pescadores. Many claim that Japanese sovereignty only terminated at that point. Notably absent at the peace conference was the ROC which was expelled from mainland China in December 1949 as a result of the Chinese Civil War and had retreated to Taiwan. The PRC, which was proclaimed on 1 October 1949, was also not invited. The lack of invitation was probably due to the dispute over which government

8514-439: The Qing administration into acculturated aborigines who had adopted Han culture and non-acculturated aborigines who had not. The Qing did little to administer or subjugate them. When Taiwan was annexed, there were 46 aboriginal villages under its control, likely inherited from the Kingdom of Tungning. During the early Qianlong period there were 93 acculturated villages and 61 non-acculturated villages that paid taxes. In response to

8643-537: The Qing dynasty ruled much of the western plains of the island as a prefecture and in 1875 divided the island into two prefectures, Taiwan and Taipeh. In 1887 the island was made into a separate province to speed up development in this region. In the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War , Taiwan and Penghu were ceded by the Qing dynasty to Japan in 1895 under the Treaty of Shimonoseki . The Qing dynasty fell in 1912, leaving warlords to compete for power and influence in China. The country became more unified during

8772-400: The Qing occurred at a relatively slow pace due to the absence of state-sponsored land deprivation for the majority of Qing rule. Following the Qing defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Taiwan, its associated islands, and the Penghu archipelago were ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki . Inhabitants wishing to remain Qing subjects had to move to mainland China within

8901-442: The ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs George Kung-ch'ao Yeh told the Legislative Yuan after signing the treaty that: "The delicate international situation makes it that they [Taiwan and Penghu] do not belong to us. Under present circumstances, Japan has no right to transfer [Taiwan] to us; nor can we accept such a transfer from Japan even if she so wishes." In July 1971, the U.S. State Department's position was, and remains: "As Taiwan and

9030-519: The ROC transitioned from a one-party state under martial law to a multi-party democracy , with democratically elected presidents beginning in 1996 . Taiwan's export-oriented economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 20th-largest by PPP measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is a developed country . It is ranked highly in terms of civil liberties , healthcare , and human development . The political status of Taiwan

9159-537: The Republic of China has become commonly known as "Taiwan", after the main island. To avoid confusion, the ROC government in Taiwan began to put "Taiwan" next to its official name in 2005. In ROC government publications, the name is written as "Republic of China (Taiwan)", "Republic of China/Taiwan", or sometimes "Taiwan (ROC)". "Taiwan Area" was defined to mean the island of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other territory under ROC's effective control, in contrast to "Mainland Area" which refers to ROC territory outside

9288-489: The Republic of China". According to Taiwan Civil Society quoting the Taiwan Documents Project, the document was merely a statement of intent or non-binding declaration, for possible reference used for those who would draft the post-war peace treaty and that as a press release it was without force of law to transfer sovereignty from Taiwan to the Republic of China. Additional rationale to support this claim

9417-481: The San Francisco Peace conference, to no avail. Subsequently, the Treaty of Taipei was concluded between the ROC and Japan on 28 April 1952 (effective 5 August), where Japan essentially re-affirmed the terms of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and formalized the peace between the ROC and Japan. It also nullified all previous treaties made between China and Japan. Article 10 of the treaty specifies: "For

9546-820: The South China Sea . The ROC also briefly retained control of the entirety of Hainan , parts of Zhejiang ( Chekiang )—specifically the Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands —and portions of Tibet , Qinghai , Xinjiang and Yunnan . The Communists captured Hainan in 1950, captured the Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955 and defeated the ROC revolts in Northwest China in 1958. ROC forces entered Burma and Thailand in

9675-572: The Taiwan Area and under Chinese Communist control. The Republic of China participates in most international forums and organizations under the name " Chinese Taipei " as a compromise with the People's Republic of China (PRC). For instance, it is the name under which it has participated in the Olympic Games as well as the APEC . "Taiwan authorities" is sometimes used by the PRC to refer to

9804-605: The Taiwan Strait undercut cross-Strait relations in 2002. He pushed for the first national referendum on cross-Strait relations, and called for an end to the National Unification Council . State-run companies began dropping "China" references in their names and including "Taiwan". In 2008, referendums asked whether Taiwan should join the UN. This act alienated moderate constituents who supported

9933-517: The Treaty of Taipei could not make any disposition which is in violation of Japan's renouncing Taiwan and Penghu in San Francisco Peace Treaty, and that the status of Taiwan and Penghu remain to be determined by the Allied Powers in the future. Writing in the American Journal of International Law , professors Jonathan I. Charney and J. R. V. Prescott argued that "none of the post–World War II peace treaties explicitly ceded sovereignty over

10062-477: The United Nations Chinese unification Taiwan independence movement Taiwanese nationalism Tangwai movement The political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is an ongoing geopolitical dispute about Taiwan , currently controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), that arose in the mid-twentieth century. Originally based in mainland China before and during World War II ,

10191-531: The United Nations." President Truman later reaffirmed the position "that all questions affecting Formosa be settled by peaceful means as envisaged in the Charter of the United Nations " in his special message to Congress in July 1950. The PRC denounced his moves as flagrant interference in the internal affairs of China. On 8 September 1950, President Truman ordered John Foster Dulles , then Foreign Policy Advisor to

10320-728: The United States and the United Kingdom agreed with Chiang at the Cairo Conference in November, resulting in the Cairo Declaration . That pledge was confirmed at the Potsdam Conference in 1945. In 1945 Chinese Nationalists accepted the surrender of the Japanese forces in Taiwan on behalf of the Allied powers, ending 50 years of Japanese rule . Confident about their future prospects, they declared Taiwan

10449-503: The United States, the United Kingdom, Soviet Union , and the Republic of China on behalf of other nations on the peace treaty. The question of Taiwan would be taken into the United Nations (of which the ROC was still part ) if these four parties could not reach an agreement within one year. When Japan regained sovereignty over itself in 1952 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace with Japan (San Francisco Peace Treaty) with 48 nations, Japan renounced all claims and titles over Taiwan and

10578-620: The administrative control of the Republic of China government in 1945 by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration . The Office of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers ordered Japanese forces in China and Taiwan to surrender to Chiang Kai-shek , who would act as a representative of the Allied Powers. On 25 October 1945, Governor-General Rikichi Andō handed over the administration of Taiwan and

10707-575: The area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang ) during the Eastern Zhou and later to China's Central Plain , before being used as an occasional synonym for the state during the Qing era. The name of the republic had stemmed from the party manifesto of the Tongmenghui in 1905, which says the four goals of the Chinese revolution was "to expel the Manchu rulers, to revive Chunghwa , to establish

10836-551: The capital. The Qing government generally tried to restrict migration to Taiwan throughout the duration of its administration because it believed that Taiwan could not sustain too large a population without leading to conflict. After the defeat of the Kingdom of Tungning, most of its population in Taiwan was sent back to the mainland, leaving the official population count at only 50,000, including 10,000 troops. Despite official restrictions, officials in Taiwan solicited settlers from

10965-425: The claim. From 1988 onwards the Government of Taiwan turned to a checkbook diplomacy promising economic support in return of diplomatic recognition. Until 1995, Taiwan was able to establish diplomatic ties with 29 countries. However this policy was stalled by the PRC as it suspended trade with any country that held diplomatic ties with Taiwan. In 1942, after the United States entered the war against Japan and on

11094-520: The colonization of the area but were ignored. The Qing took on a more active colonization policy after 1874 when Japan invaded Indigenous territory in southern Taiwan and the Qing government was forced to pay an indemnity for them to leave. The administration of Taiwan was expanded with new prefectures, sub-prefectures, and counties. Mountain roads were constructed to make inner Taiwan more accessible. Restrictions on entering Taiwan were ended in 1875 and agencies for recruiting settlers were established on

11223-486: The covered territories to any specific state or government." The Cairo Conference from November 22–26, 1943 in Cairo , Egypt was held to address the Allied position against Japan during World War II, and to make decisions about postwar Asia. One of the three main clauses of the Cairo Declaration was that "all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and The Pescadores, shall be restored to

11352-625: The development of textile, food, and other labor-intensive industries. As the Chinese Civil War continued, the government built up military fortifications throughout Taiwan. Veterans built the Central Cross-Island Highway through the Taroko Gorge in the 1950s. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958, Nike Hercules missiles were added to the formation of missile batteries throughout

11481-977: The eruption of the Korean War , US President Harry S. Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between the ROC and the PRC. The United States also passed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the Formosa Resolution of 1955 , granting substantial foreign aid to the KMT regime between 1951 and 1965. The US foreign aid stabilized prices in Taiwan by 1952. The KMT government instituted many laws and land reforms that it had never effectively enacted on mainland China. Economic development

11610-520: The expropriation of businesses into government-operated monopolies, and the hyperinflation of 1945–1949. The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called the February 28 Incident . Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000. Chen was later replaced by Wei Tao-ming , who made an effort to undo previous mismanagement by re-appointing

11739-487: The further fate of these territories." Article 25 of this treaty officially stipulated that only the Allied Powers defined in the treaty could benefit from this treaty. China was not listed as one of the Allied Powers; however, article 21 still provided limited benefits from Articles 10 and 14(a)2 for China. Japan's cession of Taiwan is unusual in that no recipient of Taiwan was stated as part of Dulles's plan of "neutralizing" Taiwan. The ROC protested its lack of invitation to

11868-527: The gold was used to pay soldiers' salaries, with some used to issue the New Taiwan dollar , part of a price stabilization program to slow inflation in Taiwan. After losing control of mainland China in 1949, the ROC retained control of Taiwan and Penghu ( Taiwan, ROC ), parts of Fujian ( Fujian, ROC )—specifically Kinmen, Wuqiu (now part of Kinmen) and the Matsu Islands and two major islands in

11997-577: The government in Taiwan. Taiwan was joined to the Asian mainland in the Late Pleistocene , until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago. Human remains and Paleolithic artifacts dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago have been found. Study of the human remains suggested they were Australo-Papuan people similar to Negrito populations in the Philippines. Paleolithic Taiwanese likely settled

12126-566: The initial fighting and some 14,000 died in the first year of Japanese rule. Another 12,000 "bandit-rebels" were killed from 1898 to 1902. Subsequent rebellions against the Japanese (the Beipu uprising of 1907, the Tapani incident of 1915, and the Musha incident of 1930) were unsuccessful but demonstrated opposition to Japanese rule. The colonial period was instrumental to the industrialization of

12255-640: The island was therefore still under belligerent occupation. They later made a demand for a treaty role to be represented at the forthcoming peace conference in Japan, in the hope of requesting a plebiscite to determine the island's political future. At the start of 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman appeared to accept the idea that sovereignty over Taiwan was already settled when the United States Department of State stated that "In keeping with these [Cairo and Potsdam] declarations, Formosa

12384-471: The island's most important trading center and served as its capital until 1887. Use of the current Chinese name ( 臺灣 / 台灣 ) became official as early as 1684 during the Qing dynasty with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture centered in modern-day Tainan . Through its rapid development the entire Taiwanese mainland eventually became known as "Taiwan". The official name of the country in English

12513-434: The island, with its expansion of railways and other transport networks, the building of an extensive sanitation system, the establishment of a formal education system , and an end to the practice of headhunting . The resources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan. The production of cash crops such as sugar greatly increased, and large areas were therefore diverted from the production of rice. By 1939, Taiwan

12642-483: The island. During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian, single-party government under the Kuomintang's Dang Guo system while its economy became industrialized and technology-oriented. This rapid economic growth, known as the Taiwan Miracle , occurred following a strategy of prioritizing agriculture, light industries, and heavy industries, in that order. Export-oriented industrialization

12771-462: The loss of the Chinese mainland to Communist forces , who established the People's Republic of China and the flight of the ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effective jurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan, Penghu , and smaller islands. The early 1960s saw rapid economic growth and industrialization called the " Taiwan Miracle ". In the late 1980s and early 1990s,

12900-675: The main island of Taiwan. After Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988, Lee Teng-hui became the first president of the ROC born in Taiwan. Lee's administration oversaw a period of democratization in which the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion were abolished and the Additional Articles of the Constitution were introduced. Congressional representation was allocated to only

13029-523: The mainland, but efforts to promote settlement ended soon after. In 1884, Keelung in northern Taiwan was occupied during the Sino-French War but the French forces failed to advance any further inland while their victory at Penghu in 1885 resulted in disease and retreat soon afterward as the war ended. Colonization efforts were renewed under Liu Mingchuan . In 1887, Taiwan's status was upgraded to

13158-612: The mainland, causing tens of thousands of annual arrivals by 1711. A permit system was officially recorded in 1712, but it likely existed as early as 1684; its restrictions included only allowing those to enter who had property on the mainland, family in Taiwan, and who were not accompanied by wives or children. Many of the male migrants married local Indigenous women. Over the 18th century, restrictions were relaxed. In 1732, families were allowed to move to Taiwan. By 1811, there were more than two million Han settlers in Taiwan, and profitable sugar and rice production industries provided exports to

13287-512: The mainland. In 1875, restrictions on entering Taiwan were repealed. Three counties nominally covered the entire western plains, but actual control was restricted to a smaller area. A government permit was required for settlers to go beyond the Dajia River . Qing administration expanded across the western plains area over the 18th century due to continued illegal crossings and settlement. The Taiwanese Indigenous peoples were categorized by

13416-583: The occupation delegated to the Chinese Nationalists), and a direct intervention was appropriate for a territory with such status. This proposed intervention, however, was rejected by the U.S. State Department. In a news report on the aftermath of the 228 Incident , some Taiwanese residents were reported to be talking of appealing to the United Nations to put the island under an international mandate since China's possession of Taiwan had not been formalized by any international treaties by that time, and

13545-600: The overthrown Ming, but ruled independently. However, Zheng Jing 's return to China to participate in the Revolt of the Three Feudatories paved the way for the Qing invasion and occupation of Taiwan in 1683. Following the defeat of Koxinga 's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang in 1683, the Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan in May 1684, making it a prefecture of Fujian province while retaining its administrative seat (now Tainan) under Koxinga as

13674-419: The present, most nations have switched their official diplomatic recognition of "China" to the PRC, though many of these nations have avoided clarifying what territories are meant by "China" in order to associate with both the PRC and ROC. These countries use vague terms such as "respects", "acknowledge", "understand", or "take note of" in regards to the PRC's claim over Taiwan, rather than officially "recognizing"

13803-438: The principle of effective occupation and control, if nothing is stipulated on conquered territory in the peace treaty, the possessor may annex it. Still, the notion that a possessor may annex a conquered territory despite the peace treaty not stipulating so, was a means of territorial transfer recognized by classical international law, and its legality in recent years is either not recognized or disputed. According to Jian-De Shen,

13932-530: The protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, it is considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition. In 1984, Chiang Ching-kuo selected Lee Teng-hui as his vice-president. After the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was (illegally) founded as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter the KMT in 1986, Chiang announced that he would allow the formation of new parties. On 15 July 1987, Chiang lifted martial law on

14061-481: The purposes of the present Treaty, nationals of the Republic of China shall be deemed to include all the inhabitants and former inhabitants of Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) and their descendants who are of the Chinese nationality in accordance with the laws and regulations which have been or may hereafter be enforced by the Republic of China in Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores)." However,

14190-566: The record that the San Francisco Peace Treaty "itself does not determine the future of these islands," and therefore, the UK, along with Australia and New Zealand, was happy to sign the peace treaty. One of the major reasons that the delegate from the Soviet Union gave for not signing the treaty was that: "The draft contains only a reference to the renunciation by Japan of its rights to these territories [Taiwan] but intentionally omits any mention of

14319-1744: The ruling Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan's presidential elections . However, no party won a majority in the simultaneous Taiwan's legislative election for the first time since 2004, meaning 51 seats for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 52 seats for the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) secured eight seats. Political status of Taiwan Lai Ching-te ( DPP ) Hsiao Bi-khim ( DPP ) Cho Jung-tai ( DPP ) 11th Legislative Yuan Han Kuo-yu ( KMT ) Shieh Ming-yan acting Vacant Vacant Vacant Control Yuan Chen Chu Lee Hung-chun Local government Central Election Commission Kuomintang Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan People's Party Others New Power Party Taiwan Statebuilding Party People First Party Taiwan Solidarity Union New Party Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Newspapers United Daily News Liberty Times China Times Taipei Times Propaganda Censorship Film censorship Lin Chia-lung Cross-Strait relations Special state-to-state relations One Country on Each Side 1992 Consensus Taiwan consensus Chinese Taipei Australia–Taiwan relations Canada–Taiwan relations France–Taiwan relations Russia–Taiwan relations Taiwan–United Kingdom relations Taiwan–United States relations Republic of China (1912–1949) Chinese Civil War One-China policy China and

14448-466: The same year, Japan and the ROC signed a peace treaty . While initially enthusiastic about the return of Chinese administration and the Three Principles of the People , Formosans grew increasingly dissatisfied about being excluded from higher positions, the postponement of local elections even after the enactment of a constitution on the mainland, the smuggling of valuables off the island,

14577-565: The side of China, the Chinese government under the KMT renounced all treaties signed with Japan before that date and made Taiwan's return to China (as with Manchuria , ruled as the Japanese wartime puppet state of " Manchukuo ") one of the wartime objectives. In the Cairo Declaration of 1943, the Allied Powers declared the return of Taiwan (including the Pescadores ) to the Republic of China as one of several Allied demands. The Cairo Declaration

14706-490: The southern coast of Taiwan, mostly for seasonal fishing but also subsistence farming and trading, by the early 17th century. In 1603, Chen Di visited Taiwan on an anti- wokou expedition and recorded an account of the Taiwanese Indigenous people. In 1591, Japan sent envoys to deliver a letter requesting tribute relations with Taiwan. They found no leader to deliver the letter to and returned home. In 1609,

14835-431: The status quo, as well as those with cross-strait economic ties. It also created tension with the mainland and disagreements with the United States. Chen's administration was also dogged by public concerns over reduced economic growth, legislative gridlock, and corruption investigations . The KMT's nominee Ma Ying-jeou won the 2008 presidential election on a platform of increased economic growth and better ties with

14964-468: The suppression of traditional Taiwanese beliefs. Starting from 1940, families were also required to adopt Japanese surnames , although only 2% had done so by 1943. By 1938, 309,000 Japanese were residing in Taiwan. During the Second World War, the island was developed into a naval and air base while its agriculture, industry, and commerce suffered. Air attacks and the subsequent invasion of

15093-546: The transformation of Kaohsiung into a special municipality on par with Taipei. In the 1970s, Taiwan became the second fastest growing economy in Asia. Real growth in GDP averaged over 10 percent. In 1978, the combination of tax incentives and a cheap, well-trained labor force attracted investments of over $ 1.9 billion from overseas Chinese , the United States, and Japan. By 1980, foreign trade reached $ 39 billion per year and generated

15222-563: Was achieved by tax rebate for exports, removal of import restriction, moving from multiple exchange rate to single exchange rate system, and depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar. Infrastructure projects such as the Sun Yat-sen Freeway , Taoyuan International Airport , Taichung Harbor , and Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant were launched, while the rise of steel, petrochemical, and shipbuilding industries in southern Taiwan saw

15351-421: Was also adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar and nearby area (Tainan). The modern word "Taiwan" is derived from this usage, which is written in different transliterations ( 大員 ， 大圓 ， 大灣 ， 臺員 ， 臺圓 or 臺窩灣 ) in Chinese historical records. The area occupied by modern-day Tainan was the first permanent settlement by both European colonists and Chinese immigrants. The settlement grew to be

15480-569: Was attached to Jinjiang . The Yuan dynasty officially incorporated Penghu under the jurisdiction of Tong'an County in 1281. Penghu was evacuated in the 15th century by the Ming dynasty as part of their maritime ban , which lasted until the late 16th century. In 1349, Wang Dayuan provided the first written account of a visit to Taiwan. By the 1590s, a small number of Chinese from Fujian had started cultivating land in southwestern Taiwan. Some 1,500-2,000 Chinese lived or stayed temporarily on

15609-575: Was encouraged by American aid and programs such as the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction , which turned the agricultural sector into the basis for later growth. Under the combined stimulus of the land reform and the agricultural development programs, agricultural production increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent from 1952 to 1959. The government also implemented a policy of import substitution industrialization , attempting to produce imported goods domestically. The policy promoted

15738-409: Was never signed or ratified. Both of the US and the UK considered it not legally binding. The ROC, on the other hand, asserts that it is legally binding and lists later treaties and documents that "reaffirmed" the Cairo Declaration as legally binding. In 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered with the signing of the instrument of surrender and ended its rule in Taiwan as the territory was put under

15867-490: Was prepared to see Taiwan fall into the hands of the CCP, vowed to stop the spread of communism and sent the U.S. Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent the PRC from attacking Taiwan, but also to prevent the ROC from attacking mainland China. He then declared that "the determination of the future status of Formosa must await the restoration of security in the Pacific, a peace settlement with Japan, or consideration by

15996-580: Was settled by farmers of the Dapenkeng culture , most likely from what is now southeast China. These cultures are the ancestors of modern Taiwanese Indigenous peoples and the originators of the Austronesian language family . Trade with the Philippines persisted from the early 2nd millennium BCE, including the use of Taiwanese jade in the Philippine jade culture . The Dapenkeng culture

16125-716: Was succeeded by a variety of cultures throughout the island, including the Tahu and Yingpu ; the Yuanshan were characterized by rice harvesting. Iron appeared in such cultures as the Niaosung culture , influenced by trade with China and Maritime Southeast Asia . The Plains Indigenous peoples mainly lived in permanent walled villages, with a lifestyle based on agriculture , fishing , and hunting . They had traditionally matriarchal societies . The Penghu Islands were inhabited by Han Chinese fishermen by 1171, and in 1225 Penghu

16254-489: Was surrendered to Generalissimo Chiang-Kai Shek, and for the past four years, the United States and Other Allied Powers have accepted the exercise of Chinese authority over the Island." However, after the outbreak of the Korean War , Truman decided to "neutralize" Taiwan, claiming that it could otherwise trigger another world war. In June 1950, President Truman, who had previously given only passive support to Chiang Kai-shek and

16383-485: Was the legitimate government of China (which both governments claimed to be); however, Cold War considerations might have played a part as well. Some major governments represented in the San Francisco Conference, such as the UK and Soviet Union, had already established relations with the PRC, while others, such as the U.S. and Japan, still held relations with the ROC. The UK at that time stated for

16512-416: Was the seventh-greatest sugar producer in the world. The Han and Indigenous populations were classified as second- and third-class citizens, and many prestigious government and business positions were closed to them. After suppressing Han guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japanese authorities engaged in bloody campaigns against the Indigenous people residing in mountainous regions, culminating in

16641-405: Was unable to officially register the land. In the early 1800s, local officials convinced the emperor to officially incorporate the area by playing up the issue of piracy if the land was left alone. In 1814, some settlers attempted to colonize central Taiwan by fabricating rights to lease aboriginal land. They were evicted by government troops two years later. Local officials continued to advocate for

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