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Taiwan Makes Its Mark – A Short History of a Thriving Island

The history of Taiwan traces back to 7,000 years ago when the Austronesians, the ancestors of the island’s indigenous people, arrived in small groups and became the earliest known inhabitants of Taiwan. During the 16^th century, western sailors arrived to set up colonies and conduct trade due to the fact that Taiwan is located at the conjunction of Eastern Asia, meaning it holds great importance in strategic and trade position. Taiwanese history is a constant alternation of different ruling countries, including the Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, and Han immigrants from China. The past couple hundred years of alternating countries in power has given Taiwan a great burst of color and diversity in culture, ethnicity, and religion. Because of the abundance of natural resources and the sub-tropical climate of the tiny island, western countries have been drawn to Taiwan like hikers to the majestic Jade Mountain since the early 16^th century, and the historical background of this diamond in the Eastern Pacific has never lost its shine.

In the first half of the 17^th century, the Dutch established missionaries in Anping, which is the modern day Tainan city. The diversity in religion and the success in international trade of Taiwan began from there. Business in the trade of various goods such as rice and sugar brought in great sums of income for the Dutch. By recruiting a good number of Han immigrants from the eastern coast of China, productivity of food production increased at a large scale. While the Dutch ruled in the south, Spaniards dispatched part of their Armada to take power in the north from Quelang to Keelung. They created a political struggle between the north and south by using Taiwan for developing economic and trade relations with China and Japan; and relied on the labor of the Han immigrants or the indigenous people of the island. In the end, the Dutch, who were having complications in respects to allegiance with the natives, were able to overcome the issues they had with them, while the Spanish were facing hardships concerning problems that occurred during alternating political regimes in the Philippines. The Spanish were soon forced to retreat from the island due to unsuccessful Taiwanese colonial administration. The 17^th century had been difficult for the natives and immigrants, yet it also opened up the tiny piece of land to more possibilities and dynamic changes.

By defeating the Ming Dynasty, the Manchus, indigenous people of Manchuria, indirectly brought Taiwanese history into the modern era. After the fall of the Great Ming, numerous Han immigrants from China began settling on the south-eastern coast of Taiwan. Zheng Chenggong, a rebel against the Qing Dynasty also known as Koxinga, retreated to Taiwan after a few failed rebellions against the emperor. He overthrew Dutch power and established a short term Chinese government in the modern day Tainan in 1662. A few years after the settlement, the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and his followers took control over several areas of Taiwan, and Koxinga was soon driven off of the island. The Chinese brought trade to the not yet civilized piece of land, but also caused a lot of injustice that led to uncountable occurrences of deadly conflicts between the people and the government. During the Sino-French War of 1885, the Qing Empire designated Taiwan as the 22^nd province of China. In just ten short years, Japan, who had been hungry for domination over Taiwan since the 16^th century, gained full sovereignty over Taiwan through the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895 that was signed between Imperial Japan and the Qing Dynasty. The Japanese brought new technology that boosted Taiwan in areas such as farming and trade, and they were also able to introduce modern day justice and healthcare systems. The new Taiwan was then prosperous and vigorous.

In 1927, the Kuomingtang party and the Communist Party of China, who were both part of the Republic of China but came to an ideological impasse, started the Chinese Civil War, a major conflict that deepened the rivalry between the two opposing sides and created a controversy between China and Taiwan that has lasted until today. The fighting continued until 1937 when they formed an alliance to face a vigorous Japanese invasion of China. Using their deep understanding of their homeland and keen military instincts, the alliance was able to hold off the onslaught until Japan’s great defeat in World War 2. As a consequence of their unsuccessful attempt to win the war, the Japanese had to relinquish the power it had over territories that belonged to China.  Immediately after World War 2 ended, the Communist Party of China and the Kuomingtang resumed with a battling with another four years of intense fighting. It was after the four years did the fight slowly subside. The outcome of the Chinese Civil War was the founding of a new Communist Party of China controlling the mainland and the Kuomintang being forced to retreat to Taiwan. Mao Zedong, responsible for the defeat of the Kuomintang and also the head of the new CPC government from the mainland, made further attempts to liberate Taiwan by military force, but never succeeded. Until today, no formal documents have been signed declaring the stop of the Chinese Civil War. Therein lies the problem between the mainland and Taiwan. Today, controversy is sparked between the debate over the sovereignty of Taiwan. The Chinese believe that Taiwan has always been a part of the mainland, therefore the land and its people belong to the mainland and is a part of China. People that support the independence of Taiwan claim that since Taiwan had been under Japanese control when the Republic of China was established in 1912, it is consequently not a part of the Chinese Republic. Interpretations of the sovereignty of island are not yet certain, which has resulted in cross-strait tensions and differing global perceptions of the relationship between the two governments.

Over the past 60 years, Taiwan has been through numerous struggles and international disputes, but has persisted and progressed into the thriving island nation it is today. The series of hardships began near the end of the Chinese Civil War. Taiwan was being supported by the United States in order to prevent communism from spreading in Asia, so while the PRC led by Mao Zedong invaded Taiwan, the USA led the 7^th Fleet in the Taiwan Strait to prevent the attacks from succeeding. The US provided military supplies and resources that greatly boosted the morale of the tiny island country. This friendly overseas relationship came to an end when China became an official charter member of the United Nations in 1979. After the UN recognized the People’s Republic of China, government ties between the United States of America and Taiwan were forced to come to an end, though the two countries have maintained unofficial relations through the Taiwan Relations Act since 1979.  In the meantime, crises between the PRC and the ROC only began to worsen. In August of 1958, the intense artillery bombardment of the island of Kinmen left cross-strait relations in ruins, and it wasn’t until the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the US that the bombardment of Kinmen ceased. Taiwan has come a long way since then, with successful rural land reforms, which entailed the redistribution of land between farmers, and a wave of newly-established industries, which ensured that the economy of Taiwan took off, earning Taiwan a spot in the top four Asian Tigers, along with Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Along with blooming economic growth, the democratization of Taiwan has progressed from its humble beginnings in the era of Chiang Kai-shek to its dramatic reform in the time of governing by Chiang Ching-kuo, Kai-shek’s son, all the way to the first presidential election where Lee-Tung Hui took power and ushered Taiwan into the modern era until the present where Ma-Ying Jeou has governed since 2008. With modernizing economic and democratic growth, Taiwan is now one of the top four leading countries in Asia; it is a complete package with not only a foreseeable bright future, but also an intriguing past that adds to its value.

The National Palace Museum

All year around, Taiwan overflows with tourists from all around the world, and the 11.8 billion NT it made in 2012 is no better proof of the rich culture it has that attracts tourists to pay visits. As an ideal shopping, culinary, and tourist paradise, the beauty of Taiwan ranges from natural magnificence to artifacts and relics stored in prestigious national museums. One of the most famous attractions is the National Palace Museum, a profound museum of antiquities and art located in the city of Taipei. With an astonishing number of more than 690,000 permanent pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts, it is one of the biggest museums in the world. Most of the pieces are highly distinguished artifacts from emperors that encompass more than 8,000 years of Chinese history.

Though the extremely impressive National Palace Museum is located in Taipei, Taiwan, it was actually a part of the Beijing Palace Museum in China. During the Chinese Civil War, General Chiang Kai-shek made the decision to evacuate some arts to Taiwan, but when the struggle worsened in 1948 between the Communist and Nationalist armies, the Palace Museum and five other institutes decided to move the most prized pieces of relics to Taiwan. It was later in the 1960s when the United States Agency for International Development donated 32 million dollars to the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum. The Republic of China government also donated more than 30 million dollars to establish a special fund to create this majestic museum in the suburbs of Taipei.

In all of the priceless, exquisite artifacts of the National Palace Museum, the most well known piece is the Jadeite Cabbage, which is a lovely piece of somewhat translucent jadeite carved into a shape of a cabbage head accompanied by a grasshopper. It’s divine colors and delicate details have attracted tourists from all across the globe. Aside from the precious artifacts of the museum, it also contains several Chinese Song and Ming Dynasty-styled gardens that are complimented by a few touches of feng shui, water management, and landscape design. There is no better place to be than in the National Palace Museum under the influence of rich history and art and the perfect combination of nature and culture.