History UsefulNotes / Taiwan

* '''Highest point:''' Yu Shan (3952 m/12,966 ft) (65th)

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' TW

[[AC:Colleges]]
* ''UsefulNotes/NationalTaiwanUniversity''

Europeans noticed the island at about the same time. Though the first Europeans to take note of Taiwan were Portuguese (hence "Formosa"), they did not lay claim to the island. Instead, control of Formosa was disputed by the Spanish and the Dutch, with the latter eventually prevailing. Then in 1661, a Ming loyalist and pirate lord named Zheng Chenggong (a.k.a. Guoxingye, "Bearer of the Nation's Name", which was [[UsefulNotes/WhyMaoChangedHisName transliterated]] as Koxinga) assembled a fleet and expelled the Dutch, hoping to turn Formosa into a base for the reconquest of the mainland from the Qing.

** ''City Of Sadness'' (悲情城市)

* '''Area:''' 36,197 km (13,976 sq mi)

* '''Area:''' 36,197 km (13,976 sq mi) (139th)

* '''Area:''' 36,197 km (13,976 sq mi)

** Examination Yuan President: Huang Jong-tsun

But in 1683, the new dynasty claimed the island, and ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895 until the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, after which it fell into the hands of China's Nationalist government. When they lost the Chinese Civil War to [[RedChina the communists]] in 1949, the Republic of China, led by the dictator UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek and the other Nationalists, fled to the island, with the communists establishing the ''People's'' Republic of China in the resulting vacuum on the mainland. Mao had plans to follow Chiang and capture Taiwan in 1949, but the United States sent their Seventh Fleet to dissuade that, and an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou attempted PLA invasion]] of Taiwan failed. Since then Taiwan maintained a quasi-sovereign status thanks to the protection of the United States. It was placed under martial law from 1949 to the 1980s, when Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teung-Hui, began to democratize the nation's political system, turning it from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy. Also around this time, the incredibly wealthy government-in-exile (the ruling nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), ''personally'' had holdings worth around $10 billion US, a consequence of police state rule) started to lose control: while Taiwan would become one of the Four Great Asian Tigers, Taipei itself lost most international recognition in 1971 as the government of all of China as the People's Republic of China made greater headway in the international theater. Today, the only remaining allies are a few countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as the Vatican.

But in 1683, the new dynasty claimed the island, and ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895 until the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, after which it fell into the hands of China's Nationalist government. When they lost the Chinese Civil War to [[RedChina the communists]] in 1949, the Republic of China, led by the dictator UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek and the other Nationalists, fled to the island, with the communists establishing the ''People's'' Republic of China in the resulting vacuum on the mainland. Mao had plans to follow Chiang and capture Taiwan in 1949, but the United States sent their Seventh Fleet to dissuade that, and an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou attempted PLA invasion]] of Taiwan failed. Since then Taiwan maintained a quasi-sovereign status thanks to the protection of the United States. It was placed under martial law from 1949 to the 1980s, when Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teung-Hui, began to democratize the nation's political system, turning it from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy. Also around this time, the incredibly wealthy government-in-exile (the ruling nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), ''personally'' had holdings worth around $10 billion US, a consequence of police state rule) started to lose control: while Taiwan would become one of the Four Great Asian Tigers, Taipei itself lost most international recognition as the government of all of China as the People's Republic of China made greater headway in the international theater. Today, the only remaining allies are a few countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as the Vatican.

->The emblem is the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_with_a_White_Sun Blue Sky with a White Sun]]'', the symbol of the Kuomintang, whose blue field symbolizes nationalism and liberty; at its center is the Sun with twelve rays, each signifying the months of the year and the twelve Chinese hours (2 modern hours) in a day, symbolizing progress, colored white to symbolize democracy and equality. Like thee flag, it was always used by the Republic of China since their establishment as the ruling body of the Chinese mainland in 1912, and was retained following their exile to Taiwan as an assertion of their belief that they represent the "true" China.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taiwan_flag_9617.png
->The red field symbolizes livelihood and fraternity, as well as the blood of those who fell in the uprisings against the Qing Dynasty; at the canton is the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_with_a_White_Sun Blue Sky with a White Sun]]'', the symbol of the Kuomintang, whose blue field symbolizes nationalism and liberty; at its center is the Sun with twelve rays, each signifying the months of the year and the twelve Chinese hours (2 modern hours) in a day, symbolizing progress, colored white to symbolize democracy and equality. The flag was always used by the Republic of China since their establishment as the ruling body of the Chinese mainland in 1912, and was retained following their exile to Taiwan as an assertion of their belief that they represent the "true" China.

The period of Japanese rule has since left a few cultural marks. Among these are the integration of certain [[GratuitousJapanese Japanese phrases]] into the local vernacular, including Oba-San (strictly in the sense of "older woman"), and some Japanese foods. The widespread use of the Asian Plum blossom as a [[FlowerMotifs floral symbol of Taiwan]] also seems to be inspired by the use of ''sakura'' blossoms as a floral symbol of Japaneseness (the flowers look very similar, as both are species of the plum/peach/cherry/apricot genus ''Prunus''). Japanese pop culture also has a strong presence, especially in the forms of music and manga, and a few Japanese television channels (including NHK) are available. The older generation will sometimes speak Japanese among themselves instead of [[UsefulNotes/ChineseLanguage Mandarin]] or [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Taiwanese Hokkien]]. Next to some Southeast Asia countries[[note]]Many Southeast Asian countries owe their independence movements to Japan, whom they view as liberators in the face of European imperialism[[/note]], Taiwan is probably the most Japanophilic country in the world.

* ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' has a MoeAnthropomorphism of Taiwan, represented as [[{{Moe}} a cute]] PluckyGirl. In her two sort-of canon appearances, she first tells China to stay aside and not harass Japan, and later she endlessly teases China over his TotallyRadical way to think.

Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' ('''Chinese:''' 中華民國, ''Zhonghua Minguo''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Kinmen constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese" and this has become a point of tension for some Taiwanese. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

But in 1683, the new dynasty claimed the island, and ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895 until the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, after which it fell into the hands of China's Nationalist government. When they lost the Chinese Civil War to [[RedChina the communists]], the dictator UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek and the other Nationalists fled to the island. Mao had plans to follow Chiang and capture Taiwan in 1949, but the United States sent their Seventh Fleet to dissuade that, and an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guningtou attempted PLA invasion]] of Taiwan failed. Since then Taiwan maintained a quasi-sovereign status thanks to the protection of the United States. It was placed under martial law from 1949 to the 1980s, when Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, followed by the first actually 'Taiwanese' president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teung-Hui, began to democratize the nation's political system, turning it from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy. Also around this time, the incredibly wealthy government-in-exile (the ruling nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), ''personally'' had holdings worth around $10 billion US, a consequence of police state rule) started to lose control: while Taiwan would become one of the Four Great Asian Tigers, Taipei itself lost most international recognition as the government of all of China (today the only remaining allies are a few countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as the Vatican).

A curious quirk which remains as a result of the above is that both the People's Republic and the Republic of China acknowledge that there is only one China... and that they are the rightful government of all that China, with the other government being in effect a rebellion. Don't bring up the alternative - it's SeriousBusiness and likely to get you BannedInChina [[note]] Although it's relatively safe to discuss the role of the Nationalists during the warlord era and the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar [[/note]]. To prevent the PRC from throwing a hissy fit, Taiwan participates in international affairs with the name "Chinese Taipei". It doesn't make any sense, but that's the point: they use the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_of_deliberate_ambiguity policy of deliberate ambiguity]].

It should be noted that Taiwan is more liberal when it comes to LGBT issues in contrast to many Asian countries where homosexuality is either illegal or seen as taboo. In May 2019 Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage[[note]]This was a decision that bucked public opinion. It was a move made by the Taiwanese legislature acting on a Supreme Court ruling two years earlier that found denial of gay marriage to be unconstitutional. A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Taiwanese_referendum November 2018 public referendum]] showed that over 67% of the population was opposed to legalization of gay marriage[[/note]]. Taiwan also hosts one of the largest gay pride parades in Asia, drawing numerous LGBT tourists every year.

->The red field symbolizes livelihood and fraternity, as well as the blood of those who fell in the uprisings against the Qing Dynasty; at the canton is the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_with_a_White_Sun Blue Sky with a White Sun]]'', the symbol of the Kuomintang, whose blue field symbolizes nationalism and liberty; at its center is the Sun with twelve rays, each signifying the months of the year and the twelve Chinese hours (2 modern hours) in a day, symbolizing progress, colored white to symbolize democracy and equality.

The Kinmenese and Matsunese also favor the Nationalists due to their peculiar histories, their strong dislike of Taiwanese independence, and their refusal to identify as "Taiwanese" because their own regional identities predate the Taiwanese one by centuries. Both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei - they suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help. This deal with mainland China sparked outrage from Taiwanese people (never mind that they preferred to forget that the ROC Fujian province even existed and let them suffer from water shortages) which in turn led to Kinmenese and Matsunese people to become increasingly mistrusting towards Taiwan. Currently in these two regions, there have been localization campaigns which actively promote their distinctive cultural heritages coupled with a rejection of certain Taiwanese cultural elements. Local politicians have been pushing for more rights and freedom from Taiwan while remaining a part of the Republic of China.

The Kinmenese and Matsunese also favor the Nationalists due to their peculiar histories, their strong dislike of Taiwanese independence, and their refusal to identify as "Taiwanese" because their own regional identities predate the Taiwanese one by centuries. Both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei - they suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help. This deal with mainland China sparked outrage from Taiwanese people (never mind that they preferred to forget that the ROC Fujian province even existed and let them suffer from water shortages) which in turn led to Kinmenese and Matsunese to become increasingly mistrusting towards Taiwan. Currently in these two regions, there have been localization campaigns which actively promote their distinctive cultural heritages coupled with a rejection of certain Taiwanese cultural elements. Local politicians have been pushing for more rights and freedom from Taiwan while remaining a part of the Republic of China.

The Kinmenese and Matsunese also favor the Nationalists due to their peculiar histories, their strong dislike of Taiwanese independence, and their refusal to identify as "Taiwanese" because their own regional identities predate the Taiwanese one by centuries. Both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei - they suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help. This deal with mainland China sparked outrage from Taiwanese people (never mind that they preferred forget that ROC Fujian province even existed and had them suffer from water shortages) which in turn led to Kinmenese and Matsunese to become increasingly mistrusting towards Taiwan. Currently in these two regions, there have been localization campaigns which actively promote their distinctive cultural heritages coupled with a rejection of certain Taiwanese cultural elements. Local politicians have been pushing for more rights and freedom from Taiwan while remaining a part of the Republic of China.

Starting in the late Eighties/early Nineties, the opposition parties gained more voice in the public arena, especially given the Nationalist party's rampant corruption issues and endless infighting. The Nationalists were never particularly popular among the Taiwanese Han outside of the party and the military, since they were seen to be ignoring "native" Taiwanese interests... never mind that indigenous Taiwanese had been had been forcibly assimilated or forced into the mountainous areas long before the Nationalists arrived. As pressure mounted, the Nationalist party began removing restrictions on free speech and free press, and Congress began the long, arduous process of amending the constitution to correct the most obvious inequities. Hilariously, the Taiwanese Aboriginals themselves overwhelmingly favor KMT over all opposition parties due to their intense dislike of the Taiwanese Hokkien majority. The Kinmenese and Matsunese also strongly favor the KMT as they dislike the concept of Taiwanese independence and refuse to identify as Taiwanese as their own regional identities predate the Taiwanese by centuries.

Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' ('''Chinese:''' 中華民國, ''Zhonghua Minguo''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Kinmen constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese". Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' ('''Chinese:''' 中華民國, ''Zhonghua Minguo''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Kinmen constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese", but they are more loyal to the Kuomintang than Taiwanese people are. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself although as previously noted, this is inaccurate.

Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the '''Republic of China''' ('''Chinese:''' 中華民國, ''Zhonghua Minguo''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Kinmen constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian,). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese", but they are loyal to the Republic of China. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself.

Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China in the Pacific Ocean governed by the Republic of China ('''Chinese:''' 中華民國, ''Zhonghua Minguo''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Kinmen constitute the Republic of China's "Taiwan province", whereas Matsu and Kinmen are a part of its "Fujian province" (the [[{{UsefulNotes/China}} People's Republic of China]] governs the rest of Fujian,). The Kinmenese and Matsunese do not identify as "Taiwanese", but they are loyal to the Republic of China. Since Taiwan is by far the largest island, it is often treated as synonymous with the Republic of China or the name of the entire region itself.

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Taiwan_map_6105.gif]]

* One Creator/DaleBrown novel has China attack Taiwan.