History UsefulNotes / Taiwan

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.

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. Although from the perspective of most Taiwanese, this stance is somewhat archaic, since it was imposed upon the island by the KMT. Though this stance still retains traction on a staunch (and older) few during election season, particular those who arrived at Taiwan from China after 1949. 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]].

In 1683, the Qing dynasty occupied the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. The effort to unify Taiwan under one administrative body was by no means a small feat, for during the Qing, there were more than a hundred rebellions until 1895. It took more than a decade for the Japanese to gradually pacify the island through policy and force of arms before things settled. In the following decades until 1945, the Japanese administration thoroughly modernized Taiwan's infrastructure, including transportation, roads, power grid, water supplies, telecommunication and others. The Japanese administration also established compulsory education as well as higher education, such as the National Taiwan University, which remains one of the best universities in Taiwan.

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". This should not be surprising, as both of these islands have their own regional identity separate from Taiwan, did not share a common history with Taiwan, and was not administered altogether by a singular government body until recently. In addition, both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei, regardless of the party in power. Kinmen in particular, suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help in 2013. This deal with mainland China sparked outrage from the Taiwanese people [[note]]This ironically occurred at a time when the China-friendly KMT was in power, who were expected cooperate with China on this issue[[/note]], which in turn led the off-shore islanders to become increasingly distrustful of Taiwan. On the other hand, most Taiwanese view both Kinmen & Matsu effectively as part of China anyway, and are rather irritated when politicians from these two islands engage in legislations that would affect Taiwan's domestic & foreign policies. 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 but still remaining as part of the latter's administrative body, and definitely short of actually unifying with the Chinese mainland.

Standard Mandarin (the variety of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect with vocabulary from some other Northern varieties of Chinese) is the lingua franca today. Basically all Taiwanese speak Mandarin, and the vast majority speak it as a first language. After the arrival of the KMT to Taiwan, policies to have the Taiwanese learn Mandarin were put into place. Mandarin was also given an elevated status due to its association with the 1949 mainland refugees known as ''wàishěngrén'' (外省人, lit. "people from outer provinces") who were generally preferred by the KMT government than their local Taiwanese counterparts, even if the latter possessed higher qualifications. The ''wàishěngrén'' had a privileged social status and occupied high positions in the government. Many of them also had the opportunity to migrate to Western countries, thus for a time, the majority of overseas Taiwanese were of ''wàishěngrén'' origin. Mandarin also carried prestige for its varieties being the languages of the imperial court since the 14th century. Non-Mandarin languages such as Hokkien and Hakka were marginalised and their usage was discouraged in formal settings. Nowadays, Hokkien and Hakka are freely spoken and seen as a source of pride. There is no emphasis on having to speak Mandarin all the time which has led to a much more "relaxed" pronunciation of the language where tones are not always correctly used. Many mainland Chinese stereotype the Taiwanese pronunciation as 'lazy' or non-standard for this reason, as well as "effeminate" due to the addition of mood particles from Hokkien thus the Taiwanese accent is often seen as the Chinese equivalent of the ValleyGirl accent in the Mainland. On the other hand, many Taiwanese view "mainland Mandarin" with wary and suspicion, especially with today's political climate between the two governments.

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan. Interestingly enough, Zheng Cheng Gong/Koxinga is considered a national hero in China, Taiwan and even Japan [[note]]Zheng Cheng Gong was born in Japan to a Japanese mother of a local Samurai family, and his birthname was Tagawa Fukumatsu. His exploits were popularized during the Tokugawa period in the form of theater[[/note]].

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan. Interestingly enough, Zheng Cheng Gong/Koxinga is considered a national hero in China, Taiwan and even Japan [[note]]Zheng Cheng Gong was born in Japan to a Japanese mother of a local Samurai family, and his birthname was Tagawa Fukumatsu[[/note]].

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan. Interestingly enough, Zheng Cheng Gong/Koxinga is considered a national hero in China, Taiwan and even Japan [[note]]Zheng Cheng Gong was born in Japan to a Japanese mother of a local Samurai family, and his birthname was Tagawa Fukumatsu[[//note]].

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan.

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. Although from the perspective of most Taiwanese, this stance is somewhat archaic, since it was imposed upon the island by the KMT. Though this stance still retains traction on a staunch (and older) few, particular those who arrived at Taiwan from China after 1949. 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]].

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. Although from the perspective of Taiwan, this stance is somewhat archaic, and held mostly by a staunch (and older) few, particular those who arrived at Taiwan from China after 1949. 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]].

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". This should not be surprising, as both of these islands have their own regional identity separate from Taiwan, did not share a common history with Taiwan, and was not administered altogether by a singular government body until recently. In addition, both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei, regardless of the party in power. Kinmen in particular, suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help in 2013. 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 distrustful of Taiwan. On the other hand, most Taiwanese view both Kinmen & Matsu effectively as part of China anyway, and are rather irritated when politicians from these two islands engage in legislations that would affect Taiwan's domestic & foreign policies. 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 but still remaining as part of the latter's administrative body, and definitely short of actually unifying with the Chinese mainland.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty occupied the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. The effort to unify Taiwan under one administrative body was by no means a small feat, for during the Qing, there were more than a hundred rebellions until 1895. It took more than a decade for the Japanese to gradually pacify the island through policy and force of arms before things settled.

At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it was claimed by China's Nationalist government. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

Standard Mandarin (the variety of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect with vocabulary from some other Northern varieties of Chinese) is the lingua franca today. Basically all Taiwanese speak Mandarin, and the vast majority speak it as a first language. After the arrival of the KMT to Taiwan, policies to have the Taiwanese learn Mandarin were put into place. Mandarin was also given an elevated status due to its association with the 1949 mainland refugees known as ''wàishěngrén'' (外省人, lit. "people from outer provinces") who were generally preferred by the KMT government than their local Taiwanese counterparts, even if the latter possessed higher qualifications. The ''wàishěngrén'' had a privileged social status and occupied high positions in the government. Many of them also had the opportunity to migrate to Western countries, thus for a time, the majority of overseas Taiwanese were of ''wàishěngrén'' origin. Mandarin also carried prestige for its varieties being the languages of the imperial court since the 14th century. Non-Mandarin languages such as Hokkien and Hakka were marginalised and their usage was discouraged in formal settings. Nowadays, Hokkien and Hakka are freely spoken and seen as a source of pride. There is no emphasis on having to speak Mandarin all the time which has led to a much more "relaxed" pronunciation of the language where tones are not always correctly used. Many mainland Chinese stereotype the Taiwanese pronunciation as 'lazy' or non-standard for this reason, as well as "effeminate" due to the addition of mood particles from Hokkien thus the Taiwanese accent is often seen as the Chinese equivalent of the ValleyGirl accent in the Mainland. On the other hand, many Taiwanese view "mainland Mandarin" as 'coarse' or 'brash' (although what is meant by this is uncertain as there are about ten branches of Mandarin and many are not even mutually intelligible with each other!).

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". This should not be surprising, as both of these islands have their own regional identity separate from Taiwan, did not share a common history with Taiwan, and was not administered altogether by a singular government body until recently. In addition, both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei, regardless of the party in power. Kinmen in particular, suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help in 2013. 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 distrustful of Taiwan. On the other hand, most Taiwanese view both Kinmen & Matsu effectively as part of China anyway. 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 but still remaining as part of the latter's administrative body, and definitely short of actually unifying with the Chinese mainland.

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. Although from the perspective of Taiwan, this stance is somewhat archaic, and held mostly by staunch (and older) few, particular those who arrived at Taiwan from China after 1949. 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]].

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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. This led to the formation of the Kingdom of Tungning, which contained a sliver of costal territories south-west of Taiwan and never the entire island.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty claimed the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. The effort to unify Taiwan under one administrative body was by no means a small feat, for during the Qing, there were more than a hundred rebellions until 1895. It took more than a decade for the Japanese to gradually pacify the island through policy and force of arms before things settled.

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. Although from the perspective of Taiwan, this stance is somewhat archaic, and held mostly by staunch (and older) few, particular those who arrived at Taiwan after 1949. 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]].

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". This should not be surprising, as both of these islands have their own regional identity separate from Taiwan, did not share a common history with Taiwan, and was not administered altogether by a singular government body until recently. In addition, both Kinmenese and Matsunese are frequently ignored by the government located in Taipei, regardless of the party in power. Kinmen in particular, suffered a water shortage for decades that was only solved when local governments asked mainland China for help in 2013. 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 distrustful of Taiwan. On the other hand, most Taiwanese view both Kinmen & Matsu effectively as part of China anyway. 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 but still remaining as part of the latter's administrative body.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty claimed the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it was claimed by China's Nationalist government. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

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. Although from the perspective of Taiwan, this point-of-view is somewhat archaic, and held mostly by staunch (and older) members of the Nationalist party. 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]].

In 1683, the Qing dynasty claimed the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested to the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually unify & administer Taiwan as an entire island. At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it was claimed by China's Nationalist government. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty claimed the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty expanded their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges [[note]]Indeed, when the Mudan incident occurred in 1874, involving the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines, the Japanese government protested to the Qing, with the latter responding that the aborigines and the territories involved were not within Qing jurisdiction, and Japan should do whatever it deemed fit[[/note]]. The Qing ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually administer Taiwan as an entire island. At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it was claimed by China's Nationalist government. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

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 distrustful of 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.

In the Late Nineties, the grassroots, "native" pan-Green coalition won the Presidency, launching Taiwan back into the realm of international politics as then-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) began proclaiming that Taiwan was seeking its independence from China; previous to this, both Taiwan and mainland China had laid claim to all of China despite neither having formal diplomatic or economic relations with each other until the early 2000s. Still, no serious move towards independence materialized, combined with a general economic downturn linked to Japan's economic bubble burst and rumbles of even worse corruption began to surface. Since 2008, changing political fortunes inflicted a catastrophic blow on the pan-Green coalition (including the DPP), with the pan-Blues (led by the KMT) winning a supermajority in the legislature and regaining the presidency. Moreover, President Chen's own ongoing corruption scandal hurt the DPP's reputation substantially.

The 2014 protests and their aftermath became known as the Sunflower Movement, and came to symbolize the emergence of a new generation of politically active Taiwanese youth who were wary of China's overwhelming political influence. The KMT suffered heavy losses in the 2016 elections, and a new DPP-led government came to power, including the largest DPP legislative majority in the country's history. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) appears to be dealing with China very cautiously, although Taiwan's continued sluggish economy has put Tsai under fire from both political left and right.

A quirk that Taiwan is infamous for is the [[BloodOnTheDebateFloor fist fights between its parliamentarians]]. The Taiwanese even had a word-phrase for it, called 'Legislative Brawling' (立委群毆). Needless to say, this earned the Taiwanese parliament a notorious reputation, at some point, according to detractors, the parliamentarians even stage fights merely to maintain the reputation and garner attention.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty claimed the island, or rather, the territories held by the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty managed to expand their influence to the north of the island, but never managed to control the eastern side past the central mountain ranges. The Qing managed to ruled it until they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese held Taiwan from 1895, and was the first power to actually administer Taiwan as an entire island. At the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it transferred into the hands of China's Nationalist government. When they lost the UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

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]].

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 Zhèng Chénggōng (鄭成功), also known as Guóxìngyé (國姓爺, "Bearer of the Nation's Surname", 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.

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 UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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 (蔣經國), followed by the first actually "Taiwanese" president, [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army veteran]] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 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.

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, ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó''). Along with the island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also governs the islands of Penghu, Matsu, and Kinmen. Taiwan and Penghu 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 UsefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar 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.

In the Late Nineties, the grassroots, "native" pan-Green coalition won the Presidency, launching Taiwan back into the realm of international politics as then-President Chen Shui-bian began proclaiming that Taiwan was seeking its independence from China; previous to this, both Taiwan and mainland China had laid claim to all of China despite neither having formal diplomatic or economic relations with each other until the early 2000s. Still, no serious move towards independence materialized, combined with a general economic downturn linked to Japan's economic bubble burst and rumbles of even worse corruption began to surface. Since 2008, changing political fortunes inflicted a catastrophic blow on the pan-Green coalition (including the DPP), with the pan-Blues (led by the KMT) winning a supermajority in the legislature and regaining the presidency. Moreover, President Chen's own ongoing corruption scandal hurt the DPP's reputation substantially.

The KMT-led ruling coalition, led by President Ma Ying-jeou, pursued policies during their eight years in power that tried to link Taiwan’s economy more closely with China’s. By the middle of Ma’s second term, his government’s approval ratings had plummeted due to unease with closer ties with China, as well as a perception that the KMT had failed to improve Taiwan’s economy (their signature issue in 2008 and 2012). In 2014, an attempt to pass a trade pact with China with very minimal review or debate led to weeks of (mostly) peaceful protests, most notably a three-week student-led occupation of the national legislature.

The 2014 protests and their aftermath became known as the Sunflower Movement, and came to symbolize the emergence of a new generation of politically active Taiwanese youth who were wary of China’s overwhelming political influence. The KMT suffered heavy losses in the 2016 elections, and a new DPP-led government came to power, including the largest DPP legislative majority in the country’s history. President Tsai Ing-wen appears to be dealing with China very cautiously, although Taiwan’s continued sluggish economy has put Tsai under fire from both political left and right.

A quirk that Taiwan is infamous for is the [[BloodOnTheDebateFloor fist fights between its parliamentarians]]. The Taiwanese even had a word for it, called Legislative Brawling (立委群毆). Needless to say, this earned the Taiwanese parliament a notorious reputation, at some point, according to detractors, the parliamentarians even stage fights merely to maintain the reputation and garner attention.

Unique among most of Japan's neighbors, the relationship between Japan and Taiwan has been generally positive and easygoing, with relatively few bitter grudges stemming from the Japanese occupation, especially considering that Taiwan was spared most of the horrors of the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar. It saw no significant land battles, though the island was devastated by American bombing which destroyed more than 90% of its industrial and electric output and hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese fought in the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army]] (indeed, the last [[IWillFightSomeMoreForever "Japanese" holdout]] to surrender to Allied forces, Pvt. Teruo Nakamura, was actually an ethnic Amis Aboriginal Taiwanese with the birth name Attun Palalin). The Japanese occupation ended after [=WW2=] when the Allies handed over the island to the Republic of China, which was still in a state of civil war until 1949, when the KMT moved to the island. As a result of decades of SecretPolice arrests and executions--called the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Terror_(Taiwan) White Terror]]"--under the KMT ended up creating a NostalgiaFilter for the time when Taiwan was a colony of the Japanese Empire, since the Japanese never did treat Taiwan itself quite so badly as the KMT that followed them. During the authoritarian rule of Chiang Kai-shek's military dictatorship, hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese were first involved in a violent uprising (following the infamous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_28_Incident 228 Incident]] in Taipei), or targeted in subsequent terror period, with tens of thousands being arrested, executed or otherwise "disappeared", usually for being accused of communist sympathies, in one of the longest periods of martial law in modern history. Many were completely innocent, and the purges nearly destroyed the Taiwanese intellectual elite. Since then, many Taiwanese resent the KMT and Chiang for killing or imprisoning friends and family, compared to Imperial Japan's fairly gentle treatment of the Taiwanese Hoklo. The view is not universal, of course. Some Taiwanese Aboriginals tend to prefer the KMT over Japan, who persecuted them by the thousands during the occupation (the Aboriginals were evenly split between supporting and opposing Japan. As stated above, the last Japanese holdout was also an Aboriginal).

Standard Mandarin (the variety of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect with vocabulary from some other Northern varieties of Chinese) is the lingua franca today. Basically all Taiwanese speak Mandarin, and the vast majority speak it as a first language. After the arrival of the KMT to Taiwan, policies to have the Taiwanese learn Mandarin were put into place. Mandarin was also given an elevated status due to its association with the 1949 mainland refugees known as 'waishengren' who were generally preferred by the KMT government than their local Taiwanese counterparts, even if the latter possessed higher qualifications. The waishengren had a privileged social status and occupied high positions in the government. Many of them also had the opportunity to migrate to Western countries, thus for a time, the majority of overseas Taiwanese were of waishengren origin. Mandarin also carried prestige for it's varieties being the languages of the imperial court since the 14th century. Non-Mandarin languages such as Hokkien and Hakka were marginalised and their usage was discouraged in formal settings. Nowadays, Hokkien and Hakka are freely spoken and seen as a source of pride. There is no emphasis on having to speak Mandarin all the time which has led to a much more "relaxed" pronunciation of the language where tones are not always correctly used. Many mainland Chinese stereotype the Taiwanese pronunciation as 'lazy' or non-standard for this reason, as well as "effeminate" due to the addition of mood particles from Hokkien thus the Taiwanese accent is often seen as the Chinese equivalent of the ValleyGirl accent in the Mainland. On the other hand, many Taiwanese view "mainland Mandarin" as 'coarse' or 'brash' (although what is meant by this is uncertain as there are about ten branches of Mandarin and many are not even mutually intelligible with each other!).

About 70% of residents also speak Taiwanese Hokkien, commonly known as simply 'Taiwanese'. Taiwanese Hokkien derives from the Hokkien dialect (more accurately known as Quanzhang) of Min Nan (from Southern Fujian province), where most of the Taiwanese originated from. The Kinmenese also speak a mutually intelligible Hokkien dialect but they call it Kinmenese instead due to their rejection of Taiwanese identity. Speakers of Hokkien are known as 'Hoklos'. The Matsunese speak a Min Dong (Eastern Min) dialect from Fuzhou (the capital of Fujian province) and it is not mutually intelligible with Min Nan. Two islands known as Wuqiu which are governed as part of Kinmen speak Pu-Xian Min, which is a separate branch of Min as well. Hakka or ''Ke Jia Hua'' is also spoken by a substantial minority. Unlike other Han Chinese groups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region, e.g. a province, county or city as they are a diaspora who live all across southern China. The ancestors of the Hakka left northern China to settle in the south at a much later date than other Han Chinese which meant the southern Chinese languages and cultures were already quite divergent from the north and each other by this point, which made it extremely difficult for the Hakka to settle in. The Hakka language shares features with Mandarin which are lacking in most other Southern Chinese varieties although Hakka is most similar to the Gan Chinese languages of Jiangxi province where the Hakka population must have settled in for a long period of time before their dispersal into other regions. This explains why a dish known as three-cup chicken which is from an inland province like Jiangxi was able to make it to Taiwan.

The Aboriginals' languages belong to the entirely different Austronesian language family, which is spoken throughout Southeast Asia, Madagascar and Oceania. Taiwan is widely considered to be the ancestral homeland or near-homeland of the family, as it harbors nine of the ten generally-recognize subfamilies of Austronesian. The tenth family is the Malayo-Polynesian family (which includes Malay, Indonesian, and a large number of Polynesian languages including Māori, Tongan, Samoan, and Hawai'ian). These languages are also thought to have some substrates from the languages of the Negrito people who lived on Taiwan before the Austronesians arrived. English is widely taught in Taiwan, but proficiency is highly variable.

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.

For those interested in traditional Chinese religions, the principal deity in Taiwan is the Fujianese shaman goddess Mazu who watches over the sea. Mazuism is practised in its native Fujian and many other places in Southeast Asia dominated by ethnic Chinese from Fujian province, the worship of Mazu is uncommon outside of culturally Min areas.

** She recently [[ADayInTheLimelight got a full strip in the fourth manga volume]]. In it she tries to read Japan's fortune, makes bets with UsefulNotes/HongKong and UsefulNotes/{{Macau}} about China (and loses), has LesYay with Vietnam as they take some photos, and tries to get Italy to buy souvenirs. She also gets to doll up as an internet idol (namedly, ''Silverlight'') in ''Manga/{{Hetaween 2011}}'', interacting quite a bit with the other Asians.

!! See also:

->三民主义，吾党所宗；
->以建民国，以进大同。
->咨尔多士，为民前锋；
->夙夜匪懈，主义是从。
->矢勤矢勇，必信必忠；
->一心一德，贯彻始终。

->Sānmín zhǔyì, wú dǎng suǒ zōng;
->Yǐ jiàn Mínguó, yǐ jìn dàtóng.
->Zī ěr duōshì, wèi mín qiánfēng;
->Sùyè fěi xiè, zhǔyì shì cóng.
->Shǐ qín shǐ yǒng, bì xìn bì zhōng;
->Yì xīn yì dé, guànchè shǐ zhōng.

->San Min Chu-i,
->Our aim shall be:
->To found a free land,
->World peace, be our stand.
->Lead on, comrades,
->Vanguards ye are.
->Hold fast your aim,
->By sun and star.
->Be earnest and brave,
->Your country to save,
->One heart, one soul,
->One mind, one goal.

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 Surname", 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.

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]].

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 Penghu 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.

* '''Highest point:''' Yu Shan (3952 m/12,966 ft) (46th)

Unique among most of Japan's neighbors, the relationship between Japan and Taiwan has been generally positive and easygoing, with relatively few bitter grudges stemming from the Japanese occupation, especially considering that Taiwan was spared most of the horrors of the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar. It saw no significant land battles, though the island was devastated by American bombing which destroyed more than 90% of its industrial and electric output and hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese fought in the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army]] (indeed, the last [[IWillFightSomeMoreForever "Japanese" holdout]] to surrender to Allied forces, Pvt. Teruo Nakamura, was actually an ethnic Amis Aboriginal Taiwanese with the birth name Attun Palalin). The Japanese occupation ended after [=WW2=] when the Allies handed over the island to the Republic of China, which was still in a state of civil war until 1949, when the KMT moved to the island. As a result of decades of SecretPolice arrests and executions--called the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Terror_(Taiwan) White Terror]]"--under the KMT ended up creating a NostalgiaFilter for the time when Taiwan was a colony of the Japanese Empire, since the Japanese never did treat Taiwan itself quite so badly as the KMT that followed them. During the authoritarian rule of Chiang Kai-shek's military dictatorship, hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese were first involved in a violent uprising (following the infamous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_28_Incident 228 Incident]] in Taipei), or targeted in subsequent terror period, with tens of thousands being arrested, executed or otherwise "disappeared", usually for being accused of communist sympathies, in one of the longest periods of martial law in modern history. Many were completely innocent, and the purges nearly destroyed the Taiwanese intellectual elite. Since then, many Taiwanese resent the KMT and Chiang for killing or imprisoning friends and family, compared to Imperial Japan's fairly gentle treatment of the Taiwanese Hoklo. The view is not universal, of course. Some Taiwanese Aboriginals tend to prefer the KMT over Japan, who persecuted them by the thousands during the occupation (the Aboriginals were evenly split between supporting and opposing Japan. As stated above, the last Japanese holdout was also an Aboriginals).

* ''Manga/{{Nobunagun}}'' starts in Taiwan and features Taoyuan International Airport. There's not much more than that after the first episode, though.

The Aboriginals' languages belong to the entirely different Austronesian language family. Taiwan is widely considered to be the ancestral homeland or near-homeland of the family, as it harbors nine of the ten generally-recognize subfamilies of Austronesian. The tenth family is the Malayo-Polynesian family (which includes Malay, Indonesian, and a large number of Polynesian languages including Māori, Tongan, Samoan, and Hawai'ian). These languages are also thought to have some substrates from the languages of the Negrito people who lived on Taiwan before the Austronesians arrived. English is widely taught in Taiwan, but proficiency is highly variable.