The History of Taiwan on Animated Map

Chinese missiles are dangerously flying over Taiwan, and China's armed forces are conducting military exercises near the island, an exercise that could turn into a full-scale invasion by the army of communist China and result in a third world war for all mankind. What was the history of China's relations with Taiwan, and why did such tensions arise between the two countries? Taiwan Before Chinese Rule The first attempts by the Chinese authorities to incorporate Taiwan were made in 610. Later, however, these lands fell under Japanese rule, local pirates, or returned to Chinese territory. Before the 17th century, the majority of Taiwan's population was Austronesian. Chinese craftsmen, pirates, and traders made up only a small proportion of the population. Initially, in the era of geographic discoveries, the island was under Portuguese rule and was named Formosa. Subsequently, the Dutch East India Company established itself on the southern coast, and the Spanish established themselves on the northern edge. The Dutch desire to get rid of their trade rivals and sworn enemies spurred them to war with the Spanish colony of Taiwan and culminated in a victory for the Dutch in 1642. The Dutch colonists developed a network of rice and sugar plantations and also used Formosa as a trading base in the Pacific. Chinese Civil War By contrast, China itself was in turmoil at this time, with several massive uprisings and the overthrow of the corrupt Qing dynasty in 1912. The Xinhai Revolution, in which the rule of the Chinese emperor was abolished, led to the establishment of a republic and the formation of several political groups. They were engaged in an intransigent struggle that eventually degenerated into a civil war. The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, were two major sides in that war. Kuomintang was a Chinese nationalist party that was close to the ideas of capitalist economics. The communists sought to build communism and nationalize the enterprises. Despite sharp ideological contradictions, these parties united against the various military juntas that controlled much of China. Thanks to the success of the Northern Expedition, the parties were able to establish their power in almost the entire eastern part of the country, where the majority of the population lived. Soon after, however, a bloody standoff broke out between the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Chinese communists, which began with the execution of the Shanghai communists by the Kuomintang. The Communist Party went underground. Most of its military units had been destroyed, and party members had been subjected to reprisals. However, the Communist Corps, led by Mao Zedong, managed to save its forces and redeploy its units from southern China during the Great Campaign to the area near Yan'an, where it was much more convenient to receive aid from the Soviet Union. CHINA'S WAR WITH JAPAN Meanwhile, Japan, taking advantage of China's weakness and disengagement, captured Manchuria in 1932 and established the puppet state of Manchukuo, led by former Chinese Emperor Puyi. Five years after a series of localized military engagements with Chinese forces, the Japanese army of nearly half a million launched a full-scale invasion of China. Despite the numerical advantage of the various Chinese armies, the Japanese were able to quickly defeat the Chinese forces near Shanghai with better training, discipline, and equipment. The Japanese also defeated Chinese forces near Nanjing and occupied almost the entire coast of China and much of the eastern province. In this situation, the communists and Kuomintang members decided to reconcile temporarily and join forces to fight a ruthless enemy. The bloody and bitter war with the Japanese occupiers continued with mixed success until the end of the Second World War, costing the Chinese people more than 17 million lives. THE COMMUNIST KUOMINTANG STANDOFF AFTER WORLD WAR II It was not until 1945 that the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition were able to defeat Nazi Germany and launch an active offensive against the Japanese troops stationed on mainland Asia. The Soviet army liberated North China and Manchuria from the Japanese. The liberation of other Chinese territories was carried out by the forces of the Kuomintang and the CCP, with significant support from Britain and the United States. Immediately after the expulsion of the Japanese, an irreconcilable struggle between the communists and the Kuomintang resumed, with Mao Zedong relying on the support of the USSR, the resources of Manchuria, and northern China. The US government, fearing the rise of communism, began to lend support to the ruling nationalist Kuomintang. In the same year, the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek, became a member of the United Nations. In addition, the island of Taiwan was returned to China. However, total corruption, fatigue from the Kuomintang's repressions and the collapse of government forces led to the triumph of the communists. They managed to capture all of eastern and central mainland China until 1949. Kuomintang's loyalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of the defeated government forces of the Republic of China, evacuated to Taiwan, from where they planned to retake mainland China with US help. Meanwhile, Mao Zedong had established a communist People's Republic of China on mainland China, which regarded Taiwan only as an integral part. The China-Taiwan Struggle There were two small border conflicts between Taiwan, which was ruled by the Kuomintang, and the PRC. During the skirmishes, the Chinese people from Taiwan had to repel the Chinese mainland's attempts to capture the islands between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. From 1954 to 1955, the People's Republic of China captured the Yichangshan and Daken Islands, and three years later tried to take control of the archipelago near Tianmen. However, after losing 25 fighters in the battle, the communist Chinese army retreated. The United States has provided substantial support to Taiwan in these conflicts, having provided arms and financial support to this island nation since 1949. In addition, the United States passed the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, which provides for military support in the event of an attack by another country on the island. The People's Republic of China was actively supported by the Soviet Union until the end of the 60s. Taiwan's Political Changeover Both countries were ruled by authoritarian regimes in the late 1970s. They carried out brutal repression against their political opponents, turned the election into a sham, and imposed severe censorship. Chiang Kai-shek created a single dictatorship in the Republic of China in Taiwan, and Mao Zedong established a totalitarian regime in China. After the death of Chiang Kai-shek, his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, came to power in Taiwan and ruled until 1988. He abolished martial law and eased censorship. During the reign of his successor, Li Teng-hui, the country underwent final democratization and held its first parliamentary elections. Li's reforms gave the Taiwanese complete political freedom. Today, Taiwan's political life is characterized by a clash between two major parties, the Kuomintang, which held power until 2000, and the Democratic Progressive Party, led by Tsai Ing-wen, who has held her position since 2016. Democrats advocate international recognition of Taiwan's independence and reject the possibility of unification or rapprochement with China. This, of course, is extremely unpopular with Chinese communists. The representatives of Kuomintang officially take a rather moderate position and advocate the preservation of the current state of relations with mainland China. Taiwan's Economy Taiwan developed as a capitalist country. It made good use of the infrastructure that had been built during the Japanese regime. Also, it was attracting foreign investments. The island republic relied on high-tech production of component parts and electronics. It also introduced land reform, which stimulated the development of farming. In addition, the government of the island republic introduced concessional assistance and loan programs for its citizens. This has contributed to the growth of small and medium-sized businesses. Since the 60s, Taiwan has experienced a boom in the production of chips and semiconductor parts. Many Japanese and American manufacturers of household and computer equipment, including Toshiba, Panasonic, IBM, and Intel, opened their branch offices in Taiwan. This helped the rapid economic growth that went down in history as the Taiwan economic miracle. During this time, the country's GDP growth increased by 9% during the year. At the beginning of the 21st century, Taiwan produced 62% of the world's semiconductors, and the country was ranked 18th in terms of per capita GDP. China's Economic and Political Development In China, after Mao Zedong came to power, enterprises were nationalized. There was also a failed policy of the Great Leap Forward, which was established to overcome China's economic and technological lag. During this program, an absurd and pernicious war with sparrows was conducted. In villages, the production of very poor-quality steel was initiated. The village land was collectivized, and harvests were requisitioned. The designs that were supposed to spur industrialization devastated mainland China's economy and resulted in the starvation of about 36 million people. China's economic policy changed significantly after the coming to power of Deng Xiaoping. During his reign, there was a transition from a communist state mode of production to a private capitalist one. Foreign investments were also attracted, including money from American companies, which were attracted by the shocking cheapness of Chinese labor and the presence of rich deposits of lithium, iron, and aluminum. After the economic reforms, the Chinese economy began to grow steadily and confidently, but no political liberalization took place in this totalitarian state. The Communist Party of China continues to maintain a monopoly on political activity in the country. There's a lot of censorship. Wikipedia, YouTube, and Facebook are banned. Reprisals are carried out against dissidents and members of national minorities. For a long time, Chiang Kai-shek's government, situated in Taiwan, was recognized by the United Nations and most of the countries of that time as the sole legitimate representative of China. The situation changed in 1971 when a majority of United Nations members voted to replace the representative of the Republic of China, Taiwan, with the representative of the People's Republic of China. In 1978, Communist China began to open up its economy. A year later, the U.S. realized new trade opportunities and officially established diplomatic relations with China. However, they continued their partnership with Taiwan. Following this decision, most countries established diplomatic relations with China and severed relations with Taiwan. The few countries that still have formal diplomatic contacts with Taipei are under systematic political and economic pressure from Communist China. There is economic cooperation between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, but at the official level, the countries do not recognize each other. In China, there is a Ministry of Island Affairs, which is responsible for contact with Taiwan. In Taiwan, this role is played by the Mainland Affairs Council. The desire of the Chinese authorities for world domination and expansion in Asia stimulates the People's Republic of China to intensify its efforts in the sphere of Taiwan's annexation. Most of the island's residents feel no political affiliation to mainland China and do not want to live in Communist China. The People's Republic of China increased pressure on Taiwan after the Taiwanese elected President Tsai Ing-wen, who is a supporter of Taiwan's independence. The People's Republic of China's desire to show its military might through constant military exercises in the waters near Taiwan and a possible military invasion could trigger a full-scale war between Communist China and the United States, which has been a long-standing ally of Taiwan. Summary Taiwan was annexed to mainland China for a long time in the second half of the 17th century. It was then that the Chinese refugees arrived and became the majority of the island's population. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was occupied by Japan. Only after the Second World War did it return to China. At the time, the ruling party in the Celestial Empire was Kuomintang. But four years later, the party was defeated in a civil war with the Communists. The leader of Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek, along with his supporters, remnants of the armies, and settlers evacuated to Taiwan. The Communists formed the People's Republic of China throughout mainland China. Taiwan and the People's Republic of China followed different paths of development. As a result, Taiwan had established a democratic country with a high standard of living and a post-industrial high-tech economy. In China, despite changes in economic strategies, a totalitarian communist regime continues to reign, seeking to extend its dictatorial power to freedom-loving Taiwanese.