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Taiwan - overview, Taiwan

Edi McFerrin

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Taiwan has been populated for thousands of years by more than a dozen aboriginal tribes. Written history begins with the partial colonization of Taiwan by the Dutch and the Spaniards in the early 17th century. Han Chinese immigrants arrived during this period and continued for the next few hundred years. The Qing Empire ceded Taiwan to Japan, which ruled the island between 1895 and 1945, and exerted profound influences on its development.

In the early 20th century, the Nationalists and Communists fought a major civil war in China. Although the two sides were briefly united against Japan during World War II, they quickly began fighting again after the war was over. Eventually, the Communists were victorious. The Nationalists and hundreds of thousands of their supporters fled to Taiwan. From Taipei, they continued to assert their right as the sole legitimate government of all China. Since the 228 Massacre (1947), there has been a movement, initially in exile, which sees Taiwan as more separate, and the current government tends to be independence-leaning.

Taiwanese society is rather polarized by allegiance between supporters of the two major political blocks informally known as "pan-blue coalition" and "pan-green coalition", although there are large numbers of people who are either centrist or who don't care. To simplify a complex situation, pan-blue supporters tend to be more favorable toward the idea of reunification with the mainland and pan-green supporters tend to be more favorable toward the idea of establishing an independent Republic of Taiwan, among other differences.

Although there are some correlations, it is highly unwise to assume anything about a particular persons political beliefs based on what you think you know about their background. Also, the very brief sketch of Taiwanese politics obscures a large amount of complexity.

Unless you know your listener well, it is unwise to say anything (either positive or negative) about the current government, about historical figures in Taiwanese history, about Taiwan's international relations, or about relations with Mainland China. Some figures such as Sun Yat-sen are generally seen positively, but others (Chiang Kai-shek and Lee Teng-hui in particular) arouse very polarized feelings.

Some people will get very offended if you imply that Taiwan is part of China. Other people will get very offended if you imply that Taiwan is not part of China. Referring to the PRC as 'Communist China' or 'Mainland China' rather than simply China will tend not to offend anyone. Referring to the Republic of China as a whole as 'Taiwan Province' will draw a negative reaction from most Taiwanese. 'Greater China' may be used in certain business contexts. Keep in mind however, that there are so many subtleties and complexities here that if you are talking about these things, you've already wandered into a minefield.