Taiwan
Taiwan has a population of 23 million. More than 18 million, the
"native" Taiwanese, are descendants of Chinese who migrated from
Fujian and Guangdong Provinces on the mainland, primarily in the
18th and 19th centuries. The "mainlanders," who arrived in Taiwan
after 1945, came from all parts of mainland China. About 484,000
indigenous peoples inhabit the mountainous central and eastern parts
of the island and are believed to be of Malayo-Polynesian origin. Of
Taiwan's total population, approximately one million, or 4.4%,
currently reside in mainland China.
Education
Since 1979, six years of elementary school and three years of junior
high have been compulsory for all children. About 96% of junior high
graduates continue their studies in either a senior high or
vocational school. Taiwan has an extensive higher education system
with 163 institutions of higher learning. In 2007, about 159,000
students attempted to enter higher education institutes; about 74%
of the candidates were accepted by a college or university.
Opportunities for graduate education are expanding in Taiwan, but
many students new-world-travel abroad for advanced education. In FY 2007, over
15,000 U.S. student visas were issued to Taiwan passport holders.
Languages
A large majority of people in Taiwan speak Mandarin Chinese, which
has been the medium of instruction in the schools for more than five
decades. Native Taiwanese and many others also speak one of the
Southern Fujianese dialects, Min-nan, also known as Taiwanese.
Recently there has been a growing use of Taiwanese in the broadcast
media. The Hakka, who are concentrated in several counties
throughout Taiwan, have their own distinct dialect. As a result of
the half-century of Japanese rule, many older people also can speak
Japanese. The method of Chinese romanization most commonly used in
Taiwan is the Wade-Giles system. In 2002, Taiwan authorities
announced adoption of the pinyin system also used on the mainland to
replace the Wade-Giles system, but its use is not consistent
throughout society, often resulting in two or more romanizations for
the same place or person.
Religions
According to Taiwan's Interior Ministry figures, there are about
11.2 million religious believers in Taiwan, with more than 75%
identifying themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. At the same time,
there is also a strong belief in traditional folk religion
throughout the island. These are not mutually exclusive, and many
people practice a combination of the three. Confucianism also is an
honored school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have
been active on Taiwan for many years, and today, the population
includes a small but significant percentage of Christians.
Culture
Taiwan's culture is a blend of its distinctive Chinese, Japanese,
and Western influences. Fine arts, folk traditions, and popular
culture embody traditional and modern, Asian, and Western motifs.
One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the Palace Museum, which
houses over 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy,
painting, and porcelain. This collection was moved from the mainland
in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party (KMT) fled to
Taiwan. The collection is so extensive that only 1% is on display at
any one time. |
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Taiwan's indigenous peoples, who originated in Austronesia and
southern Asia, have lived on Taiwan for 12,000 to 15,000 years.
Significant migration to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland began as
early as A.D. 500. Dutch traders first claimed the island in 1624 as
a base for Dutch commerce with Japan and the China coast. Two years
later, the Spanish established a settlement on the northwest coast
of Taiwan, which they occupied until 1642 when they were driven out
by the Dutch. Dutch colonists administered the island and its
predominantly aboriginal population until 1661. The first major
influx of migrants from the Chinese mainland came during the Dutch
period, sparked by the political and economic chaos on the China
coast during the Manchu invasion and the end of the Ming Dynasty.
In 1664, a fleet led by the Ming loyalist Cheng Ch'eng-kung (Zheng
Chenggong, known in the West as Koxinga) retreated from the mainland
and occupied Taiwan. Cheng expelled the Dutch and established Taiwan
as a base in his attempt to restore the Ming Dynasty. He died
shortly thereafter, and in 1683, his successors submitted to Manchu
(Qing Dynasty) control. From 1680, the Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan as
a prefecture and, in 1875, divided the island into two prefectures,
north and south. In 1887 the island was made into a separate Chinese
province.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, migration from Fujian and
Guangdong provinces steadily increased, and Chinese supplanted
indigenous peoples as the dominant population group. In 1895, a
weakened Imperial China ceded Taiwan to Japan in the Treaty of
Shimonoseki following the first Sino-Japanese war.
During its 50 years (1895-1945) of rule, Japan expended considerable
effort in developing Taiwan's economy. At the same time, Japanese
rule led to the "Japanization" of the island, including compulsory
Japanese education and pressuring residents of Taiwan to adopt
Japanese names.
At the end of World War II in 1945, Taiwan reverted to Chinese rule.
During the immediate postwar period, the Nationalist Chinese (KMT)
administration on Taiwan was repressive and corrupt, leading to
local discontent. Anti-mainlander violence flared on February 28,
1947, prompted by an incident in which a cigarette seller was
injured and a passerby was shot to death by Nationalist authorities.
The island-wide rioting was brutally put down by Nationalist Chinese
troops, who killed thousands of people. As a result of the February
28 Incident, the native Taiwanese felt a deep-seated bitterness
toward the mainlanders. For 50 years the KMT authorities suppressed
accounts of this episode in Taiwan history. In 1995 a monument was
dedicated to the victims of the "2-28 Incident," and for the first
time, Taiwan's leader, President Lee Teng-hui, publicly apologized
for the Nationalists' brutality.
Starting before World War II and continuing afterwards, a civil war
was fought on the mainland between Chiang Kai-shek's KMT government
and the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. When the civil
war ended in 1949, 2 million refugees, predominately from the
Nationalist government, military, and business community, fled to
Taiwan. In October 1949 the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) was
founded on the mainland by the victorious communists. Chiang
Kai-shek established a "provisional" Republic of China (R.O.C.)
capital in Taipei in December 1949. During the 1950s, the KMT
authorities implemented a far-reaching and highly successful land
reform program on Taiwan. They redistributed land among small
farmers and compensated large landowners with commodities
certificates and stock in state-owned industries. Although this left
some large landowners impoverished, others turned their compensation
into capital and started commercial and industrial enterprises.
These entrepreneurs were to become Taiwan's first industrial
capitalists. Together with refugee businessmen from the mainland,
they managed Taiwan's transition from an agricultural to a
commercial, industrial economy.
Taiwan has developed steadily into a major international trading
power with $466 billion in two-way trade (2007). Taiwan's accession
to the World Trade Organization in 2002 has expanded its trade
opportunities and further strengthened its standing in the global
economy. Tremendous prosperity on the island has been accompanied by
economic and social stability. Chiang Kai-shek's successor, his son
Chiang Ching-kuo, began to liberalize Taiwan's political system, a
process that accelerated when President Lee Teng-hui took office in
1988. The direct election of Lee Teng-hui as president in 1996 was
followed by opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate
Chen Shui-bian's election victory in March 2000. Chen was re-elected
in March 2004 in a tightly contested election. The KMT's Ma
Ying-jeou won the March 2008 presidential election by a substantial
majority and took office on May 20, 2008. |
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