History of China & Taiwan

Before civil war & 1949…

History of Taiwan History of China Chinese Civil War

Content

Pre-1600s:

Settled by people of Malay-Polynesian descent 1600s:

Named as “Ilha Formosa” (meaning: Beautiful Island) Dutch occupation: 1624-1662

1662: Koxinga (郑成功 ) defeated the Dutch Island used to support his grand campaign against

Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty Seemed to foreshadow the civil war around 3

centuries later

History of Taiwan (Pre-1600s to 1662)

Remained a loose-lying area for the next 200

years Manchu attempted to extend their control, but to no

avail Every three years an uprising, every five

years a rebellion.” 1800s:

1870s: Taiwanese pirates captured American, Japanese & French ships

Manchu Emperor: “"Taiwan is beyond our territory."

History of Taiwan (1662-1800s)

1884-1845:

French invasion of Northern territory 1887: Manchu Imperial authorities declared

Taiwan to be “province” of Empire Wanted to outmaneuver Japanese’s expanding

influence 1895: Sino-Japanese War (甲午战争 )

Treaty of Shimonoseki: Taiwan ceded to Japan forever Taiwan was an occupied part of Imperial China for

only eight years Declaration of Republic of Taiwan in 25 May 1895

History of Taiwan (Late 1800s)

Japanese Occupation:

Incorrupt Japanese Major contributions to Education, Infrastructure,

Transportation, Industry etc. 1943 Cairo Conference:

Agreed that Taiwan be “returned to (Nationalist) China”

No Taiwan representatives were present 1945 (End of WWII):

Chiang’s troops “temporarily occupy Taiwan, on behalf of the Allied forces.”

History of Taiwan (1895-1945)

2100 BC-1911:

Ancient Civilisation since Xia Dynasty till fall of Imperialism in 1911

1911 Xin Hai Revolution: 10 October: Wuchang Uprising (武昌起义 ) Formation of provisional government of Republic of

China in Nanjing on 12 March 1912 1920s-1945:

Ruled by KMT, under Chiang Kai-shek CPC: Led by Mao Zedong, had great influence over

China

History of China (2100 BC- 1945)

Began in April 1927 (Northern Expedition)

KMT’s military campaign towards fall of Beiyang Government

Ideological split between KMT & CPC 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945):

Interruption of Chinese Civil War Led to cooperation between both parties

Post Sino-Japanese War: Balance of power in favour of Communists 1.2 million troops, 19 base areas of “Liberated Zones”,

¼ of country’s territory, 1/3 of population

Chinese Civil War

20th July 1946:

KMT’s large assault on Communist CPC:

Knew their disadvantages in manpower and equipment Executed “Passive Defense” strategy Avoided strong points of KMT army, prepared to abandon territory to

preserve their forces Attempted to wear out KMT forces

March 1947: KMT’s symbolic victory over CPC’s capital of Yan’an

Late 1948: CPC captured Shenyang & Changchun New First Army (KMT’s best army) had to surrender

CPC’s subsequent victories in Liaoshen, Huaihai & Pingjin campaign

Events of Chinese Civil War

21st April 1949:

Crossing of Yangtze river by CPC 23rd April 1949:

Capture of Nanjing, capital of KMT 1st October:

Proclamation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) 10th December:

Retreat of KMT to Taipei, proclaimed as capital of Republic of China (ROC)

Continued assertion of his government as sole legitimate authority in China

Events of Chinese Civil War

Sino-Taiwan Relations Today

Also known as Cross-strait relations, a more neutral

term The legal and political status of Taiwan has become

more and more controversial, due to the expression of Taiwan independence, which was formerly outlawed.

In 2008, negotiations between mainland China and Taiwan have led to the restoration of the “three links”, namely transportation, commerce, and communications which have been cut off since 1949, when the dispute started.

Chen Shui-bian, who was elected President of the Republic

of China (ROC) [Taiwan] in 2000, is a strong advocator of Taiwan independence, but Hu Jintao, who became President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) [mainland China] in 2003 believed in the “one China” principle

In 2005, the National People’s Congress passed the Anti-Secession Law, which formalized “non-peaceful means” as an option in response to Taiwan’s declaration of independence

However, the PRC is also open to negotiations on the basis of equal status, and further refrained from imposing the “one China” policy as a precondition for talks

1998-2008: Hostile non-contact

Both Hu Jintao & Ma Ying-jeou, current ROC president, agree

that the 1992 Consensus is the basis of negotiations between both sides

There is a “step-by-step” movement to relax restrictions on mainland China investment

For example, mainland Chinese investors are currently allowed to invest in Taiwan’s money markets, which had been disabled since 1949

With investments made in Taiwan, war is less likely to break out However, it is still believed that a “Taiwan identity” does not

equate to “Taiwan independence” and a report from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense claimed that the PRC would still invade Taiwan should it declare independence, suffer from civil chaos or develop WMDs

2008-present: Resumption of high

level contact

A pair of pandas was presented to Taiwan by mainland China and

went on display in the Taipei Zoo during the Chinese New year The pandas have names which combine to spell “reunion”, which

is in a sense China urging Taiwan to have more economic ties with China and not to push for independence that greatly

Though this is still a sign from China to urge Taiwan to submit to her and not keep on pushing for independence, it symbolizes that tensions between both sides have relatively eased, and both sides are promoting better relations such as greater economic ties, which is effective in preventing armed conflicts between both sides

Statistics: 40% of Taiwan’s exports go to Hong Kong & China, and a new trade deal between PRC and ROC have lead to better relations between the two sides

Case-Study 1: Peaceful & bearable

relations

China continues to keep at least 1300 missiles

pointed at Taiwan and is ready to utilize these missiles should Taiwan try to declare independence

Taiwan also continues to spend more money on defense and purchase weapons from countries such as USA From the time frame of 1998 – 2005, Taiwan bought

$13.9 billion worth of arms and in 2007, another $190million to spend on defense was approved

While cross-strait relations is on an all-time high, it is undoubted that there are still tensions and suspicions between both sides till today

Case-Study 2: Military Situation (tensions

remain high)

China VS TaiwanGeneral, Political, Economic, Social

China TaiwanLand Area / km2 9,596,961 35,980Population / million 1339 23Population density / people/km2

140 639

General

It must be noted that although the population density of China is lower than that of Taiwan, much of China’s rural areas are sparsely populated, with many people living in more developed cities. On the other hand, Taiwan’s population is more evenly distributed. Thus, the busier Cities of China have a higher population density than Taiwan.

http://www.state.gov/img/09/34765/taiwan_map_2009worldfactbook_300_1.jpghttp://international.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/images/china.jpg

China TaiwanPolitical system Communist DemocraticMain political party

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Nationalist Party (KMT)

First Leader Mao Zedong Chiang Kai-shek

Political

http://www.halfglance.com/wp-content/gallery/blogs/mao_zedong.jpghttp://history.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/2009-12/28/chiang_kaishek_jiang_jieshi__first_president_of_the_republic_of_china715643613a0909945ea6.jpg

China Taiwan

GDP (2004 – 2009) / trillion

7 to 9 0.6 to 0.7

Trade Volume (2004 – 2009) / trillion

1.1 to 2.2 0.3 to 0.4

GDP per capita $7,600 $35,700Land reform 1950s - 1970s -Economic takeoff 1950s - 1980s -Tariff rebates 1950s - 1980s -Special economic zones 1960s - 1980s -Promotion of small and medium size enterprises

1960s - 1980s -

Economic

As can be seen from the table, although China has a significantly larger GDP and trade volume, due to its large population however, the GDP per capita is much lower than that of Taiwan. This reveals that on the average, Chinese are poorer than Taiwanese.Furthermore, China has been lagging behind Taiwan by a couple of decades in starting land reforms.

Mainland China's GDP Composition 1952-2008

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Service

Industry

Agriculture

Taiwan's GDP Structure 1984-2002

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

service

industry

agriculture

One main difference to note in the GDP

composition of the two countries is that much of China’s GDP comes from the agriculture sector and lesser from the service sector while Taiwan is just about the opposite.

Economic

China Taiwan

Literacy / % of population

92.2 96.1

Median age / years 35.5 37.6Infant mortality rate / deaths/1,000 live births

16.06 5.18

Life expectancy / years

74.68 78.32

Social

On the whole, it can be seen that there is a higher standard of living in Taiwan. Taiwan has a higher literacy rate, lower infant mortality rate and longer life expectancy. This shows that more Taiwanese than Chinese receive proper education. The infant mortality rate of China is thrice that of Taiwan, and the life expectancy of Taiwanese is longer than Chinese. Thus, this shows that health care services in China is less developed than that in Taiwan, thereby resulting in more deaths.

The Taiwan Relations Act  is an act of the United States

Congress passed in 1979 after the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the breaking of relations between the United States and the Republic of China (ROC) on the island of Taiwan by President Jimmy Carter.

It more clearly defines the American position on Taiwan and its cross-strait relationship with Beijing. 

How it affects the USA

The PRC views the Taiwan Relations Act as "an

unwarranted intrusion by the United States into the internal affairs of China.“

 The Three Joint Communiques were signed in 1972, 1979, and 1982.

The United States declared that the United States would not formally recognize PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan as part of the Six Assurances offered to Taipei in 1982.

All tables are cited from a PowerPoint by the

University of Mississippi https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/geos/ch.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/geos/tw.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_stat

es_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density

www.olemiss.edu/courses/pol387/mainldtw.ppt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-Strait_relations http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/05/china-and-taiwa

n-relations-update.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/a

rticle/2008/01/15/AR2008011501347.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-01-25-

china-taiwan_N.htm

Sources