Key dates in Taiwan’s history: A contested island’s evolution

China Reiterates Reunification Goal Amid Military Drills Around Taiwan

As China conducted live-fire military exercises around Taiwan featuring aircraft, warships, and rocket launches, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated Beijing’s unwavering goal to achieve “complete reunification” with the island it claims as its own territory.

Taiwan consistently challenges these sovereignty claims, asserting that the island never belonged to the People’s Republic of China in its current constitutional and political form. Moreover, Taiwan emphasizes it has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

The complex relationship between China and Taiwan is rooted in centuries of contested history that includes multiple phases of colonization, rule, and political transformation.

Taiwan’s earliest modern history saw competing colonial powers vying for control. In the 1600s, Dutch and Spanish colonizers established footholds on the subtropical island, then known as Formosa. The Dutch East India Company built a base near present-day Tainan in southern Taiwan, while Spanish colonizers established forts in the northern region.

This European presence was eventually challenged when military leader Koxinga, loyal to China’s Ming dynasty, defeated the Dutch in 1662. By 1684, the newly established Qing dynasty incorporated the island as part of China’s Fujian province, and in 1885, Taiwan was declared a standalone Chinese province under Han Chinese governors.

A significant turning point came in 1895 when the Qing dynasty lost the First Sino-Japanese War. Emperor Guangxu ceded Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan, beginning five decades of Japanese colonial rule that was often characterized by harsh governance and cultural assimilation policies.

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China, then under Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) control. However, the political landscape dramatically shifted in 1949 when Communist forces led by Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalists in China’s civil war.

As the Communists established the People’s Republic of China on the mainland, the Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan along with over one million military personnel, officials, and civilians. While Mao established his capital in Beijing, Chiang continued to lead the Republic of China from Taiwan, which remains the island’s official name today.

From 1949 to 1987, the KMT ruled Taiwan under martial law during a period known as the White Terror, marked by political repression of those perceived as opponents or Communist sympathizers. This authoritarian grip gradually loosened as Taiwan began its journey toward democratization.

A pivotal diplomatic shift occurred in January 1979 when the United States established formal relations with China and ended official recognition of Taiwan. Under its “One China” policy, the U.S. acknowledged the People’s Republic of China as the nation’s sole legal government. Nevertheless, months later, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, creating a framework for maintaining unofficial ties with Taipei and committing to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

In 1992, Taiwanese and Chinese officials met in Hong Kong and reached the “1992 Consensus,” agreeing there is only “one China,” though each side could interpret this differently. That same year, Taiwan held its first legislative election, marking an important step toward democratic governance.

By 1996, Taiwan completed its transition to democracy with its first direct presidential election, selecting the KMT’s Lee Teng-hui. However, this period also saw increased tensions with China, which conducted missile tests in waters surrounding Taiwan after Lee visited the United States and referred to Taiwan as a country.

In 2000, Taiwan experienced its first peaceful transfer of power when the Democratic Progressive Party’s Chen Shui-bian won the presidential election, ending 50 years of KMT rule. With the exception of an eight-year period under the KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou, the more independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party has governed Taiwan since then.

Recent years have seen escalating tensions. In August 2022, then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan triggered China’s largest-ever military drills surrounding the island. Following this visit, China intensified military pressure by sending aircraft and warships near Taiwan almost daily.

Most recently, in December 2023, China staged two days of military drills around Taiwan, expressing displeasure with comments from Japan’s prime minister and impending U.S. arms sales to the island.

This ongoing dispute continues to be one of the most volatile flashpoints in East Asia, with significant implications for regional stability and global geopolitics.