Ini yg kmaren kita omongin....

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Evidence of human life on Taiwan dates back five to ten thousand years ago. Not much is known about the origins of Taiwan's earliest inhabitants except that their language bears more similarity to Indonesian than any Chinese dialect. The island enjoyed relative anonymity until 1206 when Genghis Khan named Taiwan a protectorate of the newly established Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Taiwan remained a quiet backwater until the 17th century when it became caught up in Chinese and colonial politics. The first recognition of Taiwan appeared in a diary entry from a Portuguese ship passing off the coast in 1517. Moved by the beauty of the island, the writer named it "Ilha Formosa" (or beautiful island) which is still used today. In 1624, a Dutch contingent landed in southern Taiwan in an effort to bolster their presence in Asia and began the first colonial occupation of the island by building a fort at the site of modern day Tainan. At that time, only the early inhabitants and a small number of Chinese fishermen from the nearby province of Fujian occupied the island.

Two years later, the Spanish (also known as the red beards) followed, challenging the Dutch presence by claiming Dan Shui in northern Taiwan in 1626 and constructing Fort San Domingo. The Dutch, however, managed to evict the Spanish colonialists in 1641. The Dutch reign was not destined to last, and in 1661, Koxinga (Cheng Cheng-kung) came upon the scene.

Koxinga was the son of a powerful merchant in southern China, loyal to the Ming Dynasty family. Following the collapse of the Ming Empire (1368-1644), Koxinga refused to pledge loyalty to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and was forced to flee China. Taking his army of over 30,000 men, Koxinga decided to make Taiwan his operations base for continuing his war against the Qing. After evicting the Dutch, Koxinga resumed his war against the Qing. However, in 1682 the Qing captured Taiwan making it a county of Fujian province. In 1885, following a brief (1884-1885) occupation of northern Taiwan by the French, the island became an independent province of China.

Taiwan was not destined to maintain its new status as a province for long. In 1895, as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Taiwan was handed over to Japan as an end to the Sino-Japanese War. After quashing a short-lived civilian revolt aimed at creating Asia's first republic (the Formosan Republic), the new Japanese rulers began a series of major construction projects to integrate Taiwan into the Japanese colonial economy. The remaining indigenous tribes were gradually forced into Taiwan's central mountains as the Japanese systematically built a network of roads, railroads, hospitals, and teachers' universities around Taiwan. Agricultural holdings were consolidated and massive sugar cane plantations were established around the island. The Japanese ruled the island until the end of World War II when the 1945 Yalta Conference returned Taiwan once again into the hands of China.

Returning Taiwan to the Chinese government was not simple since China was in the midst of a civil war. In 1912, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and the Republic of China was established by Sun Yat-sen. The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall stands today in commemoration of this political leader. From 1912 through the end of World War II, China was in political turmoil as the Nationalists (Kuomingtang, or KMT) under Chiang Kai-shek waged war with the Communists under Mao Zedong. During the same period, the Japanese also invaded North China. In 1945, when Taiwan was returned, the civil war in China was still raging.

Chiang Kai-shek, busy in Mainland China, sent Governor Chen-yi to Taiwan to maintain order. Famed for his greed and inability to rule, Chen-yi was disliked by the local Taiwanese. On February 28, 1947, this disapproval culminated in a Taiwanese protest now known as the 2-28 Massacre during which the KMT killed thousands of civilians. In 1949, it became clear that the war on the Mainland was lost and Chiang Kai-shek fled with over one million Mainland Chinese (more than half of which were military) to Taiwan. Along with them, many imperial treasures from the Forbidden City were spirited away to Taipei and today can be seen at the National Palace Museum. The KMT became the local government, and one year later, under Chiang's orders, Chen-yi was executed. The KMT established martial law in Taiwan that was to last for another 40 years.

The KMT retreat to Taiwan was much like Koxinga's retreat over 300 years earlier. The idea was to use the island as a base until recapture of the Mainland was possible. In the years that followed, despite regular skirmishes with Mainland Chinese forces, the KMT did not mount major offence. In 1971, a major political defeat was handed to Taiwan when it lost its seat in the United Nations. Chiang Kai-shek passed away in 1975. Today, people can learn more about the former leader by visiting the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chiang Kai-shek's Official Residence.

In 1978, Chiang's son, Chiang Ching-kuo, was elected president in an uncontested race. Unlike his father, Chiang Ching-kuo believed that the future of the KMT lay in developing local roots, and under his administration, a gradual relaxation of the politics began. The thaw continued until 1986, when Chiang allowed the formation of the first opposition party- theDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Following the establishment of the DPP, Taiwan's politics underwent a rapid transformation. Martial Law ended in 1987 and citizens were allowed to send and receive Mainland Chinese mail, as well as request Mainland travel permits for the first time since the 1940s. In 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo died and vice president Lee Deng-hui became the island's first native-born president. Lee immediately undertook a massive reform of the KMT and was re-elected President in 1996 with 54 percent of the votes. The end of the century also marked the end of the KMT's 40 year rule when DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian was elected President on March 18th, 2000.