2. The history of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of
years to the earliest known evidence of human
habitation.
Overview of Fort Zeelandia, painted around 1635
The sudden
appearance of an
agrarian culture
around 3000 BC
is believed to
reflect the arrival
of the ancestors
of today's
Taiwanese
aborigines.
3. The island was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed
by an influx of Han Chinese including Hakka immigrants from areas of
Fujian and Guangdong of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait.
Overview of Fort Zeelandia, painted around 1635
The Spanish also
built a settlement in
the north for a brief
period, but were
driven out by the
Dutch in 1642.
4. The Chinese name of the island,
"臺灣" ("Taiwan"), derives from
an aboriginal term; in the past
(from the 16th century), the island
has been called "Formosa" (from
Portuguese: Ilha Formosa,
"Beautiful Island") by the west.
In 1662, Koxinga (Zheng Cheng-gong),
a loyalist of the Ming
dynasty, which had lost control of
mainland China in 1644, defeated
the Dutch and established a base
of operations on the island.
Hunting deer
painted in 1746
5. Zheng's forces were later defeated by the Qing dynasty
in 1683. From then, parts of Taiwan became
increasingly integrated into the Qing dynasty before it
ceded the island, along with Penghu, to the Empire of
Japan in 1895, following the First Sino-Japanese War.
Taiwan produced rice and sugar to be exported to the
Empire of Japan, and also served as a base for the
Japanese colonial expansion into Southeast Asia and
the Pacific during World War II. Japanese imperial
education was implemented in Taiwan and many
Taiwanese also fought for Japan during the war.
6. In 1945, following the end
of World War II, the
Republic of China (ROC),
led by the Kuomintang
(KMT), became the
governing polity on Taiwan.
Tsou youth of Taiwan
7. In 1949, after losing control of
mainland China following the
Chinese Civil War, the ROC
government under the KMT
withdrew to Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek
declared martial law.
Japan formally renounced all
territorial rights to Taiwan in 1952 in
the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
The KMT ruled Taiwan (along with
Kinmen, Wuchiu and the Matsu
Islands on the opposite side of the
Taiwan Strait) as a single-party
state for forty years, until
democratic reforms were
promulgated by Chiang Ching-kuo
Celebrating Taiwan's retrocession in the 1980s.
Taipei City Hall, 1945.
8. The reforms were
continued by
Chiang's successor,
Lee Teng-hui, which
culminated in the
first-ever
With President Chiang Kai-shek, the U.S.
direct presidential
election in 1996. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian was elected
president, becoming the first non-KMT president on Taiwan.
He was re-elected in 2004. Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT was
elected president in 2008, and subsequently re-elected in
2012.
President Dwight D. Eisenhowerwaved to crowds
during his visit toTaipei in June 1960.
9. Locator map of the ROC Taiwan
Taiwan is an island in
East Asia it is located
some 180 kilometres
(112 miles) off the
southeastern coast of
China across the
Taiwan Strait.
It has an area of
35,883 (13,855 sq mi)
and spans the Tropic of Cancer. The East China Sea lies to the
north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to
the south and the South China Sea to the southwest.
10. Taiwan Island makes up
99% of the territory of the
Republic of China (ROC),
after the ROC lost its
mainland China territory in
the Chinese Civil War and
Dabajian Mountain
fled to the island in 1949,
and the country itself is commonly referred to as simply
"Taiwan". The island is struck by an average of four typhoons
in each year. The eastern mountains are heavily forested
and home to a diverse range of wildlife, while land use in the
western and northern lowlands is intensive.
11. TTeerrrraaiinn
The terrain in Taiwan is divided into two parts: the flat to
gently rolling plains in the west, where 90% of the population
lives, and the mostly rugged forest-covered mountains in the
eastern two-thirds.The eastern part of the island is
dominated
by five mountain
ranges, each running
from north-northeast
to south-southwest,
roughly parallel to the
east coast of the
island.
12. TTeerrrraaiinn
As a group, they extend 330 km (210 mi) from north to south
and average about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from east to west.
They include more than two hundred peaks with elevations
of over 3,000 m
(9,800 ft).
13. Taiwan is located between the
tropics and sub-tropics. The
climate is tropical and subtropical
regions. Since it is surrounded by
the sea Was influenced by the
monsoon. Make this cool weather
Not hot or too cold The average
temperature of 22 degrees
Celsius per year (not including the
area around the peak height) may
be snow in areas above 3,000
meters above sea level, with rain
and storms blew through
frequently.
14. The quick industrialization and rapid growth of Taiwan
during the latter half of the 20th century has been called
the "Taiwan Miracle". Taiwan is
one of the "Four Asian Tigers"
alongside Hong Kong,
South Korea and Singapore.
By 1945, hyperinflation was in
progress in mainland China
and Taiwan as a result of the war with Japan.
In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the United
States began an aid program which resulted in fully
stabilized prices by 1952.
15. In 1962, Taiwan had a (nominal) per-capita
gross national product (GNP) of $170, placing its
economy on a par with those of Zaire and
Congo.
In 1974, Chiang Ching-kuo implemented the Ten
Major Construction Projects, the beginning
foundations that helped Taiwan transform into its
current export driven economy.
Today Taiwan has a dynamic, capitalist, export-driven
economy with gradually decreasing state
involvement in investment and foreign trade. In
keeping with this trend, some large government-owned
banks and industrial firms are
being privatized.
Taipei 101 was the
world's tallest building
from its opening in 2004
until 2010.
16. the culture of Taiwan is a blend of the dominant Han
Chinese culture, Confucianist culture, Taoist culture,
Buddhist culture and some Taiwanese aborigines
cultures mixed together with some small influences from
Japanese culture and minor influences from American
culture, which are often perceived in both traditional and
modern understandings. The preservation of the
Chinese culture is evident in their continued usage of
the traditional Chinese writing system.
17. RReelliiggiioonn
The Constitution of the
Republic of China protects
people's freedom of religion
and the practices of belief.
There are approximately
18,718,600 religious followers
in Taiwan as of 2005
(81.3% of total population) and 14–18% are non-religious.
According to the 2005 census, of the 26 religions recognized
by the ROC government, the five largest are: Buddhism
(8,086,000 or 35.1%), Taoism (7,600,000 or 33%),
Yiguandao (810,000 or 3.5%), Protestantism (605,000 or
2.6%), and Roman Catholicism (298,000 or 1.3%).
18. FFoooodd
Pearl milk tea (also known as bubble tea or boba) is a
popular tea drink available in many parts of the world.
TTaaiiwwaanneessee ccuuiissiinnee
Taiwanese cuisine has several variations. In addition
to the following representative dishes from the people
of Hoklo (Hō-ló)
ethnicity, there are
also Aboriginal,
Hakka, and local
derivatives of Chinese
cuisines such as
beef noodle soup.
19. SSppoorrttss
Baseball is Taiwan's
national sport and it is a
popular spectator sport.
Two of the most famous
Taiwanese baseball
pitchers are Chien-Ming
Wang and Wei-Yin
Chen, both are starting
pitchers in Major
League Baseball.
Yani Tseng with the 2011
Women's British Open trophy
20. TTrraaddiittiioonnaall ddrreessss
Bunun dancer in traditional
aboriginal dress
LLaanngguuaaggeess
Mandarin is the official
national language and is
spoken by the vast
majority of the population
of Taiwan.
