PART I - BRIEF HISTORY OF TAIWAN
1. Early Peoples
Taiwan’s first inhabitants were Austronesian peoples, related to those of the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
They lived in coastal settlements, traded widely, and developed distinct languages that survive in small numbers today.
Han Chinese migration began only in the 1600s, making Taiwan's Han population relatively recent.
2. The Age of Colonisers
In the 17th century the island became a frontier contested by empires.
The Dutch ruled parts of the west coast, using Taiwan as a trading post.
The Spanish briefly held the north.
Indigenous groups resisted, sometimes violently, but were gradually pushed inland.
3. The Zheng Kingdom (1662 - 1683)
Ming-loyalist Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch and built a short-lived maritime kingdom.
It served as a base for resistance against the Qing dynasty (*), and connected Taiwan more firmly to the Chinese world.
After his successors weakened, the Qing invaded and annexed the island.
4. Qing Rule (1683 - 1895)
Taiwan was governed as a frontier.
Han migrants arrived in large numbers.
Indigenous peoples lost territory steadily.
Rebellions were frequent, caused by land disputes, taxes, and weak administration.
By the 19th century, Taiwan was important to Qing trade, especially tea and camphor.
(*Qing and Han explained below.)
5. Japanese Rule (1895 - 1945)
After losing the First Sino-Japanese War, China ceded Taiwan to Japan.
Japan modernised the island aggressively: railways, sanitation, schools, and industry.
It also imposed assimilation and suppressed dissent.
Many Taiwanese still remember this era as harsh but transformative.
6. The Republic of China Arrives (1945 - 1949)
Japan’s defeat returned Taiwan to Chinese control.
But Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government ruled poorly.
Corruption, inflation, and repression led to the February 28, 1947 uprising, which was crushed with mass killings.
This event shaped Taiwanese identity profoundly.
7. The Cold War Refuge (1949 - 1980s)
When the Communists won the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalists retreated to Taiwan
Also to Thailand incidentally where after many decades they eventually obtained Thai citizenship. They cultivate the hills north of Chiang Mai, growing tea and coffee. There are Chinese villages in this northern part of Thailand.
The island of Formosa (** see below) became the “Republic of China”, protected by the United States.
Martial law lasted for 38 years - one of the longest periods of political repression in the 20th century.
Economic growth, however, was spectacular.
Taiwan became one of the Asian Tigers.
8. Democratisation (1980s - 2000s)
Martial law ended in 1987.
Social movements demanded reform.
Free elections followed.
Taiwan developed a vibrant democracy with strong civil society and press freedom.
Political life became shaped by two identities:
those who see Taiwan as part of China,
and those who see it as a sovereign nation.
9. Modern Taiwan
Taiwan is a high-tech powerhouse and the world leader in advanced semiconductors.
Its democracy, culture, and openness contrast sharply with China.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory; Taiwan rejects this claim.
Strategic Ambivalence of America and China
China insists Taiwan is an inseparable part of its territory and keeps the threat of force on the table, but avoids immediate action because war would be catastrophic and politically risky.
The United States, meanwhile, practises strategic ambiguity - refusing to say clearly whether it would defend Taiwan, balancing deterrence against China with the need to avoid triggering the very conflict it wants to prevent.
The island now stands at the centre of East Asia’s strategic tensions - a small democracy with global economic importance.
Summary line
Taiwan’s history is one of shifting rulers, resilient peoples, and a growing sense of identity - from Indigenous island to Japanese colony, from authoritarian refuge to dynamic democracy on the frontline of Asian geopolitics.
-
PART II - WHY TAIWAN MATTERS
1. Geography and Power Taiwan sits on the first island chain running from Japan down to the Philippines.
This arc forms East Asia’s natural defensive wall.
Whoever controls Taiwan shapes the entire balance of power between China, Japan, and the United States.For Beijing, Taiwan is the broken link in a chain it wants to dominate. It would like to push America out to the second island ring.
For Washington and Tokyo, Taiwan is the keystone in its strategic policy of containment, preventing Chinese naval expansion into the wider Pacific.
2. Economics and Global Supply Chains Taiwan produces the world’s most advanced semiconductors through TSMC.
Its tiny territory manufactures chips used in phones, data centres, weapons systems, AI hardware, and global logistics.If Taiwan fell or production was disrupted, the world economy would jolt:
- supply chains freeze
- inflation spikes
- tech slows
- global manufacturing stalls
Semiconductors are the new oil. Taiwan is the Strait of Hormuz.
3. Democracy and Identity Taiwan is one of Asia’s strongest democracies.
Its elections are peaceful, competitive, and open.
The press is lively and critical. Civil society is active.Most Taiwanese today identify as Taiwanese, not Chinese.
This identity shift breaks Beijing’s narrative that “reunification” is natural, inevitable, or desirable.
4. China’s Strategic Calculus For China, Taiwan is:
- a historical mission
- a nationalist promise
- a strategic vulnerability
- a symbol of regime legitimacy
But invasion risks catastrophe:
- high casualties
- uncertain success
- massive economic sanctions
- US and Japanese intervention
- collapse of foreign investment in China
China prefers grey zone pressure, cyberwarfare, military exercises, diplomatic isolation.
5. The American Role The US follows “strategic ambiguity”, as we've seen - promising military help without stating it outright.
This deters China without formally provoking war.For Washington, Taiwan is:
- a frontline democracy
- a semiconductor lifeline
- a strategic anchor in the Pacific
- a test of US credibility with allies
If Taiwan falls, US alliances across Asia weaken.
6. Japan’s Stakes Japan cannot ignore Taiwan’s fate.
They are geographically interlocked.
Taiwan’s loss would expose Japan’s southern flank and alter maritime routes.Tokyo has shifted from quiet diplomacy to explicit statements:
Taiwan’s security is Japan’s security.
7. The Military Reality The Taiwan Strait is only 130 km wide, but the amphibious assault required would be one of the hardest operations in modern history.
Taiwan’s “porcupine strategy”:
- mobile missiles
- drones
- hardened bunkers
- dispersed command systems
- asymmetric warfare
Not to defeat China outright, but to make invasion too costly.
8. Why It Matters to the West Taiwan’s future will shape:
- global technology supply
- balance of power in Asia
- credibility of US alliances
- norms around sovereignty and coercion
- China’s rise and limits
A crisis in Taiwan would not be regional.
It would be global.
9. Symbolism Taiwan represents a rare combination:
- ethnic Chinese society
- democratic governance
- technological leadership
- cultural creativity
It shows that “Chinese civilisation” is not tied to one political model.
That alone makes Taiwan ideologically dangerous to Beijing.
10. Summary Line Taiwan matters because it is the frontline of global geopolitics, a semiconductor powerhouse, a resilient democracy, and the pivotal test of China’s ambitions and America’s resolve.
Part III - NOTES ON QING AND HAN, FORMOSA
Qing Dynasty
The Qing (1644–1912) was China’s last imperial dynasty, ruled by the Manchus, not the Han majority. It expanded China to its greatest territorial size but struggled with internal decay, Western pressure, and rebellion. It collapsed in 1912, ending China’s imperial era.
The Han
The Han are the ethnic majority of China today, making up over 90 percent of the population. Their cultural foundations come from the earlier Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), which shaped Chinese identity, bureaucracy, and language. When people say “Chinese” in an ethnic sense, they usually mean Han.
**Formosa
Portuguese sailors in the 16th century named the island Ilha Formosa meaning Beautiful Island. The name stuck for centuries and was used by European traders, Qing officials, and even the Japanese. Today it survives mainly as a poetic or historical term for Taiwan.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Keep it clean, keep it lean