> Home Page > Latest News > Politics and Economics > History > The ROC on Taiwan

 

Taiwan Chronology 1949-2003

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

 

The following chronology details the major events in Taiwan from the relocation of the ROC central government to Taipei, to the end of the year 2003.

Time   Event
 
1949 Dec. 7 The ROC government moves its seat to Taipei.
10 President Chiang Kai-shek flies from Chengdu to Taipei.
15 The Executive Yuan names Wu Guo-jhen governor of Taiwan.
 
1950 Jan. 6 The ROC severs diplomatic relations with Britain following Britain's recognition of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
11 The UN Security Council rejects a Soviet proposal for the immediate expulsion of the ROC delegation.
28 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares that the ROC will not be bound by any agreement signed between the PRC and the Soviet Union.
   
1950 Mar. 1 President Chiang resumes office in Taipei.
7 President Chiang nominates General Chen Cheng as president of the Executive Yuan (premier).
 
1950 Apr. 5 The Executive Yuan grants Taiwan authority to carry out self-government by popular election in counties and cities within two months.
 
1950 Jun. 27 US President Truman orders the US Seventh Fleet to prevent a communist attack on Taiwan and asks the ROC government to cease air and sea operations against the PRC.
 
1950 Jul. 2 A popular election for a Hualien county council is held, marking the beginning of self-government in Taiwan.
31 General Douglas MacArthur arrives in Taipei to confer with President Chiang.
 
1950 Aug. 10 Karl L. Rankin arrives in Taipei as charg d'ffaires of the US embassy.
  16 Taiwan, formerly consisting of eight counties and nine cities, is redivided into 16 counties and five cities.
     
1951 May 1 US Major General William C. Chase arrives in Taipei as the first chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Taiwan.
  25 The Legislative Yuan adopts the 37.5 Percent Farm Rental Reduction Act.
  30 The government announces plans to sell arable public land to tenant farmers on easy payment terms.
     
1951 Dec. 11 The Taiwan Provincial Assembly is established.
     
1952 Feb. 1 The UN General Assembly finds the Soviet Union guilty of violation of the 1945 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance.
     
1952 Apr. 28 The Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan is signed in Taipei.
     
1952 Oct. 22 The first worldwide Overseas Chinese Conference opens in Taipei.
  31 The China Youth Corps is organized.
     
1953 Jan. 10 The Legislative Yuan adopts the Land-to-the-Tiller Act.
  25 President Chiang announces abrogation of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance of 1945 and its related documents.
     
1953 Apr. 2 Karl L. Rankin becomes the American ambassador to the ROC.
12 The Legislative Yuan passes a bill submitted by President Chiang, extending the term of office for legislators another year, i.e., to May 7, 1954.
 
1953 Jul. 17 Guerrillas on Kinmen conduct a successful raid against the communist-held Dongshan Island off the southern coast of Fujian.
 
1953 Sep. 27 President Chiang recommends an extension of the term of office of the delegates to the first National Assembly, elected in 1947, until the second National Assembly can be elected.
 
1953 Nov. 24 The government protests to the United States against the proposed American transfer of the Amami Oshima Islands to Japan.
27 Korean President Syngman Rhee arrives in Taipei.
 
1954 Mar. 11 The second session of the first National Assembly approves indefinite extension of the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.
22 Chiang Kai-shek is reelected president for a second six-year term.
24 Chen Cheng is elected vice president.
 
1954 May 20 President Chiang nominates O.K. Yu to be president of the Executive Yuan (premier).
 
1954 Jun. 4 President Chiang appoints Yan Jia-gan (Yen Chia-kan) governor of Taiwan.
 
1954 Dec. 3 The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty is signed in Washington.
 
1955 Jan. 26 The US House of Representatives approves a resolution authorizing President Eisenhower to employ American armed forces to defend Taiwan, the Pescadores, and "related positions and territories."
     
1955 Feb. 7 Government troops begin to evacuate the Dachen Islands.
     
1955 Mar. 3 Foreign Minister George K.C. Yeh and US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles exchange instruments of ratification of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in Taipei.
     
1956 Jan. 12 The Taiwan Provincial Government promulgates the Enforcement Rules of the Act on Urban Land Reform.
     
1956 May 28 Foreign Minister George K.C. Yeh informs Philippine Ambassador Narciso Ramos that the ROC has full sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.
     
1956 Jul. 7 Ground is broken for the construction of the Central Cross-island Highway.
     
1957 Apr. 21 Taiwan voters go to the polls for the third time to elect county magistrates, city mayors, and provincial assemblymen.
     
1957 May 3 The Council of Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan rules that the nation's three top representative organs -- the Legislative Yuan, the Control Yuan, and the National Assembly -- shall collectively represent the Chinese parliament in all international parliamentary organizations.
     
1957 Aug. 8 General Jhou Jhih-rou is appointed governor of Taiwan, succeeding Yan Jia-gan.
     
1957 Sep. 26 The first council meeting of the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League opens in Taipei.
     
1957 Oct. 20 President Chiang is reelected director-general of the Kuomintang (KMT).
 
1958 May 14 Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, the Shah of Iran, arrives in Taipei for a five-day state visit.
 
1958 Aug. 1 An insurance program covering 180,000 government employees is put into effect.
23 The Battle of the Taiwan Strait begins with the PRC's firing on the Kinmen Islands.
 
1958 Oct. 23 President Chiang and US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles issue a joint communiqué reaffirming solidarity between the two countries and stating that Kinmen and the Matsu Islands are "loosely related" to the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores under present conditions.
 
1959 Mar. 6 The Faith (36,000 tons), the first tanker built in Taiwan, is launched at Keelung.
9 King Hussein of Jordan arrives in Taipei for an eight-day state visit.
 
1959 Jul. 21 The Legislative Yuan revises the Conscription Act, stipulating that 19-year-old men are to be drafted for two years service in the army or three years in the navy or air force.
 
1959 Aug. 15 The ROC Army receives Nike-Hercules ground-to-air guided missiles from the United States under a military aid program.
 
1959 Sep. 1 The Act on Compensation for Wrongful Detentions and Convictions, designed to compensate people in cases of miscarriages of justice, goes into effect.
 
1960 Feb. 2 The Council of Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan announces that the total membership of the National Assembly, under the present period of national emergency, shall be 1,576.
23 The ROC establishes diplomatic relations with Cameroon.
 
1960 Mar. 11 The third session of the first National Assembly adopts an amendment to the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.
  19 The third session of the first National Assembly decides to set up a committee to study the exercise of initiative and referendum by the National Assembly.
  22 Chiang Kai-shek is reelected to a third term as president, and Chen Cheng to a second term as vice president.
     
1960 May 2 Philippine President and Mrs. Carlos Garcia arrive in Taipei for a six-day state visit.
  9 The Central Cross-island Highway is opened to traffic.
     
1960 Jun. 18 US President Eisenhower arrives in Taipei for a state visit.
  19 President Chiang and US President Eisenhower issue a joint communiqué pledging that their governments will continue to stand solidly behind the Sino-US Mutual Defense Treaty against the PRC in this area. The PRC troops hit Kinmen, and the ROC artillery units retaliated.
     
1960 Aug. 15 The Council of Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan rules that, courts of all levels shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Yuan. The ROC recognizes the Congo (Brazzaville) Republic.
  25 The ROC Olympic Team in the opening procession of the Olympic Games in Rome protests the International Olympic Committee's ruling compelling ROC athletes to compete under the name of "Taiwan" instead of the "Republic of China."
     
1960 Sep. 6 Decathlon champion Yang Chuan-guang wins the ROC's first Olympic silver medal.
     
1961 May 14 US Vice President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson visit the ROC.
     
1961 Oct. 7 Two defecting Chinese communist pilots, Shao Si-yan and Gao You-zong, arrive in Taipei from South Korea.
  27 The 16th UN General Assembly votes for the admission of Outer Mongolia. The ROC abstains.
     
1961 Dec. 1 The first nuclear reactor in Taiwan, installed by scientists at the National Tsing Hua University campus in Hsinchu, is put into operation.
  18 The ROC establishes diplomatic ties with Upper Volta.
     
1962 Mar. 14 Foreign Minister Shen Chang-huan declares that the ROC does not recognize Japan's so-called "residual sovereignty" over the Ryukyu Islands.
     
1962 Apr. 3 President and Mme. Philbert Tsiranana of the Malagasy Republic arrive for a six-day state visit.
     
1962 Oct. 30 The ROC rejects the McMahon Line as the boundary between China and India.
     
1962 Nov. 22 General Huang Jie is appointed governor of Taiwan, succeeding General Jhou Jhih-rou.
     
1962 Dec. 28 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares border agreements signed between the Beijing regime and Outer Mongolia and Pakistan illegal and not binding on the ROC.
     
1963 Jun. 5 King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand arrive in the ROC for a state visit.
     
1963 Aug. 4 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares that the ROC does not recognize the border treaty signed between the Beijing regime and Afghanistan.
  23 Ambassador to the United States Jiang Ting-fu signs the nuclear test ban treaty on behalf of the ROC.
     
1963 Sep. 1 The Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development is inaugurated to replace the Council for US Aid.
     
1963 Oct. 6 Dahomey President and Mme. Hubert Maga arrive for a six-day state visit.
     
1963 Nov. 16 The new premier, Yan Jia-gan, assumes office.
     
1964 Feb. 12 Japanese Premier Shigeru Yoshida arrives in Taipei to confer with President Chiang Kai-shek.
     
1964 Jun. 14 The NT$3,200 million multipurpose Shihmen Dam is dedicated.
     
1964 Oct. 27 The ROC and Korea sign a treaty of amity in Seoul.
     
1965 Apr. 9 The ROC and the United States conclude in Taipei an accord to establish a Sino-American fund for economic and social development in Taiwan.
  25 The ROC and the United States sign in Taipei an inventory of atomic equipment and materials to be reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
     
1965 Jul. 1 The United States phases out economic aid to Taiwan.
  31 The ROC and the United States sign an agreement in Taipei on the status of US forces in China.
     
1965 Nov. 11 Malagasy President Tsiranana arrives for a four-day visit.
  23 US warships return to the ROC 102 cases of rare books that were sent to the United States for safekeeping during World War II.
     
1966 Jan. 1 US Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey arrives in Taipei to confer with government leaders.
     
1966 Feb. 15 Korean President Park Chung Hee arrives for a four-day state visit.
     
1966 Mar. 21 The National Assembly elects President Chiang Kai-shek to a fourth term as president of the Republic.
  22 The National Assembly elects Premier Yan Jia-gan the third vice president of the Republic.
  26 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the ROC's opposition to US recognition of Outer Mongolia.
     
1966 Jul. 3 US Secretary of State Dean Rusk arrives in Taipei to confer with ROC government leaders.
  6 The Legislative Yuan approves the Sino-Haitian Treaty of Amity signed in Port-au-Prince on February 15, 1966.
     
1967 Feb. 1 The National Security Council is established by President Chiang Kai-shek with Vice Premier Huang Shao-gu as secretary-general.
     
1967 Apr. 4 Australian Prime Minister Harold E. Holt arrives for a three-day visit.
     
1967 Jul. 1 Taipei becomes a special municipality, with Gao Yu-shu as its mayor.
  28 The Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement is officially organized, with President Chiang Kai-shek as its head.
     
1967 Aug. 3 The Executive Yuan decides to extend the period of compulsory education from six to nine years beginning in 1968.
  4 Malawi President Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda arrives for an eight-day state visit.
     
1967 Sep. 25 The first conference of the World Anti-Communist League opens in Taipei, with more than 200 leaders from 72 nations and areas attending.
     
1967 Nov. 24 The Chinese Economic Development Research Institute is inaugurated in Taipei.
     
1968 Aug. 24 Taichung's Golden Dragons baseball team wins the 23rd Little League World Championship.
  25 Lesotho Premier Leabua Jonathan arrives in Taipei for an official visit.
     
1968 Oct. 23 Nigerian President Hamani Diori arrives in Taipei for an official visit.
     
1968 Dec. 17 The Chinese National Committee of the International Press Institute is established in Taipei.
  20 The nation chooses 26 new members to the National Assembly and the Legislative Yuan.
     
1969 May 26 Sierra Leone Premier Siaka P. Stevens arrives in Taipei to confer with ROC leaders.
     
1970 Jul. 12 Athlete Chi Cheng breaks the women's 200-meter record in West Germany, with a time of 22.44 seconds.
     
1971 Aug. 14 Ground for the construction of the North-South Freeway is broken near Linkou.
     
1971 Oct. 25 The ROC withdraws from the United Nations.
     
1972 Mar. 21 President Chiang Kai-shek is reelected to a fifth six-year term.
     
1972 May 26 Former Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo becomes premier after approval by the Legislative Yuan.
     
1972 Aug. 20 The ROC Mei He baseball team wins the Senior League world title.
  27 The Taipei Little League baseball team wins the world title.
     
1972 Sep. 29 The ROC severs diplomatic relations with Japan.
     
1972 Oct. 16 President Dawda Kairba Jawara of Gambia arrives for an eight-day visit.
     
1972 Nov. 12 The ROC wins the World Cup Golf Championship in Melbourne, Australia.
     
1972 Dec. 23 An election of additional members to the National Assembly, Legislative Yuan, the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, and of mayors and county magistrates is held in Taiwan, Kinmen, and Matsu.
     
1973 Jan. 22 H.R.H. Prince Tuipelehake, C.B.E., prime minister of the Kingdom of Tonga, arrives for a one-week visit.
     
1973 Oct. 30 Zeng Wen Dam and Reservoir, the largest in Taiwan, are completed.
     
1973 Dec. 25 Construction of the Suao-Hualien railroad is launched.
     
1974 Jan. 26 Premier Chiang Ching-kuo announces an across-the-board price adjustment to help stabilize the economy.
     
1974 Apr. 20 The ROC announces the termination of Taiwan-Japan flights by China Airlines and Japan Airlines.
     
1974 Oct. 30 The first F5E Freedom jet fighter made in the ROC rolls off the assembly line.
     
1975 Feb. 17 The China Steel Corp., the Continental Illinois National Bank, and the Trust Company of Chicago sign a US$200 million loan contract to help finance construction of a steel mill in Kaohsiung.
     
1975 Mar. 21 ROC officials stationed in Phnom Penh return to Taipei.
     
1975 Apr. 5 President Chiang Kai-shek passes away.
  6 Yan Jia-gan, vice president of the ROC since 1966, takes the oath of office as the nation's second constitutional president.
  26 The ROC Embassy in Saigon suspends operations.
  28 Premier Chiang Ching-kuo is elected chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Kuomintang.
     
1975 Jun. 9 The ROC terminates diplomatic relations with the Republic of the Philippines.
     
1975 Jul. 1 The ROC terminates diplomatic relations with Thailand.
  9 The ROC and Japan sign a private aviation agreement that restores the Taiwan-Japan services of China Airlines and a Japanese airline.
     
1975 Oct. 21 The second naphtha cracking plant of the Chinese Petroleum Corp. begins production.
     
1976 Mar. 26 Dr. Lin Yu-tang, 81, one of the best known Chinese writers in English, dies in Hong Kong.
     
1976 Jul. 17 The ROC team withdraws from the Montreal Games to protest competing under the name of "Taiwan."
     
1976 Aug. 21 Prince Maphevu Harry Dlamini, prime minister of the Kingdom of Swaziland, accompanied by Mme. Dlamini and a party of eight, arrives for a seven-day visit.
     
1976 Oct. 31 Taichung Port in west central Taiwan is formally opened.
     
1977 Mar. 26 The Taiwanese research vessel Hai Gong returns to Keelung after a 115-day exploratory expedition to the Antarctic.
     
1977 May 18 China Airlines' new Boeing 747SP begins nonstop service between Taipei and the US West Coast.
     
1977 Jun. 3 The 445,000-ton tanker Burmah Endeavour, built by the China Shipbuilding Corp. for US Gatx Oswego, is launched at Kaohsiung. It is the world's third largest vessel.
     
1977 Jul. 9 President Yan Jia-gan leaves for a three-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, at the invitation of King Khaled Bib Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.
     
1977 Sep. 19 King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho of the Kingdom of Tonga arrive for a week's state visit at the invitation of President and Mme. Yan Jia-gan.
     
1977 Oct. 17 Akira Nishiyama, former Japanese ambassador to South Korea, arrives to assume his duties as director of the Japan Interchange Association's Taipei office.
     
1978 Mar. 21 Premier Chiang Ching-kuo is elected by the National Assembly as president for the sixth constitutional presidential term of the ROC.
  30 The first generator of Taiwan's first nuclear power plant begins its full capacity operation of 636,000 kilowatts.
     
1978 May 26 The Legislative Yuan endorses President Chiang's appointment of Sun Yun-syuan, former minister of economic affairs, as the new premier.
     
1978 Jun. 20 The ROC is listed the 25th largest trading country in the world by the International Monetary Fund.
     
1978 Oct. 31 The Taiwan Area Freeway, with a total length of 377 km, is opened to traffic.
     
1978 Dec. 8 The Legislative Yuan passes the revised Foreign Exchange Management Regulations under which the New Taiwan dollar is no longer pegged to the US dollar.
  16 President Chiang Ching-kuo strongly condemns the US decision to sever diplomatic relations with the ROC in favor of the Beijing regime.
     
1979 Mar. 1 The US embassy in Taipei formally closes, to be succeeded by the American Institute in Taiwan. The Washington Office of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs of the Republic of China opens.
     
1979 Apr. 10 US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation permitting continued commercial and cultural relations between the US government and the ROC following the break in diplomatic ties.
     
1979 Jul. 1 The electrification of Taiwan's 1,153-km-long west coast trunk line railway between Keelung and Kaohsiung is completed. Kaohsiung becomes a special municipality under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan.
     
1979 Sep. 6 The Cabinet announces the extension of the ROC's territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, and the establishment of a 200-mile economic zone.
     
1979 Nov. 16 The Republic of China and the United States conclude 40 days of talks on the revision of their air transportation agreement. Under the memorandum issued by the two parties, the ROC will open civil air services to four new US stops: Guam, Seattle, New York, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
     
1979 Dec. 10 A demonstration organized by opposition politicians and the Formosa Magazine to commemorate Human Rights Day, turns into the bloody riot known as the "Kaohsiung Incident," in which scores of demonstrators and policemen were injured.
     
1980 Jan. 3 The US informs the ROC that it will resume arms sales to the ROC after a one-year suspension.
     
1980 Dec. 27 Twenty-two supplementary members are elected to the Control Yuan from among 54 candidates by members of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, the Taipei City Council, and the Kaohsiung City Council.
     
1981 Apr. 2 President Chiang Ching-kuo is reelected chairman of the Kuomintang by acclamation at the 12th National Congress in Taipei.
     
1981 May 4 The first European Trade Fair in the ROC is held at the Taipei World Trade Center with some 293 companies from 13 Western European countries participating.
     
1982 May 12 The Council for Agricultural Planning and Development (CAPD) reveals the second phase of the land reform program.
  20 The Cabinet approves the draft of a Genetic Health Act to legalize abortion and prevent couples with known genetic diseases from having children.
     
1982 Jun. 20 The Directorate General of Telecommunications (DGT) opens the first public data switching service in Taiwan.
     
1982 Oct. 16 Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, 1970 Nobel Literature Prize winner, arrives in Taiwan from Tokyo at the invitation of Wu San-lien Awards Foundation of the ROC.
     
1983 Jan. 14 The Legislative Yuan passes a revision of the Trademark Act to impose prison terms for infringement of trademarks.
     
1983 Feb. 16 The Dutch airline Martinair inaugurates flight service to Taiwan, marking the opening of air service between the Netherlands and the ROC.
     
1983 Apr. 12 China Airlines inaugurates regular flight service to Amsterdam as the first step toward establishing a world-girdling commercial air service.
     
1983 Jun. 7 The Legislative Yuan passes the Firearms Control Act, placing the manufacture, possession, and use of firearms and other weapons under stricter control.
     
1983 Oct. 31 Taipei's 809-meter-long Guandu Bridge, the first multi-arch steel bridge in East Asia, is opened to traffic.
     
1984 Mar. 1 The ROC's first domestically developed jet trainer AT-3 rolls off the assembly line. The twin-seat trainer, fitted with two Garrett TFE 731-2-2L engines, each with a thrust of 1,590 kg, was developed by the Aeronautical Institute of Science and Technology.
  21 President Chiang Ching-kuo is reelected for a second six-year term.
     
1984 May 20 President Chiang Ching-kuo nominates Yu Kuo-hwa, chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development and governor of the Central Bank of China, as the new premier.
     
1984 Jun. 29 The Legislative Yuan approves the long-awaited and controversial Genetic Health Act.
     
1984 Jul. 20 The Legislative Yuan passes the Labor Standards Act.
     
1984 Sep. 20 The Council of Agriculture is formally established.
     
1984 Oct. 12 The ROC-Australia Trade Association and the Chinese-New Zealand Business Council are formally inaugurated in Taipei.
     
1985 Jan. 8 The Hong Kong Affairs Task Force under the Executive Yuan decides to simplify exit and entry application procedures, relax controls on foreign exchange, and adopt incentive measures to encourage large enterprises and monetary institutions in Hong Kong to move to Taiwan.
     
1985 Apr. 16 The first test tube baby in Taiwan is born at Veterans General Hospital in Taipei.
     
1985 Jul. 9 The last part of a transoceanic telecommunication cable system, which will link Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, is hauled ashore in Toucheng, Yilan.
  19 The Ministry of National Defense announces that a domestically developed surface-to-air missile named "Sky Bow" made a successful debut in a test firing.
     
1985 Sep. 29 Decathlon athletes Gu Jin-shuei and Li Fu-en win a gold and silver medal respectively in the sixth Asian Track and Field Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
     
1986 Apr. 23 National Taiwan University Hospital separates a pair of 14-day-old Siamese twins, saving one of the baby girls' life and setting a world record for separating the youngest Siamese twins.
  24 ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs Jhu Fu-song and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Carlos Augusto Saldivar sign an extradition treaty in Taipei on behalf of their respective governments.
     
1986 May 18 The Ministry of National Defense announces that an air-to-air "Sky Sword" missile has been successfully tested by shooting down a Hawk missile.
     
1986 Aug. 3 Construction of the Synchronous Radiation Research Center is started at the Hsinchu Science Park.
     
1986 Sep. 25 The Republic of China, after withdrawing 13 years ago, is readmitted to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
  28 The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is formed in Taipei.
     
1986 Oct. 15 Lee Yuan-tseh, a member of the Academia Sinica, wins the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
     
1986 Nov. 6 The Democratic Progressive Party holds its first Representative Assembly and releases a draft of its charter and platform.
     
1987 Jun. 23 The Legislative Yuan passes the National Security Act during the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion. After the act becomes effective, the Emergency Decree in Taiwan and the Pescadores (Penghu) will be lifted.
     
1987 Jul. 15 The Emergency Decree is lifted in Taiwan, the National Security Act is promulgated, and foreign exchange controls are relaxed.
     
1987 Aug. 1 The Council of Labor Affairs is formally established under the Executive Yuan.
     
1987 Nov. 2 The ROC Red Cross Society begins accepting applications from local residents wishing to visit relatives in the Chinese mainland.
  10 ROC-US talks on intellectual property rights begin in Taipei.
     
1988 Jan. 1 Registrations for new newspapers are opened, and restrictions on the number of pages per issue are relaxed.
  11 The Legislative Yuan passes the Act on Assembly and Parades during the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, which outlines three fundamental principles and specifies areas that will be off-limits to demonstrators.
  13 President Chiang Ching-kuo passes away of heart failure and hemorrhage at 3:50 p.m. Vice President Lee Teng-hui is sworn in as president of the Republic of China to complete the late President Chiang's second six-year term, which runs from 1984 to 1990.
     
1988 Mar. 3 The Council for Economic Planning and Development approves the establishment of a US$11 billion International Economic Cooperation and Development Fund to assist developing countries.
  24 The Government Information Office and the Ministry of National Defense reiterate that the ROC has never engaged in the development of nuclear weapons. This is confirmed by the US government.
     
1988 Apr. 18 The ROC Red Cross Society begins forwarding mail from Taiwan residents to the Chinese mainland.
  28 An ROC delegation attends the annual convention of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila.
     
1988 Jul. 8 Acting Chairman Lee Teng-hui is elected chairman of the Kuomintang at the ruling party's 13th National Congress.
  28 The Executive Yuan approves regulations governing the import of publications, films, and radio and television programs from China.
     
1988 Aug. 18 The Mainland Affairs Task Force is established under the Executive Yuan.
  30 ROC-US talks on finance and banking open in Washington. The ROC negotiators agree to open the Taiwan market to credit card companies and to expand credit for foreign banks.
     
1988 Oct. 25 A comprehensive farmer health insurance is initiated.
     
1988 Nov. 3 The Mainland Affairs Task Force revises regulations to allow PRC citizens to visit sick relatives or attend their funerals in Taiwan.
  17 The Executive Yuan approves the private installation of small satellite dish antennas, which will allow viewers to tune into the KU-band and receive television programming from Japan's NHK station.
     
1988 Dec. 1 The Executive Yuan announces guidelines governing unofficial participation in international academic conferences and cultural and athletic activities held in China, as well as regulations governing visits to Taiwan by overseas mainland scholars and students.
     
1989 Jan. 10 The ROC and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas establish diplomatic relations.
  20 The Legislative Yuan passes the Act on Civic Organizations.
  26 The Legislative Yuan passes the Act on the Voluntary Retirement of Senior Parliamentarians.
     
1989 Mar. 6 President and Mme. Lee Teng-hui arrive in Singapore for a four-day visit.
     
1989 Apr. 7 The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee announces that ROC athletic teams and organizations will participate in international sports events held in China under the name "Chinese Taipei."
  17 The Mainland Affairs Task Force passes the proposal to allow teachers and staff of public schools to travel to China for family visits. On the 18th, the council decides to permit newsgathering and filmmaking in China.
  30 Finance Minister Shirley Kuo ??? leads an ROC delegation to the 22nd annual Asian Development Bank meeting in Beijing.
     
1989 May 28 Ching Kuo, the first domestically developed and manufactured indigenous defense fighter, successfully completes its first test flight.
  31 One million students participate in a "Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart" rally in support of Chinese democracy movement.
     
1989 Jun. 1 Lee Huan is sworn in as premier of the ROC.
  4 President Lee Teng-hui issues a statement condemning the Tienanmen Massacre.
  10 Direct telephone links are opened between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
  19 The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Task Force announces the government's plan to simplify procedures for the relocation of Hong Kong and Macao compatriots in Taiwan and to provide assistance for their emigration to a third country.
     
1989 Jul. 11 The Legislative Yuan approves a partial revision of the Banking Act which completely abolishes interest rate controls and deregulates entry into the banking system. The act goes into effect on July 19.
  20 The ROC establishes formal diplomatic ties with Grenada.
     
1989 Aug. 1 A foreign currency call loan market is established in Taipei, designed to make the metropolis an international financial center.
     
1989 Sep. 4 Guatemalan President Marco Vincicio Cerezo Arevalo and President Lee Teng-hui sign a joint communiqué in Taipei calling for closer bilateral relations.
  15 Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles of the Commonwealth of Dominica arrives in Taipei for a six-day visit.
  25 The Sky Bow Weapons System, developed and manufactured by the ROC, is added to the nation's military defense system.
  26 The Executive Yuan permits Chinese pro-democracy supporters to settle in Taiwan.
     
1989 Oct. 2 The ROC and Liberia re-establish diplomatic relations. Beijing severs formal ties with Liberia in protest.
  12 The ROC and Belize announce the establishment of diplomatic relations. King Mswati III of Swaziland arrives for a five-day visit.
     
1989 Dec. 2 Elections for the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan Provincial Assembly, Taipei and Kaohsiung city councils, county magistrates, and provincial-level city mayors are held.
     
1990 Jan. 14 President Lee Teng-hui and President Prosper Avril of Haiti sign a joint communiqué calling for stronger bilateral cooperation.
  16 Low-ranking government employees are permitted to visit relatives across the strait, and native Taiwanese who moved to China before 1949 are allowed to visit relatives in Taiwan.
     
1990 Feb. 13 The Mainland Affairs Task Force permits Taiwan's performing artists to stage commercial performances in China and to participate in activities sponsored by China.
  26 President Lee Teng-hui and El Salvadoran President Alfredo Felix Cristiani Burkard sign a joint communiqué for closer bilateral cooperation.
     
1990 Mar. 1 The Executive Yuan approves direct trade between the ROC and the Soviet Union and Albania.
  17 Thousands of university students stage a sit-down protest at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza to express opposition to the National Assembly's attempt to expand its authority.
  21 Lee Teng-hui is elected the eighth-term president of the ROC.
  22 Li Yuan-zu is elected vice president of the ROC.
  27 The eighth plenum of the National Assembly approves a motion to force members who failed to attend the plenary session to retire by the end of July 1990.
     
1990 Apr. 5 The ROC re-establishes diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Lesotho. Beijing severs ties with Lesotho two days later.
  8 Economics Minister Chen Li-an and Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industries, Lee Hsien Loong, preside over the first ministerial-level conference between the two countries on economic cooperation.
  30 Elected officials of all levels are permitted to make private visits to China during recesses. Veterans who were stranded in China after the ROC government moved to Taiwan in 1949 are allowed to apply for resettlement in Taiwan.
     
1990 May 16 The KMT Central Standing Committee accepts the resignation of Premier Lee Huan and his Cabinet ministers.
  20 Lee Teng-hui and Li Yuan-zu are inaugurated as president and vice president of the ROC. President Lee Teng-hui announces a special amnesty, which includes the pardoning of dissidents Hsu Hsin-liang and Shih Ming-teh.
  26 The ROC establishes diplomatic relations with Guinea Bissau.
  29 Premier nominee Hau Pei-tsun is approved by the Legislative Yuan, and is immediately appointed premier by President Lee Teng-hui.
     
1990 Jun. 17 President Andres Rodriguez of Paraguay arrives in Taipei to sign a joint communiqué calling for closer bilateral relations with the ROC.
  21 The Council of Grand Justices announces that senior parliamentarians should terminate their responsibilities by December 31, 1991.
  25 Reporters from China are permitted to visit Taiwan for newsgathering purposes, and government employees from Taiwan are allowed to visit sick relatives or attend funerals in China.
     
1990 Jul. 4 The National Affairs Conference concludes in Taipei, after six days of discussions on parliamentary reforms, the central and local government systems, the Constitution, and mainland policy.
  22 The ROC severs diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, after the latter switches formal recognition to the PRC.
     
1990 Aug. 10 The ROC declares its support of a United Nations call for world sanctions against Iraq over its invasion of Kuwait.
  31 Premier Hau Pei-tsun advises the Legislative Yuan that ROC relations with the PRC will operate under the concept of "one country, two areas."
     
1990 Sep. 1 Premier Hau Pei-tsun announces the objectives of the Six-year National Development Plan, which includes public construction projects affecting economics, culture, education, and medicine.
  17 A team of 200 athletes and coaches flies to China for Taiwan's first attendance of the Asian Games in 20 years.
  19 Taiwan's Red Cross Society and China reach agreement on procedures for the repatriation of illegal mainland entrants to Taiwan.
     
1990 Oct. 7 The National Unification Council is established under the Office of the President to help plan the policy framework for national unification, and to integrate various opinions about the issue at all levels of society.
  11 The Ministry of the Interior reiterates that the Diaoyutai Archipelago belong to the ROC. The chain of eight uninhabited islets, located in the East China Sea, also is claimed by Japan and the PRC.
  18 The Mainland Affairs Council is established under the Executive Yuan to formulate and implement mainland policy.
  27 Moscow City Mayor Gavriil H. Popov arrives for a formal visit to the ROC to discuss the strengthening of ROC-Soviet trade relations.
     
1990 Nov. 1 President Lee Teng-hui receives an Outstanding International Alumnus Citation from Cornell University.
  15 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the ROC-Canadian agreement to exchange aviation rights and establish Taipei economic and cultural offices in major Canadian cities.
  20 The first ROC-USSR fishery cooperation conference is held in Tokyo for discussions on technological exchanges and expansion of fishing zones.
  21 The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), a private intermediary organization financially supported by the government, is established to handle technical affairs arising from people-to-people contacts between Taiwan and China.
     
1991 Jan. 6 A memorandum is signed between the ROC and Saudi Arabia for the mutual establishment of representative offices in their capital cities.
  7 French Minister of Industry and Territorial Development Roger Fauroux participates in the seventh ROC-France Economic Cooperation Conference in Taipei.
  31 The Executive Yuan approves a budget of about US$303 billion for the Six-year National Development Plan.
     
1991 Mar. 14 The Executive Yuan passes the Guidelines for National Unification, which are now the highest directives governing ROC mainland policy. Its long-term goal is to establish a democratic, free, and equitably prosperous China.
     
1991 Apr. 22 The second extraordinary session of the First National Assembly passes, at its sixth plenary meeting, the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the ROC and approves the abolishment of the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion.
  30 President Lee Teng-hui declares the termination of the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, effective on May 1. He abolishes the Temporary Provisions and promulgates the Additional Articles of the Constitution, also effective on May 1.
     
1991 May 24 The Legislative Yuan approves the abolishment of the Act for the Purging of Communist Agents.
     
1991 Jun. 26 Approval is given to 15 of the 19 applications to set up private commercial banks.
  27 Government Spokesman Shaw Yu-ming announces that Chinese journalists will no longer have to renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party when applying to visit Taiwan.
     
1991 Jul. 4 The ROC and Czechoslovakia agree to exchange representative offices.
  8 The ROC and the Central African Republic resume diplomatic relations.
     
1991 Aug. 5 President Lee Teng-hui receives Fijian Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara; an ROC-Fiji technological cooperation agreement is signed on August 6.
  12 Two Chinese journalists arrive in Taipei, marking the first-ever visit by the mainland Chinese press.
  18 Vice President Li Yuan-zu leaves for a state visit to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, and to attend the 23rd Plenary Meeting of the World League for Freedom and Democracy at San José Costa Rica.
     
1991 Oct. 11 Direct air service begins between Australia and the ROC.
     
1991 Nov. 6 The ROC and Latvia sign memoranda for economic cooperation and the exchange of trade offices.
  13 The ROC joins the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) along with Hong Kong and the PRC.
  15 South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk signs a joint communiqué with President Lee Teng-hui for closer relations between the two countries.
     
1991 Dec. 21 The ruling Kuomintang wins 71 percent of the vote and 254 of the 325 seats in the election for the Second National Assembly.
  22 Dissident Chinese astrophysicist Fang Li-chih visits Taipei.
  31 All senior delegates to the First National Assembly, Control Yuan, and Legislative Yuan retire from office.
     
1992 Jan. 20 The French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Jean-Noël Jeanneney visits Taipei to discuss participation in the Six-year National Development Plan and further economic cooperation between the ROC and France.
  27 The Fair Trade Commission is established under the Executive Yuan.
  29 The ROC and Latvia announce the establishment of relations at the consulate-general level.
     
1992 Feb. 4 The Fair Trade Act goes into effect.
  18 A delegation from the US President's Export Council arrives to promote ROC-US trade.
  28 The ROC and the Philippines sign an official investment guarantee agreement to protect investments by Taiwan businessmen.
     
1992 Mar. 7 Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and President Lee Teng-hui sign a joint communiqué in Taipei for stronger bilateral relations.
  23 The first-ever meeting convenes in Beijing between the SEF and the PRC's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), to discuss issues related to document verification and indirect registered mail services.
  27 The ROC and Bulgaria agree to establish direct air links between Taipei and Sofia.
     
1992 Apr. 17 Legislative proceedings are completed for the National Employment Act, which will serve as the basis for the employment of foreign nationals in the ROC.
  19 Minister of Foreign Trade Yvonne C.M.T. van Rooy of the Netherlands visits Taipei to seek stronger bilateral relations.
  29 Bolivian Vice President Luis Ossio Sanjines officiates the inauguration of the Bolivian Commercial and Financial Representative Office in Taipei.
     
1992 May 10 Swedish Minister of Transport and Communications, Mats Odell, visits Taipei to discuss closer cooperation and future exchanges with the ROC.
  11 President Andre Kolingba of the Central African Republic visits Taipei.
  17 Wu Ta-you, president of Academia Sinica, attends academic conferences in Beijing and Tianjin, China.
  30 The Additional Articles 11 through 18 of the Constitution go into effect.
  31 The Mainland Affairs Council allows PRC citizens to come to Taiwan and care for their old or sick relatives.
     
1992 Jun. 10 A revised Copyright Act goes into effect, providing explicit legal protection for intellectual property rights and imposing heavier penalties for infringement of copyright.
  14 Ronald Freeman, vice president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, visits Taipei to discuss Sino-European trade and financial relations.
  19 The ROC resumes diplomatic relations with Niger. The Legislative Yuan approves the Act on Foreign Futures Contracts, which will take effect in January 1993.
     
1992 Jul. 3 The Legislative Yuan passes a revision of the Act on Civic Organizations, which calls for a Political Party Review Committee to be formed under the Ministry of the Interior.
  7 The Legislative Yuan passes a revision of the National Security Act, which would reduce the number of black-listed persona non grata from 282 to five.
  9 The Argentine Trade and Cultural Office is opened in Taipei after a 20-year break in diplomatic relations.
  16 The Legislative Yuan passes the Act Governing Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
  19 The ROC's five-year lease of three Knox-class frigates from the United States is approved by US President George Bush.
  23 Former French Premier Michel Rocard visits the ROC to strengthen friendship between the two countries.
     
1992 Aug. 1 The National Unification Council defines "one China" as "one country and two areas separately ruled by two political entities." Taiwan Garrison General Headquarters, the highest security institution in Taiwan, is disbanded; and the Coastal Patrol General Headquarters is established under the Ministry of National Defense.
  18 The Department of Anti-Corruption is established under the Ministry of Justice.
  23 The ROC severs diplomatic relations with South Korea.
  25 Niger's Prime Minister Amadou Cheiffou arrives in T