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 Taipei
to advance mutual understanding between the two countries. |
| |
30 |
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher expresses
support for the ROC's entry into the GATT during her visit to Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1992 Sep. |
2 |
President Lee Teng-hui and Guatemalan President Jorge
Antonio Serrano sign a joint communiqué calling for closer bilateral
cooperation in Taipei. Canadian International Trade Minister Michael
Wilson visits Taipei to boost ROC-Canada trade ties; he is the first
ministerial official to visit the ROC since bilateral ties were severed
in 1970. The Bureau of Entry and Exit announces that members of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in China may apply
to visit Taiwan for cultural and academic exchanges. |
| |
6 |
Direct air service between the ROC and Vietnam resumes
for the second time in 13 months. |
| |
13 |
Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis visits Taipei
to seek mutually beneficial cooperation; an ROC-Latvia investment
guarantee agreement is signed on September 17. |
| |
21 |
The US Department of Defense decides to sell 12 SH-2F
light airborne multipurpose system helicopters to the ROC. |
| |
22 |
Vice Foreign Minister John Chang and Oleg Lobov, chairman
of the Export Council to the Russian President Boris Yeltsin, sign
two diplomatic memoranda and a document of state protocol pledging
the promotion of trade, tourism, investment, cultural, and scientific
and technological exchanges. |
| |
24 |
Foreign Minister Fredrick Chien and his Vanuatu counterpart
Serge Vohor sign a joint communiqué pledging reciprocal recognition. |
| |
29 |
The ROC is granted observer status in the GATT, which
also resolves to accept the ROC's application into GATT under the
name, the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and
Matsu." |
| |
|
|
| 1992 Oct. |
11 |
President Lee Teng-hui and Panamanian President Guillermo
Endara sign a joint communiqué to expand bilateral cooperation. |
| |
12 |
Premier Hau Pei-tsun receives Austrian Minister for
Economic Affairs Wolfgang Schüsel. |
| |
22 |
Belgian Foreign Trade Minister Robert Urbain visits
Taipei to relay a message of welcome to Taiwan businessmen intending
to invest in Belgium and pledges support for the ROC's bid to join
GATT. |
| |
27 |
Australian Tourism and Resources Minister Alan Griffiths
visits Taipei to promote closer bilateral trade relations. Mr. Griffiths
is the first Australian Minister visiting Taipei since 1972. |
| |
|
|
| 1992 Nov. |
3 |
Indonesian Minister of Research and Technology Bacharuddin
Habibie leads a 30-member delegation to Taiwan. |
| |
4 |
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chiang Pin-kung heads
an observer delegation to the Geneva meeting of GATT Council of Representatives
after the ROC's absence of 21 years. |
| |
7 |
After more than three decades of military administration,
Kinmen and Matsu revert to civilian rule as the Act Governing the
Security and Guidance of the Kinmen, Matsu, Tungsha, and Nansha Areas
goes into effect. |
| |
9 |
Saint Lucia's Prime Minister John George Melvin Compton
visits Taipei. 10- The Nigerian Trade Office is set up in Taipei to
promote economic relations with the ROC. |
| |
12 |
ROC and US defense representatives sign a letter of
offer and acceptance for the ROC's purchase of 150 F-16A and F-16B
jet fighters from the United States. |
| |
18 |
German Vice Chancellor Jürgen Möllemann and Economics
Minister Vincent C. Siew reach an agreement on the establishment of
direct air links and channels of communication on trade between the
ROC and Germany. |
| |
19 |
The Council of Agriculture bans all import, export,
and trade of rhino-horn products. |
| |
30 |
United States Trade Representative Carla A. Hills visits
Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1992 Dec. |
19 |
The Kuomintang wins 53.02 percent and the Democratic
Progressive Party 31.03 percent of the popular vote in the election
for the Second Legislative Yuan. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Jan. |
14 |
The Legislative Yuan approves a US$12.47 billion budget
for the purchase of 150 F-16 jet fighters from the United States and
60 Mirage 2000-5s from France. |
| |
15 |
ROC and Philippine officials sign an agreement in Manila,
setting the guidelines for transforming the former US naval facility
at Subic Bay into an industrial complex. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Feb. |
22 |
Taiwan-made film The Wedding Banquet wins a Golden Bear
Award for Best Picture at the 43rd annual Berlin International Film
Festival. |
| |
26 |
Two Chinese basketball teams arrive in Taiwan to play
exhibition matches against local teams; this marks the first time
in four decades that athletes from Taiwan and China will compete in
Taiwan. |
| |
27 |
Taiwan Provincial Governor Lien Chan succeeds Hau Pei-tsun
as premier of the ROC following his confirmation by the Legislative
Yuan. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Mar. |
21 |
Republic of Nauru President Bernard Dowiyogo visits
Taipei. |
| |
26 |
In an interview with the US Cable News Network, President
Lee Teng-hui stresses the ROC's willingness to form a regional collective
security system with Asia-Pacific countries. |
| |
29 |
Direct air service between the ROC and the United Kingdom
begins. New Zealand's minister of customs and associate minister of
tourism, Murray McCully, leads a nine-member delegation to Taipei.
Mr. McCully is New Zealand's first minister to visit Taipei since
1972. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Apr. |
22 |
The Legislative Yuan ratifies the 1989 ROC-US copyright
agreement and passes amendments to the Copyright Act, which go into
effect on April 26. Tonga's Prime Minister Vaea and Mme. Vaea visit
the ROC. |
| |
29 |
Representatives of the SEF and ARATS sign three agreements
and a joint accord at a historic meeting in Singapore; the agreements
and accord go into effect on May 29. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 May |
1 |
The Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Tel Aviv begins
operation. |
| |
7 |
The first ROC-made PFG-2 missile frigate, the Cheng
Gong, goes into service. |
| |
8 |
A 186-member team from the ROC participates in the first
East Asian Games in Shanghai. |
| |
13 |
Former US Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney visits Taipei. |
| |
15 |
Tuvalu's Prime Minister Bikenibeu Paeniu and Mme. Paeniu
visit Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Jun. |
11 |
President Lee Teng-hui receives former Philippine President
Corazon Aquino. |
| |
29 |
President Lee Teng-hui receives former US Vice President
Dan Quayle. |
| |
30 |
The Executive Yuan approves an Economic Stimulus Package
to accelerate industrial upgrading and to develop Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific
Regional Operations Center. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Jul. |
2 |
The Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Act goes into
effect. |
| |
8 |
The ROC and Nicaragua sign a joint communiqué pledging
bilateral cooperation. |
| |
10 |
Vietnam's Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei opens. |
| |
12 |
The Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination
Commission begins operation in Moscow. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Aug. |
10 |
The New KMT Alliance breaks with the ruling Kuomintang
and forms the New Party. |
| |
11 |
The Cable Television Act goes into effect. |
| |
16 |
The 14th National Congress of the KMT opens. President
Lee Teng-hui is re-elected chairman of the KMT; while Vice President
Li Yuan-zu, former Premier Hau Pei-tsun, Judicial Yuan President Lin
Yang-kang, and Premier Lien Chan are elected vice chairmen on August
18. |
| |
17 |
The ROC and Australia sign two memoranda on the protection
of industrial property rights and on investment promotion and technical
cooperation. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Sep. |
2 |
The Executive Yuan passes an administrative reform package
to eradicate corruption and inefficiency in the government. |
| |
23 |
The ROC and Belgium sign three investment cooperation
agreements to boost economic and technological ties. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Oct. |
26 |
The ROC and Mexico sign a pact to promote investment
and technology transfer. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Nov. |
19 |
Vincent C. Siew, chairman of the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, represents President Lee Teng-hui at the
APEC leaders economic conference in Seattle. |
| |
25 |
South Korea opens its Korean Mission in Taipei to replace
the embassy closed after South Korea and the ROC broke off diplomatic
relations. |
| |
30 |
The ROC signs an investment promotion and protection
pact with Argentina to strengthen economic ties with South America. |
| |
|
|
| 1993 Dec. |
9 |
The Government Information Office lifts the ban on radio
stations and approves the applications of 13 broadcasting companies
for operation licenses. |
| |
15 |
The Legislative Yuan approves a revision of the University
Act, which gives more autonomy to colleges and allows students to
participate in meetings related to school affairs. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Jan. |
11 |
The Consumer Protection Act goes into effect; manufacturers
are held responsible for harming consumers even when negligence or
intent to do harm are not found to be factors. |
| |
12 |
The ROC and Lesotho sever diplomatic relations. |
| |
15 |
Lee Yuan-tseh succeeds Wu Ta-you as president of Academia
Sinica. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Feb. |
9 |
President Lee leaves for the Philippines, Indonesia,
and Thailand on an eight-day visit. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Mar. |
2 |
The ROC and Belize sign a joint communiqué pledging
bilateral cooperation. |
| |
23 |
The Legislative Yuan increases the annual number of
permanent residency permits for mainland spouses from 300 to 600. |
| |
25 |
The SEF and the ARATS hold talks in Beijing on fishery
disputes and the repatriation of illegal entrants and hijackers. |
| |
28 |
The ROC and the Central African Republic sign a joint
communiqué pledging further cooperation. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Apr. |
12 |
The Mainland Affairs Council decides to suspend all
cultural and educational exchanges with China before Beijing provides
reasonable and satisfactory explanations of the Qiandao Lake tragedy
on March 31 in which 24 Taiwan tourists were killed. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 May |
2 |
The ROC and Grenada sign a joint communiqué pledging
bilateral cooperation. |
| |
4 |
President Lee Teng-hui leaves for Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
South Africa, and Swaziland on a 13-day official visit. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Jun. |
6 |
Premier Lien Chan pays the first visit of a high-ranking
ROC official to Mexico in 23 years after the two severed diplomatic
ties. |
| |
29 |
The Peruvian Trade Office opens in Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Jul. |
7 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the Self-governance Act
for Provinces and Counties, explicitly stipulating that provincial
governors be chosen by direct election. The Self-governance Act for
Special Municipalities is passed the next day. |
| |
13 |
Seven foreign ministers and representatives from Central
American countries come to Taiwan to participate in the Third Mixed
Commission Conference of Central American Nations, and sign a joint
declaration with the ROC supporting the ROC's bid for UN participation. |
| |
30 |
The SEF and the ARATS start talks in Taipei. This is
the first high-level dialogue between the two organizations since
the Qiandao Lake incident on March 31, 1994. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Aug. |
8 |
The SEF and the ARATS sign and make public a joint press
release confirming the results of the second round of Chiao-Tang talks. |
| |
9 |
The US government announces trade sanctions against
the ROC under the Pelly Amendment, placing a ban on imports of Taiwan
wildlife products effective from August 19, 1994. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Sep. |
7 |
US Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord formally
notifies the ROC representative in Washington, Ding Mou-shih, of the
result from the Clinton administration's policy discussions about
Taiwan: The US agrees to the ROC representative office changing its
name to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in
the United States, and to ROC officials visiting all US government
offices except the White House and the Department of State on official
business. |
| |
19 |
On behalf of their respective governments, the ROC representative
in Washington, Ding Mou-shih, and the chairman of the American Institute
in Taiwan, Natale Bellocchi, sign a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement. |
| |
22 |
The chairman of the UN General Committee drops the proposal
on the ROC's UN membership from the agenda after a 90-minute debate
in which seven nations support the ROC and 20 oppose the proposal. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Oct. |
27 |
The Legislative Yuan passes revisions to the Wildlife
Conservation Act, greatly toughening penalties against violators and
stipulating that the breeding in captivity of endangered animals must
cease within three years. |
| |
|
|
| 1994 Dec. |
3 |
The first popular elections for the governor
of Taiwan Province and mayors of Taipei and Kaohsiung municipalities
are held. James C.Y. Soong is elected governor of Taiwan. Chen Shui-bian
and Wu Den-yih win the mayor seats of Taipei and Kaohsiung, respectively. |
| |
4 |
US Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena visits
the ROC, becoming the first US cabinet member to carry out the new
US policy governing high-ranking official visits to Taipei. |
| |
12 |
The Lien Cabinet is re-organized and new cabinet members
are sworn in on December 15. |
| |
29 |
The first squadron of Ching-kuo indigenous defense fighters
is officially commissioned, upgrading the combat ability of the ROC
Air Force and demonstrating initial results of research and development. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Jan. |
5 |
The Executive Yuan Council approves the plan for developing
Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center. |
| |
30 |
PRC President Jiang Zemin offers an eight-point proposal,
urging Taiwan to hold talks with China to officially end the hostile
standoff between the two sides. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Feb. |
28 |
President Lee expresses an apology to families of the
victims of the February 28 Incident of 1947 at the Taipei New Park,
where a monument commemorating the tragedy was built with government
sponsorship. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Mar. |
1 |
The National Health Insurance program is formally inaugurated. |
| |
6 |
A Coordination and Service Office for the Asia-Pacific
Regional Operations Center (also known as the APROC Window) is established
in the Council for Economic Planning and Development to ensure that
the Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center plan is faithfully implemented.
|
| |
20 |
Sheu Yuan-dong replaces Liang Kuo-shu as governor of
the Central Bank of China. |
| |
23 |
Regulations Governing the Management and Compensation
for Victims of the February 28 Incident passes the Legislative Yuan.
According to the regulations, a foundation will be established to
manage affairs concerned, and February 28 will be designated a national
commemoration day. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Apr. |
1 |
President Lee starts his four-day visit to the United
Arab Emirates and Jordan. |
| |
8 |
At the meeting of the National Unification Council,
President Lee offers a six-point proposal for cross-strait relations. |
| |
19 |
Malawi President Bakili Muluzi pays a state visit to
Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 May |
19 |
The Legislative Yuan approves the temporary statute
on welfare payments for elderly farmers, granting them a monthly stipend
of NT$3,000. |
| |
22 |
The ROC and Papua New Guinea sign a joint communiqué
in Taipei and establish mutual recognition in order to improve cooperation
on the basis of reciprocal benefits. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Jun. |
7 |
President Lee arrives in the United States for a reunion
at his alma mater, Cornell University. |
| |
15 |
Premier Lien Chan launches a six-day visit to three
European countries: Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. He is the
highest ROC official to visit Europe since the ROC government moved
to Taipei in 1949. |
| |
30 |
The US government officially announces cancellation
of the sanctions against Taiwan issued under the Pelly Amendment. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Jul. |
1 |
The ROC resumes full diplomatic relations with The Gambia
after a 21-year hiatus. |
| |
19 |
The Legislature approves the Presidential and Vice Presidential
Election and Recall Act, setting ground rules for the March 23, 1996,
popular election of the ROC president and vice president. |
| |
21 |
China begins eight days of firing surface-to-surface
missiles into the East China Sea about 140 kilometers north of Taiwan. |
| |
26 |
The US Congress honors Mme. Chiang Kai-shek at a Capitol
Hill reception in recognition of her contribution to Allied efforts
during World War II. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Aug. |
15 |
China begins 11 days of firing tactical guided missiles
and live artillery shells into the sea 136 kilometers north of Taiwan. |
| |
17 |
Control Yuan President Chen Li-an announces his candidacy
for president and, on the following day, renounces his 42-year KMT
membership. |
| |
19 |
The Foreign Ministry issues a position paper entitled
"Why the UN Resolution No. 2758 Adopted in 1971 Should Be Reexamined
Today." The paper stressed that UN Resolution 2758, which excluded
the ROC from the UN system and its activities, is obsolete and unjust
and ought to be reexamined. |
| |
22 |
The KMT convenes its 14th National Congress and Lee
Teng-hui, party chairman, announces he will seek the party's presidential
nomination. Lin Yang-kang, a KMT vice chairman, declares his intention
not to seek the nomination but to run as an independent. |
| |
24 |
President Juan Carlos Wasmosy of Paraguay leads a delegation
to Taipei for a four-day visit. |
| |
31 |
The KMT nominates incumbent President Lee as its presidential
candidate; the next day President Lee names Premier Lien as his running
mate. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Sep. |
7 |
The ROC and Singapore initial an agreement to cooperate
on a project to launch a telecommunications satellite. |
| |
17 |
An exhibition of 71 landscape paintings from the collection
of the Louvre in Paris opens at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. |
| |
21 |
Economics Minister Chiang Pin-kung leads a delegation
to the 19th Joint Conference of ROC-USA and USA-ROC Economic Councils
in Anchorage, Alaska. |
| |
25 |
The DPP nominates Peng Ming-min, a former political
science professor and a long-time dissident in exile, as its presidential
candidate after a 15-week primary; Peng later names Legislator Frank
Chang-ting Hsieh as his running mate. Rodrigo Oreamuno, vice president
of Costa Rica, arrives in Taipei for a weeklong visit. |
| |
27 |
Jeffrey Koo, chairman of the Chinese National Association
of Industry and Commerce, leads a delegation to the Pacific Economic
Cooperation Council meeting in Beijing. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Oct. |
3 |
Manuel Saturnino da Costa, prime minister of Guinea-Bissau,
arrives in Taipei for a six-day visit. |
| |
17 |
The ROC and Macau establish a five-year renewable air
pact allowing Eva Airways, Transasia Airways, and Air Macau to fly
routes between Taiwan and Macau. |
| |
21 |
Independent presidential candidate Chen Li-an names
Wang Ching-feng, a Control Yuan member, as his running mate. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Nov. |
15 |
Independent presidential hopeful Lin Yang-kang names
former Premier Hau Pei-tsun as his running mate. |
| |
17 |
Koo Chen-fu, a senior advisor to the president, arrives
in Osaka, Japan, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
summit in place of President Lee. |
| |
21 |
The ROC and Australia sign a memorandum of understanding
to permit temporary duty-free entry of certain goods as a means of
increasing two-way trade. |
| |
25 |
The ROC and Poland, to boost economic ties, initial
an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion by investors. |
| |
|
|
| 1995 Dec. |
2 |
The ROC elects 164 lawmakers to the Third Legislative
Yuan. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Jan. |
3 |
The ROC and the Republic of Senegal resume full diplomatic
relations. |
| |
11 |
Vice President Li Yuan-zu leaves for the Republic of
Guatemala to attend the inaugural ceremony of President Alvaro Enrique
Arzu Irigoyen, traveling via Los Angeles, USA. |
| |
16 |
The Legislature passes three telecommunications laws
-- the Telecommunications Act, the Organizational Act of the Directorate
General of Telecommunications, Ministry of Transportation and Communications,
and the Act of Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. These laws relieve the DGT
of the function of providing telecommunications services, making it
a regulatory agency only; open the telecommunications sector to private
and foreign investment; and strengthen controls on transmission frequencies. |
| |
23 |
A Ministry of Education ad hoc committee decides that
452 works of art from the National Palace Museum in Taipei will be
allowed to go on a 13-month exhibition trip to the United States.
This is one of the largest bodies of national treasures ever to tour
overseas. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Feb. |
12 |
Faced with threatening military maneuvers undertaken
by Beijing, the Executive Yuan sets up a temporary policy-making task
force to closely follow developments and coordinate the actions of
various agencies to respond to the situation. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Mar. |
8 |
China begins eight days of test-firing surface-to-surface
missiles in waters close to major ports in northeastern and southwestern
Taiwan. |
| |
12 |
China commences nine days of naval and air military
exercises in an area of the Taiwan Strait only 53 kilometers from
Kinmen and 70 kilometers from the Penghu Islands. |
| |
18 |
China begins eight days of war games involving ground,
air, and naval forces in an area of the sea located 85 kilometers
northwest of Taiwan proper. |
| |
23 |
Four pairs of candidates compete in the first-ever direct
election of the ROC president and vice president. The Lee-Lien ticket
wins, garnering 54 percent of the vote. At the same time, 334 members
of the Third National Assembly are also elected. |
| |
28 |
After eight years of construction, the Mucha Line of
the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit Systems officially commences operations. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Apr. |
28 |
The Ministry of Economic Affairs announces that starting
July 1, 1996, imports of another 1,609 categories of industrial commodities
will be allowed from China, marking the ROC government's largest-scale
relaxation of restrictions on mainland imports. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 May |
20 |
Lee Teng-hui and Lien Chan are sworn in as ROC president
and vice president, respectively. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Jun. |
5 |
President Lee Teng-hui appoints Vice President Lien
Chan to serve concurrently as ROC premier. A cabinet reshuffle is
passed three days later. |
| |
7 |
At his first press conference as vice president/premier,
Lien Chan indicates that the ROC has not ruled out the possibility
of the two sides exchanging visits by high-ranking officials. He also
emphasizes the need to reopen channels for cross-strait talks. |
| |
28 |
The ROC exchanges economic and trade representative
office with the Republic of Belarus. Belarus is the second (Russia
being the first) member of the Commonwealth of Independent States
to establish such a level of relations with the ROC. |
| |
30 |
South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo arrives for
a three-day visit. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Jul. |
4 |
The National Assembly convenes and subsequently elects
Fredrick Chien speaker and Shieh Lung-sheng deputy speaker. |
| |
11 |
Paraguayan President Juan Carlos Wasmosy visits the
ROC. |
| |
15 |
Honduran President Carlos Roberto Reina arrives in Taipei
for a five-day visit. |
| |
18 |
The European Parliament passes a resolution supporting
ROC efforts to be represented in international organizations. |
| |
24 |
The Foreign Ministry protests Japan's decision to include
the Diaoyutai Islets in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. |
| |
30 |
Chen Jing wins a silver medal in women's table tennis
singles at the Olympics in Atlanta. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Aug. |
12 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan departs for the
Dominican Republic to attend the August 16 inauguration of President
Leonel Fernandez. |
| |
19 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan visits Ukraine.
Niger switches diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing. |
| |
24 |
The ROC wins the 1996 Little League World Series in
the US city of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. |
| |
28 |
El Salvador President Armando Calderon Sol visits Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Sep. |
11 |
The US removes Taiwan from a wildlife conservation watchlist
in recognition of its progress in protecting endangered species. |
| |
12 |
The ROC states a four-point position in the Diaoyutai
Archipelago dispute with Japan: the ROC's absolute sovereignty, a
rational attitude, no cooperation with Beijing, and the protection
of Taiwan's fishing rights. |
| |
24 |
The US House of Representatives endorses a July 18 European
Parliament resolution supporting ROC efforts to participate in the
international community. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Oct. |
31 |
Former Polish President Lech Walesa visits Taipei. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Nov. |
20 |
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh visits Taipei. |
| |
27 |
South Africa announces it will switch full diplomatic
recognition from Taipei to Beijing on January 1, 1998. |
| |
|
|
| 1996 Dec. |
2 |
Foreign Minister John Chang departs for South Africa. |
| |
6 |
The Legislature revises the Labor Standards Act so that
employees in nearly all industries will be covered by the end of 1998. |
| |
10 |
The cabinet-level Council of Aboriginal Affairs is established.
The Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP), a DPP splinter group, is established. |
| |
23 |
The five-day National Development Conference begins.
Discussion focuses on three major topics: enhancing constitutional
system of government and multiparty politics; economic development;
and cross-strait relations. |
| |
31 |
Taiwan Provincial Governor James Soong submits his resignation
to Premier Lien Chan. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Jan. |
7 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan departs for Nicaragua
to attend the January 10 inauguration of President Arnoldo Aleman. |
| |
14 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan meets with Pope
John Paul II and shares with him views on world peace and humanitarian
pursuits. |
| |
16 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan pays an academic
visit to Ireland. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Feb. |
23 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the amendment to the fourth
article of the February 28 Incident Disposition and Compensation Act,
stipulating that February 28, also named "Peace Memorial Day," be
a national holiday. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Mar. |
17 |
Former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General
Colin L. Powell visits Taipei. |
| |
22 |
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama pays a six-day visit
to Taiwan. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Apr. |
2 |
US House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich meets
with President Lee Teng-hui during his four-hour visit to the ROC,
praising Taiwan's political progress and economic achievement. The
Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau is promulgated by
President Lee Teng-hui and will go partially into effect on July 1
of this year for Hong Kong, and 1999 for Macau. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 May |
5 |
The second session of the Third National Assembly begins
to amend the Constitution. The focus of the session is to streamline
the local government; reform the election process for the president
and members of the National Assembly; and clarify the president's
relations with the Executive Yuan and the Legislature. |
| |
6 |
The ROC establishes formal diplomatic relations with
the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe in western Africa. |
| |
18 |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the ROC's
decision to immediately terminate its diplomatic ties with the Bahamas. |
| |
31 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the third reading of the
Public Television Bill, which will enable the public television station
to begin broadcasting in 1998. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Jun. |
21 |
Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the SEF, is invited by the
ARATS to attend the ceremony marking the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty
to the PRC on June 30. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Jul. |
1 |
The Mainland Affairs Council sets up the
Hong Kong Affairs Bureau to handle ties between Taipei and Hong Kong
after Hong Kong is reverted to the PRC. |
| |
27 |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the closure
of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Aug. |
1 |
The Council of Grand Justice rules that legislators
who engage in violence during legislative sessions will no longer
be immune from arrest and prosecution. |
| |
6 |
Nicaragua President Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo arrives in
Taipei for a five-day visit. |
| |
10 |
The ROC and Costa Rica sign a media cooperation agreement. |
| |
12 |
The Republic of Chad resumes official ties with the
ROC after a 25-year hiatus. |
| |
21 |
Vice President and Premier Lien Chan heads the Cabinet
and tenders resignation to the president. Legislator Vincent C. Siew
will succeed him to be the new premier of the ROC. |
| |
26 |
President Lee Teng-hui is re-elected chairman of the
ruling Kuomintang with 93 percent of the votes cast by over 2,000
party representatives of KMT's 15th National Congress. |
| |
28 |
KMT's 15th Central Committee elects 17 members to the
enlarged Central Standing Committee, along with 16 appointed by the
chairman, immediately following conclusion of National Congress. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Sep. |
1 |
A new Cabinet is sworn in with Vincent C. Siew as the
premier. At a press conference after his inauguration, Premier Siew
vows to improve law and order, further develop the economy, raise
people's quality of life, and normalize cross-strait relations. |
| |
4 |
President Lee Teng-hui leaves for Latin America via
the US to attend the World Congress on the Panama Canal in Panama
City, where he will meet with heads of state of diplomatic allies
including Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Oct. |
3 |
Swaziland King Mswati III visits the ROC through October
5. During his trip to Taipei, the King and the ROC President Lee Teng-hui
will sign a joint communiqué to further strengthen bilateral relations. |
| |
5 |
Vice President Lien Chan embarks on a 12-day visit to
Iceland and Austria to strengthen Taiwan's substantive ties with the
two nations. |
| |
9 |
Taiwan film Such a Life wins the best picture award
at the 42nd Asia-Pacific Film Festival. |
| |
15 |
Steven Chu, member of Academia Sinica, wins the 1997
Nobel Prize for physics. |
| |
26 |
Chad President Idriss Deby visits the ROC through October
30. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Nov. |
5 |
Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor, accompanied
by his wife and a 43-member delegation, arrives in Taipei for a seven-day
state visit. |
| |
22 |
Taiwan signs a letter of intent with Hungary on cooperation
in customs affairs. |
| |
25 |
Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the SEF, represents President
Lee Teng-hui to attend the APEC summit in Vancouver. |
| |
26 |
Stricter regulations on firearms go into effect as part
of an effort to strengthen and stabilize social order. |
| |
29 |
In the election for county magistrates and city mayors,
the ruling KMT takes eight seats out of the 23 seats at stake. The
Democratic Progressive Party doubles its number of seats from six
of the last election to 12. The remaining three seats go to the hands
of independents. |
| |
|
|
| 1997 Dec. |
2 |
The Asian Wall Street Journal, the first multinational
newspaper to set up a printing site in Taipei, launches printing operations. |
| |
31 |
The ROC severs its official ties with South Africa,
thereby putting an end to diplomatic relations between the two nations
established in 1976. |
| |
|
|
| 1998 Jan. |
1 |
Vice President Lien Chan and his wife start a four-day
private visit to Singapore. Discussions over financial turmoil in
the Asia-Pacific with high-ranking officials of the host nation stand
high on his agenda. |
| |
12 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew arrives in Manila for an unofficial
visit. |
| |
20 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew arrives in Jakarta, where he
is scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Suharto to discuss
the possibility of establishing a financial cooperative mechanism
in the Asia-Pacific region. |
| |
21 |
Bishop Shan Kuo-hsi of the Catholic diocese in Kaohsiung
is formally appointed one of only three cardinals representing the
world's Chinese communities by Pope John Paul II. |
| |
24 |
Taiwan elects local-level county and city councilmen,
and rural and urban township chiefs. The ruling KMT wins a landslide
victory. |
| |
29 |
The ROC suspends relations with the Central African
Republic. |
| |
|
|
| 1998 Feb. |
11 |
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pays a
visit to Taipei as part of his government's drive to seek cooperative
measures to stabilize the region's troubled financial sector. |
| |
14 |
Foreign Minister Jason C. Hu launches a 12-day visit
to diplomatic allies in Africa including Senegal, The Gambia, Liberia,
Burkina Faso, Chad and São Tomé and Principe to cement ties with these
nations. |
| |
24 |
Jordan University confers an honorary doctorate upon
Vice President Lien Chan. During his trip to Jordan, Lien also meets
with top officials of the host nation to strengthen bilateral cooperative
relations. |
| |
|
|
| 1998 Mar. |
4 |
On his way back to Taiwan from a trip to Jordan, Bahrain
and the United Arab Emirates, Vice President Lien Chan arrives in
Kuala Lumpur for a four-day private visit. Lien is scheduled to meet
with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy Anwar
Ibrahim to discuss possible cooperative measures for tackling the
current financial troubles in Asia. |
| |
|
|
| 1998 Apr. |
3 |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that President
Lee Teng-hui has been nominated for the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize. It
is the second time in three years that President Lee has been nominated
for the honor. |
| |
21 |
Haitian President René Garcia Preval arrives in Taipei
for a four-day state visit. He and President Lee will sign a communiqué
to strengthen bilateral friendship and cooperation. |
| |
22 |
A delegation sent by the SEF with its deputy secretary-general,
Jan Jyh-horng, at the head arrives in Beijing. Jan is scheduled to
meet with his ARATS counterpart and set agendas for the second round
of Koo-Wang Talks slated to be held in autumn. The visit marks the
restoration of cross-strait consultation and negotiation, which were
unilaterally broken off by Beijing since 1995 following ROC President
Lee Teng-hui's journey to the US to visit his alma mater, Cornell
University, in June of the same year. |
| |
24 |
Taiwan signs a memorandum of understanding on customs
cooperation with the Slovak Republic. The ROC announces the severance
of diplomatic ties with Guinea-Bissau of western Africa. |
| |
25 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew starts his three-day visit to
Kuala Lumpur to meet with high-ranking officials of the host nation.
How to further bolster bilateral ties and deal with the Asian financial
turmoil stand as the centerpiece of the meeting. The president of
the Central Bank of China, Perng Fai-nan, leads a delegation to attend
the 31st board director meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Geneva.
|
| |
|
|
| 1998 May |
5 |
Vice President Lien Chan, sent by President Lee as a
special envoy, leaves for Costa Rica to attend the inauguration of
President-elect Miguel Angel Rodríguez slated for May 8. Also included
in his itinerary is a three-day visit to Grenada and meetings with
heads of state of other Caribbean nations, which maintain diplomatic
ties with the ROC. |
|
11 |
The ROC Armed Forces conduct their annual routine joint
military exercise in the eastern Taiwan counties of Hualien and Taitung.
The drill, code-named "Han Guang No. 14" will serve as a review of
the military's combat readiness and ability to ensure national security. |
|
22 |
ROC President Lee Teng-hui and Nauru President Kinza
Clodumar sign a joint communiqué to reinforce bilateral cooperation.
The head of the Republic of Nauru and his entourage pay a four-day
visit to the ROC. |
|
31 |
Gyorgy Ujlaky, Hungary's newly appointed representative
to Taiwan, arrives to set up a trade office in Taipei to promote bilateral
exchanges. Following the Czech Republic and Poland, Hungary will become
the third central European country to open a trade office in Taiwan. |
|
|
|
| 1998 Jun. |
1 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew presides over the opening ceremony
of the newly established Southern Taiwan Service Center in Kaohsiung
City. The center aims to guarantee efficient service and decisive
problem-solving for residents of the southern part of Taiwan. |
|
15 |
Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe President
Miguel A.C.L. Trovoada and his wife arrive in Taipei for a five-day
state visit. |
|
|
|
| 1998 Jul. |
2 |
Premier Vincent Siew embarks on a nine-day Pacific trip
to consolidate bilateral relation with diplomatic partners in the
region. |
|
21 |
The opening of the Taiwan International Mercantile Exchange
is a milestone for Taiwan's financial sector. |
|
|
|
| 1998 Oct. |
9 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the statute to streamline
the Taiwan Provincial Government, making the TPG a nonautonomous body
under the central government. |
|
13 |
Daniel C. Tsui, member of Academia Sinica, wins the
1997 Nobel Prize for physics. |
|
14 |
SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu arrives in Shanghai to meet
with his ARATS counterpart Wang Daohan. During his trip, Mr. Koo states
that the conciliatory spirit of agreements signed between the two
sides in Singapore five years ago will be restored. |
|
|
|
| 1998 Nov. |
2 |
The ROC severs diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Tonga. |
|
3 |
President Lee Teng-hui meets with former German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt to exchange views on world economic development. |
|
9 |
US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson arrives in Taiwan
to attend the 22nd annual USA-ROC Economic Council. |
|
16 |
Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, heads for Malaysia to attend the APEC annual
conference on behalf of President Lee Teng-hui. |
|
20 |
The ROC and the Marshall Islands sign a joint communiqué
to formalize diplomatic relations, as the Marshall islands becomes
the ROC's 27th diplomatic ally. |
|
|
|
| 1998 Dec. |
5 |
Vice President Lien Chan leads a humanitarian delegation
of government officials and representatives from charity and religious
organizations on an 11-day visit to hurricane-stricken allies including
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. In the election for
the Fourth Legislative Yuan, the ruling KMT secures 123 of the 225
seats and the DPP garners 70 seats while the rest goes to the NP and
other minority parties. The KMT also triumphs in elections for Taipei
mayor and councilmen of Taipei and Kaohsiung cities, but it loses
the mayoral election in Kaohsiung City. |
|
21 |
Operations begin to streamline the provincial government,
a vital part of the efficiency-oriented master plan to restructure
the government in Taiwan. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Jan. |
9 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew heads for the Dominican Republic,
Haiti, and Belize to consolidate relations in the Caribbean. |
|
12 |
The Legislative Yuan unanimously abolishes the Publication
Act. |
|
26 |
Taiwan launches ROCSAT-1, its first wholly-owned and
operated satellite, into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA,
marking Taiwan's entry into the era of advanced space technology. |
|
27 |
The ROC and the Republic of Macedonia sign a joint communiqué
to establish formal relations. Macedonia thus becomes ROC's second
diplomatic ally in Europe, after the Holy See. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Feb. |
5 |
President Imata Kabua of the Marshall Islands arrives
in Taipei for a one-week visit. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Mar. |
5 |
Foreign Minister Jason C. Hu signs a memorandum with
his Macedonian counterpart, Aleksandar Dimitrov, in Skopje to promote
bilateral economic cooperation. |
|
7 |
The President of the Assembly of Macedonia, Savo Klimovski,
arrives in Taipei for a six-day reciprocal visit. |
|
17 |
The Atomic Energy Council issues a permit for Taiwan
Power Company to construct Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant. |
|
22 |
Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez arrives
in Taipei for a six-day visit. |
|
29 |
Former US President Jimmy Carter visits Taiwan at the
invitation of a private think tank in Taipei. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Apr. |
28 |
The Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia commences operation
with Verka Modanu as Macedonia's first resident envoy to the ROC. |
|
30 |
Foreign Minister Jason C. Hu arrives in the Marshall
Islands for a three-day official visit to strengthen bilateral ties
in such areas as tourism, fisheries, and investment. |
|
|
|
| 1999 May |
27 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew heads to the Central Caribbean
to attend the inauguration of El Salvador President Francisco Flores.
During his visit there, the premier meets with the Presidents of Nicaragua
and Panama. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Jun. |
4 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the third reading of the
Cigarette and Wine Management Act, revoking the decades-old monopoly
tax system. |
|
6 |
Macedonian President Ljubco Georgievski, head of a
59-member delegation, arrives in Taipei for a six-day official visit.
During his visit, he signs agreements on economic cooperation, investment
guarantees, and prevention of the double taxation of investors to
strengthen relations with the ROC. |
|
7 |
In an international press conference, President Lee
Teng-hui announces that Taiwan will provide US$300 million Balkans
aid package to ease the plight of Kosovo war refugees. |
|
16 |
The Legislature passes the third reading of the amendments
to the Public Lottery Act, ensuring the right of lottery issuance
by the central government. |
|
23 |
The ROC signs a press cooperation agreement with Panama. |
|
24 |
The Domestic Violence Prevention Act goes into effect.
|
|
|
|
| 1999 Jul. |
9 |
In an interview with the German Broadcasting company,
Deutsche Welle, President Lee Teng-hui first announces the concept
that Taiwan and China have a "special state-to-state relationship."
To enhance bilateral economic and trade ties, Taiwan and Thailand
sign pacts on aviation exchanges and avoidance of double taxation. |
|
20 |
President Lee Teng-hui further elaborates his recent
remarks of the "special state-to-state relationship" between the two
sides of the Taiwan Strait by saying that he did not put forth the
statement to seek Taiwan independence but simply to reiterate the
fact that both sides are separately governed. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Aug. |
1 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew, head of an 80-member delegation,
departs for the Republic of Macedonia to enhance bilateral relations.
During his visit to the ROC's new diplomatic ally in south Europe,
the premier officiates at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Taiwan-funded
export processing zone near Macedonia's capital city of Skopje. |
|
30 |
Premier Vincent C. Siew departs for Panama to attend
the September 1 inauguration of Panamanian President-elect Mireya
Moscoso. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Sep. |
4 |
The Third National Assembly passes a constitutional
amendment which extends the current terms of the deputies from May
2000 to June 2002, and includes the appointment of all deputies on
the basis of party proportional representation in the fourth Assembly. |
|
7 |
The second ROC-Central American summit is held in Taipei.
During the summit, President Lee signs a joint communiqué with the
leaders of seven Central American allies. |
|
9 |
Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, participates in the APEC leadership summit
in Auckland, New Zealand as an envoy of President Lee Teng-hui. |
|
20 |
President Lee Teng-hui and Paraguayan President Luis
Angel González Macchi sign a joint communiqué reaffirming the two
countries' commitment to stronger cooperative relations. The 11th
Economic Cooperation Conference between the ROC and Paraguay is also
held in Taipei concurrent to González's state visit. |
|
21 |
Taiwan is hit by its deadliest earthquake in more than
60 years. The 7.3 magnitude quake claims more than 2,000 lives and
injures over 8,000. |
|
25 |
President Lee issues an emergency decree to cut through
red tape and expedite reconstruction work in the wake of Taiwan's
devastating earthquake. The decree, which supersedes certain existing
laws, is effective for six months. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Oct. |
1 |
The Civil Aeronautics Administration announces the indefinite
suspension of direct flights between Taipei and Manila after a breakdown
in negotiations on weekly passenger quotas. |
|
20 |
The ROC government extends its congratulations to Indonesia's
President-elect Abdurrahman Wahid. |
|
26 |
The Taipei-based China External Trade Development Council
opens a branch office in Bombay, India. The new office will play an
extensive role in promoting Taiwan's trade with India. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Nov. |
6 |
Independent candidate Chang Jung-wei wins the by-election
for county magistrate in Yunlin County, beating rivals from the ruling
Kuomintang and the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party |
|
7 |
Darkness and Light, a film by Taiwan director Chang
Tso-chi, wins the award for best picture at the 12th Tokyo International
Film Festival. |
|
13 |
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara arrives in Taiwan for
a three-day visit. Ishihara has been the highest-profile Japanese
official to visit Taiwan since the two countries cut diplomatic relations
in 1972. |
|
14 |
Michael Campbell of New Zealand wins the 1999 Johnnie
Walker Classic, held at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club in northern
Taiwan. |
|
17 |
The decision-making Central Standing Committee of the
ruling Kuomintang approves a disciplinary committee proposal to oust
independent presidential candidate James Soong from the KMT. |
|
20 |
President Lee greets visiting Nauru President Rene Harris
and his wife in Taipei. |
|
26 |
Rene Liu of Taiwan wins the best actress award at the
1999 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, held in Bangkok, for her performance
in The Personals. |
|
|
|
| 1999 Dec. |
1 |
President Lee presides over a welcoming ceremony for
Malawi President Bakili Muluzi in Taipei. The Ministry of Finance
launches the National Welfare Lottery. |
|
10 |
Chen Shui-bian, presidential candidate of the main opposition
Democratic Progressive Party, announces Taoyuan County Magistrate
Lu Hsiu-lien as his running mate for the March 2000 election. |
|
16 |
The ROC is named a permanent observer of the Central
American Parliament Speakers Forum at the ninth meeting of the CAPSF
in Panama. |
|
20 |
President Lee Teng-hui receives US Congresswoman Nancy
Pelosi in Taipei. |
|
28 |
Taiwan renames its representative office in Macau the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Center. |
|
30 |
The ROC establishes formal diplomatic relations with
Palau. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Jan. |
17 |
President Lee Teng-hui receives a US congressional delegation
headed by Representative Matt Salmon. |
|
24 |
Chen Wu-hsiung, vice chairman of the Council of Agriculture,
is elected vice chairman of the Asian-African Rural Reconstruction
Organization. The AARRO is one of the few international organizations
in which the ROC has participated in an official capacity. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Feb. |
20 |
A three-day joint conference of the Liberal International
Congress and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats concludes
in Taipei. |
|
25 |
President Lee Teng-hui and Liberian President Charles
Ghankay Taylor sign a joint communiqué in Taipei to enhance bilateral
cooperation. |
|
29 |
Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen and his Macedonian counterpart
Aleksandar Dimitrov issue a joint statement in Taipei. The two sides
have agreed to expedite the project to construct the Skopje Free Economic
Zone in Macedonia and also to waive visa requirements for holders
of diplomatic and official passports. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Mar. |
7 |
Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen and Palau Minister of
State Sabino Anastacio sign a joint declaration in the South Pacific
nation's capital, Koror, to strengthen bilateral cooperation. |
|
9 |
Lung Ying-tai, director of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs
under the Taipei City Government, delivers a speech in Sweden on Taiwan's
future, the first public talk by a Taiwan official in the Scandinavian
country. |
|
18 |
Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shui-bian
and his running mate Lu Hsiu-lien are elected president and vice president
of the Republic of China, ending the KMT's more than 50-year hold
on the presidency in Taiwan. |
|
23 |
US envoy Lee Hamilton meets with President-elect Chen
Shui-bian to exchange views on future relations between Taiwan and
the United States. |
|
27 |
Canadian Nobel laureate in economics Robert Mundell
meets with President Lee Teng-hui in Taipei. |
|
31 |
James Soong, the former Taiwan governor and Kuomintang
maverick who lost his independent presidential bid, formally establishes
the People First Party (PFP) with himself as its chairman. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Apr. |
5 |
An international symposium on biodiversity is held in
Taipei to discuss issues ranging from the latest developments in biodiversity
research to key conservation efforts. |
|
10 |
President Lee Teng-hui confers the Order of Brilliant
Star With Grand Cordon upon David Dean, former Taipei director of
the American Institute in Taiwan, in recognition of the diplomat's
contribution to US-ROC relations. |
|
24 |
The Third National Assembly approves a landmark amendment
to drastically reduce its powers and functions. The Assembly will
lose its status as a standing body and will convene only when proposals
of impeachment, constitutional amendment and national boundary changes
are initiated by the Legislature. |
|
|
|
| 2000 May |
20 |
Chen Shui-bian and Lu Hsiu-lien are sworn in as the
ROC's tenth-term president and vice president, respectively, and Tang
Fei takes office as the new premier. |
|
21 |
Taiwanese director Edward Yang wins a Golden Palm Award
for best director at the Cannes Film Festival for A One and A Two. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Jun. |
9 |
The 2000 Asia-Pacific Cultural Summit, sponsored by
the Taipei City Government's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, begins a
three-day conference in Taipei with the participation of mayors, officials,
and delegates from 26 cities in the Asia-Pacific region. |
|
11 |
The 2000 World Congress of Information Technology, with
more than 1,700 business leaders and executives from 82 countries
participating, opens for a three-day run at the Taipei International
Convention Center. |
|
14 |
US Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater arrives
in Taipei to attend the 24th joint conference of the ROC-US and US-ROC
Business Councils. |
|
23 |
Taiwan democracy pioneers and former Democratic Progressive
Party Chairmen Shih Ming-te and Hsu Hsin-liang leave for Warsaw to
attend the World Democracy Forum. |
|
25 |
The Democratic Progressive Party elects Kaohsiung Mayor
Frank Chang-ting Hsieh as its new chairman. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Jul. |
1 |
Panamanian President Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez
arrives in Taipei for a five-day state visit. |
|
25 |
Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun resigns to take responsibility
for failed rescue efforts that resulted in the deaths of four workers
in a flash flood in Chiayi, southern Taiwan. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Aug. |
1 |
Chang Chun-hsiung of the Democratic Progressive Party
succeeds Yu Shyi-kun as vice premier of the ROC. |
|
13 |
President Chen Shui-bian leaves for Los Angeles to conduct
his first state visits to the ROC's diplomatic allies since assuming
office on May 20. The 13-day journey takes Chen to the Caribbean nation
of the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua and Costa Rica in Central
America, as well as three African countries-the Gambia, Burkina Faso
and Chad. |
|
28 |
Master Sheng Yen, the founder of Taiwan's Dharma Drum
Mountain Buddhist Foundation, attends the Millennium World Peace Summit
of Religious Leaders held in New York. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Sep. |
1 |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that three
representative offices in Congo, Angola and Madagascar are closed
because they no longer serve their diplomatic function. |
|
5 |
The Fourth East Asian Women's Forum opens in Taipei
with a focus on the "new era and modern women." |
|
18 |
Weightlifter Li Feng-ying wins the silver medal in the
women's 53-kilogram category at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney,
Australia. |
|
22 |
Vice President Lu makes her first official foreign journey
since taking office on May 20. Lu's four-state goodwill visit takes
her to El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala. |
|
23 |
Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew arrives in
Taipei for a four-day private visit. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Oct. |
3 |
Premier Tang Fei resigns and is succeeded by Vice Premier
Chang Chun-hsiung. |
|
15 |
Former President Lee Teng-hui attends the Forum 2000
conference in Prague. |
|
27 |
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung announces that the Executive
Yuan is cancelling the partly built Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. |
|
30 |
Defense Minister Wu Shih-wen signs a memorandum on military
cooperation with his Macedonian counterpart Ljuben Paunoski in Taipei.
|
|
|
|
| 2000 Nov. |
13 |
The 11th Forum of Legislative Presidents of Central
America takes place in Taipei. |
|
15 |
Central Bank of China Governor Perng Fai-nan attends
the APEC leaders summit in Brunei on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian. |
|
23 |
Kuomintang Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung meets PRC Vice
Premier Qian Qichen in Beijing. |
|
28 |
The 12th meeting of the East Asia Agricultural Organization
Council is held in Taichung County, central Taiwan. |
|
|
|
| 2000 Dec. |
9 |
President Chen signs a joint communiqué in Taipei with
his El Salvadorian counterpart, Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez. |
|
10 |
Twenty-one prisoners, including 19 conscientious objectors,
are released under an amnesty decree issued by President Chen Shui-bian. |
|
10 |
Taiwan director Chang Chih-yung wins the best director
award at the 2000 Asia Pacific Film Festival for his film Lament of
the Sand River. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Jan. |
1 |
The " Mini-Three-Links " (direct trade, postal, and
transportation) between Taiwan's two frontline islands of Kinmen and
Matsu and China's Xiamen and Fuzhou harbors in Fujian Province are
put into practice. |
|
8 |
President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia arrives in Taipei
for a six-day visit. |
|
10 |
President Chen meets with a US House of Representatives
delegation headed by Eva Clayton and Danny Davis. |
|
15 |
The Council of Grand Justices rules that the Cabinet's
controversial decision to halt work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant
has "procedural errors," but refrains from declaring the action unconstitutional. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Feb. |
6 |
President Chen meets Chinese-born Nobel literature laureate
Gao Xingjian in Taipei. |
|
11 |
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou arrives in Hong Kong
for a four-day visit aimed at promoting city-to-city exchanges. |
|
14 |
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung makes an official announcement
to resume the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. |
|
18 |
Betelnut Beauty, a film by Taiwan director Lin Cheng-sheng,
wins a Silver Bear Award at the 51st Berlin Film Festival. |
|
25 |
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Taiwan-born
director Ang Lee, wins four British Academy Awards. The martial arts
film wins best director, best foreign-language picture, best soundtrack
and best costume. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Mar. |
15 |
Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore arrives in Taipei
for a six-day visit. |
|
24 |
Dominican Republic President Hipólito Mejia arrives
in Taipei for a five-day visit. |
|
26 |
The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon wins four Oscar
awards at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards: best foreign-language film,
best art direction, best cinematography, and best original score. |
|
29 |
Liberian President Charles Taylor arrives in Taipei
for a weeklong visit. |
|
30 |
The Association of World Citizens, a non-governmental
organization, holds its 11th World Citizen Congress in Taipei between
March 30 and April 3. |
|
31 |
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama arrives in Taipei
for a ten-day visit at the invitation of the Buddhist Association
of the ROC. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Apr. |
14 |
President Chen Shui-bian receives a four-member US Senate
delegation led by Senator Phil Gramm. |
|
22 |
Former President Lee Teng-hui arrives in Japan for medical
treatment. |
|
|
|
| 2001 May |
15 |
Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman
Chen Po-chih meets PRC President Jiang Zemin during a ministerial
meeting on human resources at the APEC forum in Beijing. |
|
16 |
President Chen Shui-bian receives St. Vincent and the
Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. |
|
21 |
President Chen Shui-bian leaves for a 16-day, five-leg
diplomatic journey to Latin America with transit stops in New York
and Houston. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Jun. |
18 |
The ROC severs diplomatic relations with Macedonia. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Jul. |
2 |
President Chen Shui-bian decorates visiting Senegal
President Abdoulaye Wade with the Order of Brilliant Jade in recognition
of his efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries. |
|
9 |
Premier Vance W. Amory of St. Christopher and Nevis
arrives in Taipei for a weeklong visit. |
|
15 |
Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman arrives in Taipei
for a four-day visit. |
|
26 |
President Chen receives former South Korean President
Kim Young Sam in Taipei. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Aug. |
14 |
Five winners of the Nobel Peace Prize and representatives
from several non-governmental organizations gather in Taipei for the
2001 Global Peace Assembly. |
|
29 |
President Chen receives US House Majority Whip Tom Delay
in Taipei. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Sep. |
1 |
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung embarks on his first diplomatic
trip to visit four diplomatic allies in the East Caribbean -- St.
Christopher and Nevis, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, and Grenada. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Nov. |
6 |
President Chen opens the 34th Baseball World Cup in
Taipei, with 16 participating teams from around the world. |
|
11 |
The World Trade Organization approves Taiwan's entry
at its fourth ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar. |
|
14 |
First Lady Wu Shu-jen of the ROC receives the "2001
Prize for Freedom" in France bestowed on President Chen Shui-bian
by the London-based Liberal International. |
|
|
|
| 2001 Dec. |
1 |
In the election for the Fifth Legislative Yuan, the
DPP wins 87 seats of the 225 seats available, the KMT 68 seats, the
PFP 46 seats, and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) 13 seats, while
the rest go to minority parties and independents. In the election
for county magistrates and city mayors, the DPP and the KMT each take
nine seats out of the 23 seats available, the PFP wins two seats,
the New Party (NP) wins one seat, and the remaining two seats go to
independents. |
|
9 |
Vice President Lu receives the World Peace Prize in
Taipei for her work in promoting women's and human rights, democracy,
and world peace. |
|
10 |
São Tomé and Principe President Fradique Banderira Melo
de Menezes arrives in Taipei for a five-day visit. |
|
19 |
Vice President Lu departs for The Gambia to attend the
inauguration of re-elected Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Jan. |
1 |
Taiwan formally becomes the 144th member of the World
Trade Organization (WTO). |
|
6 |
Vice President Lu leaves for Nicaragua to attend the
inauguration of President Enrique Bolanos Geyer, which is slated for
January 10. Also included in her itinerary is an official three-day
visit to Paraguay. |
|
21 |
President Chen Shui-bian announces Yu Shyi-kun as the
new premier. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Mar. |
18 |
Vice President Lu leaves for Budapest to attend the
annual conference of Liberal International held during March 21-23.
|
|
29 |
The Executive Yuan decides to liberalize the policy
relating to investment in silicon wafer plants in China. |
|
|
|
| 2002 May |
31 |
The Executive Yuan approves the Challenge 2008 National
Development Plan as the latest effort to transform Taiwan into a "green
silicon island." |
|
|
|
| 2002 Jun. |
30 |
President Chen leaves for Africa on a 10-day state visit
to strengthen relations with four diplomatic allies, including Senegal,
São Tomé and Principe, Malawi, and Swaziland. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Jul. |
1 |
The Environmental Protection Administration implements
the policy of restricted use of plastic bags and disposable plastic
tableware. |
|
21 |
President Chen assumes chairmanship of the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) at the party's tenth National Congress. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Aug. |
5 |
Premier Yu departs for an 11-day trip to four ROC allies
in the Caribbean and Central America, namely Haiti, Panama, Costa
Rica, and Belize. |
|
14 |
Vice President Lu takes a five-day trip to Indonesia
in an effort to promote the government's "Southward" policy that encourages
Taiwanese businessmen to invest in the Southeast Asian countries. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Sep. |
19 |
First Lady Wu Shu-jen delivers a speech at a reception
held at Senate Russell Building on Capitol Hill during her 11-day
private visit to the US. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Oct. |
1 |
The Presidential Office announces the appointment of
Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh as Taiwan's envoy to the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Mexico. |
|
14 |
Taiwan wins 10 gold, 17 silver, and 25 bronze medals
in the 14th Busan Asian Games during the 16-day competition. |
|
|
|
| 2002 Dec. |
7 |
KMT incumbent Ma Ying-jeou and DPP incumbent Frank Hsieh
win the mayor seats of Taipei and Kaohsiung, respectively. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Jan. |
13 |
Taiwan's two professional baseball leagues merge under
the name "Chinese Professional Baseball League". |
|
26 |
Sent to pick up Taiwanese businessmen coming home for
Chinese New Year, a Taiwan-based China Airlines passenger plane makes
a historic landing at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport for
an indirect chartered flight across the Taiwan Strait. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Mar. |
29 |
The Ketagalan Institute is founded by President Chen
Shui-bian as an independent institution for promoting civic values
through education, policy research, and public forums. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Apr. |
23 |
Taiwan's first mass infection of severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS) is reported after seven staff members at Taipei Municipal
Hoping Hospital showed symptoms of the disease. |
|
24 |
The Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology, northern Taiwan's
sole prehistoric archeological museum, is inaugurated in Bali Township,
Taipei County. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Jun. |
17 |
Taiwan Democratic Foundation, a government-sponsored
nonprofit organization, is established to reinforce Taiwan's democratization
by establishing ties with political parties, think tanks, and non-governmental
organizations in other democratic countries. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Jul. |
1 |
Taiwan's first all-Hakka television station, Hakka TV,
is launched to promote Hakka culture and language. |
|
5 |
The World Health Organization removes Taiwan from the
list of SARS-affected areas. |
|
15 |
First Lady Wu Shu-jen departs for Germany and the Vatican
on a nine-day trip aimed at promoting cultural exchanges and friendship. |
|
26 |
Tsao Chin-hui, the first Taiwanese player to pitch in
the US for Major League Baseball, wins his debut game for the Colorado
Rockies. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Aug. |
7 |
Vice President Lu Hsiu-lien leaves for Paraguay to attend
the inauguration of President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, after which she
pays an official visit to Panama and enjoys brief stopovers in Hawaii
and Los Angeles. |
|
21 |
The Fourth Summit of the Heads of State and Governments
of the ROC, Central America and the Dominican Republic is held in
Taipei. The ROC signs its first-ever free trade agreement (FTA) with
Panama. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Sep. |
1 |
New ROC passports with "Taiwan" in Roman script on the
cover are formally issued. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Oct. |
12 |
The ROC government formally announces the termination
of diplomatic relations with Liberia. |
|
18 |
Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh arrives in Bangkok
as Taiwan's emissary at the 11th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. |
|
23 |
Soong Mayling, the widow of former ROC president Chiang
Kai-shek, passes away in New York at the age of 106. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Nov. |
6 |
President Chen Shui-bian concludes his six-day diplomatic
tour to Panama. During his stopover in New York on October 31, he
was bestowed an award by the International League for Human Rights
in recognition of his contributions to promoting human rights in Taiwan. |
|
7 |
The ROC and the Republic of Kiribati establish full
diplomatic relations. |
|
14 |
Taipei Financial Center (Taipei 101), the world's tallest
skyscraper at a height of 508 meters, opens its doors to the public. |
|
23 |
Three water-treatment plants in Kaohsiung are formally
launched, enabling residents of the greater Kaohsiung area to enjoy
high-quality tap water after drinking polluted water for decades. |
|
24 |
The Executive Yuan formally proposes the Public Works
Expansion Investment Plan and allocates NT$500 billion over five years
for the Ten New Major Construction Projects. |
|
28 |
The Legislative Yuan passes the Referendum Act, providing
the legal basis for ROC citizens to vote on issues of national or
local importance. |
|
|
|
| 2003 Dec. |
24 |
The National Space Program Office (NSPO) successfully
launches Taiwan's first space-probe, Sounding Rocket No. 3 (SR-3),
to perform sub-orbital science experiments. |
