| Year |
Event |
| |
|
| 1544 |
The Portuguese sailing to Japan spot Taiwan and refer
to it as Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). |
| |
|
| 1622 |
Zheng Cheng-gong, also known as Koxinga, defeats Dutch
forces, ending Dutch rule in Taiwan. |
| |
|
| 1684 |
Manchus replace the Zheng family as the new rulers of
Taiwan. Taiwan becomes a dependency of the Fujian provincial administration |
| |
|
| 1885 |
Taiwan is made a province of China, and Liou Ming-chuan
becomes the first governor. |
| |
|
| 1895 |
The Treaty of Shimonoseki concludes Sino-Japanese War;
Taiwan is ceded to Japan. |
| |
|
| 1945 |
World War II ends with Japan's surrender to the Allies.
Taiwan is retroceded to the Republic of China after 50 years of Japanese
colonization. |
| |
|
| 1947 |
Due to bad administration, ethnic tension, and other
factors, an islandwide uprising, known as the February 28 Incident,
breaks out. |
| |
|
| 1949 |
The central government of the Republic of China relocates
to Taiwan, after the mainland falls to the Chinese Communists. |
| |
|
| 1950 |
Chiang Kai-shek resumes the presidency of the Republic
of China. |
| |
|
| 1967 |
The Executive Yuan extends the period of compulsory
education from six to nine years. |
| |
|
| 1971 |
The Republic of China withdraws from the United Nations. |
| |
|
| 1978 |
Chiang Ching-kuo is elected president. |
|
|
| 1979 |
The US grants diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of
China and breaks ties with the Republic of China. In December, a
demonstration organized by opposition politicians and the Formosa
Magazine to commemorate Human Rights Day ended in confrontation
and became a key event in Taiwan's process of democratization now
known as the Kaohsiung Incident.
|
|
|
| 1986 |
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) announces its
formation. |
|
|
| 1987 |
The Emergency Decree is lifted. The government announces
that residents of Taiwan are officially allowed to visit relatives
on the mainland. |
|
|
| 1988 |
President Chiang Ching-kuo dies on January 13, and Vice
President Lee Teng-hui is sworn in as president of the Republic of
China. |
|
|
| 1990 |
Lee Teng-hui is elected the eighth-term president of
the ROC by the National Assembly. |
|
|
| 1992 |
The election for the Second Legislative Yuan is held-the first
popular election of the legislature since 1996. The first direct
presidential election is held, and incumbent president and KMT candidate
Lee Teng-hui is elected.
|
|
|
| 2000 |
Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shui-bian
is elected president of the Republic of China, ending the KMT's 50-year
hold on the presidency in Taiwan. |
|
|
| 2004 |
Chen Shui-bian is re-elected to the Presidency of the
Republic. Taiwan's first national referendum is held concurrently
with the presidential election. |
