Fact of the Day : Which island in the Pacific Ocean was previously known as Formosa?
(from World Encyclopedia )
Taiwan - Taiwan, formerly Formosa, is an island c.140km [87mi] off the S coast of mainland China. The country administers a number of islands close to the mainland, including Quemoy (Jinmen) and Matsu (Mazu).
High mountain ranges, extending the length of the island, occupy the central and E regions. Only a quarter of the island's surface is used for agriculture. The highest peak is Yü Shan (Morrison Mountain), 3,952m [12,966ft] above sea level. Several peaks in the central ranges rise to more than 3,000m [10,000ft] and carry dense forests of broadleaved evergreen trees, such as camphor and Chinese cork oak. Above 1,500m [5,000ft] conifers, such as pine, larch and cedar, dominate. In the E, where the mountains often drop steeply down to the sea, the short rivers have cut deep gorges. The W slopes are more gentle.
Climate
Taiwan has a tropical monsoon climate. The annual rainfall exceeds 2,000mm [79in] in almost all areas. From July to September the island is often hit by typhoons. When humidity is high in the heat can be oppressive.
History
Chinese settlers arrived in Taiwan from the 7th century AD displacing the native population, but large settlements were not established until the 17th century. When the Portuguese first reached the island in 1590 they named it Formosa - meaning ‘beautiful island’ - but chose not to settle there. The Dutch occupied a trading port in 1624, but were driven out in 1661 by refugees from the deposed Ming Dynasty on the mainland. A Ming official tried to use the island as a base for attacking the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but without success. The Manchus took the island in 1683 and incorporated it into what is now Fujian province.
The Manchus settled the island in the late 18th century and, by the mid 19th century, the population had increased to about 2,500,000. The island was a major producer of sugar and rice, which were exported to the mainland. In 1886 the island became a Chinese province, and Taipei became its capital in 1894. However, in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan following the Sino-Japanese War. Japan used the island as a source of food crops and, from the 1930s, developed manufacturing industries based on hydroelectricity.
Politics
In 1945, the Japanese army surrendered Taiwan to General Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang nationalist government. Following victories by Mao Zedong's Communists, about 2 million Nationalists, together with their leader, fled the mainland to Taiwan in the two years before 1949, when the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. The influx was met with hostility by the 8 million Taiwanese and the new regime, the ‘Republic of China’, was imposed with force. Boosted by help from the United States, Chiang's government set about ambitious programmes for land reform and industrial expansion and, by 1980, Taiwan had become one of the top 20 industrial nations. Economic development was accompanied by a marked rise in living standards.
Nevertheless, Taiwan remained politically isolated and it lost its seat in the United Nations to Communist China in 1971. It was then abandoned diplomatically by the United States in 1979, when the US switched its recognition to mainland China. However, in 1987 with continuing progress in the economy, martial law was lifted by the authoritarian regime in Taiwan. In 1988, a native Taiwanese became president and in 1991 the country's first general election was held.
China continued to regard Taiwan as a Chinese province and, in 1999, tension developed when the Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui stated that relations between China and Taiwan should be on a ‘special state-by-state’ basis. This angered the Chinese President Jiang Zemin, whose ‘one-nation’ policy was based on the concept that China and Taiwan should be regarded as one country with two equal governments. Tension mounted in 2000, when Taiwan's opposition leader, Chen Shui-bian, was elected president, because Chen had adopted a pro-independence stance. However, after the elections, Chen adopted a more conciliatory approach to mainland China.
Economy
The economy depends on manufacturing and trade. Manufactures include electronic goods, footwear and clothing, ships and television sets. The western coastal plains produce large rice crops. Other products include bananas, pineapples, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and tea.
area 36,000 sq km (13,900 sq miles)
population 22,974,000
capital Taipei
government Unitary multiparty republic
ethnic groups Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%
languages Mandarin Chinese (official), Min, Hakka
religions Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism
currency New Taiwan dollar = 100 cents
GDP per capita 30,200 US$
How to cite this entry:
"Taiwan" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 18 July 2011
