Timeline of Taiwanese history

This is a timeline of Taiwanese history. To read about the background to these events, see History of Taiwan and History of the Republic of China. See also the list of rulers of Taiwan.

This timeline is incomplete; some important events may be missing. Please help add to it.

Centuries: 16th - 17th - 18th - 19th - 20th - 21st

16th century

Year	Date	Event
1540		Kingdom of Middag established.
1544		Portuguese sailors passing Taiwan record in the ship's log the name Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island).
1582		Portuguese shipwreck survivors battle malaria and aborigines for ten weeks before returning to Macau on a raft.
1592		Japan unsuccessfully seeks sovereignty over Taiwan (Takayamakoku 高山国 in Japanese, lit. high mountain country).^[1]

17th century

Year	Date	Event
1604		Dutch envoy Wijbrand van Waerwijck and his army are ordered to occupy the Pescadores in order to open trade with China. However Ming Dynasty general Shen You-rong demanded their withdrawal.^[1]
1609		Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan sends feudal lord Arima Harunobu (有馬晴信) on an exploratory mission to Taiwan.^[1]
1616		Nagasaki official Murayama Tōan (村山等安) leads troops on an unsuccessful invasion of Taiwan.^[1]
1622		Dutch envoy Cornelis Reijerszoon occupies the Pescadores in an attempt to persuade China to open trade. The Ming court rejects his proposal.
1624		Ming China opens trade with the Dutch. The Dutch establish a trading base for commerce with Japan and coastal China. Dutch official Maarten Sonk takes up his new post at Tayuan (present-day Anping District, Tainan City) beginning the Dutch administration of Taiwan.
1624		Dutch begin construction of Fort Zeelandia which is completed ten years later.
1626		Spain sends an expedition to Santissima Trinidad (Keelung) and build Fort San Salvador due to the Dutch threat to Chinese and Japanese trade to the Spanish Philippines.
1628		Spanish establish a settlement at Tamsui and build Fort Santo Domingo in an attempt to attract Chinese merchants.
1642		With the Dutch in southern Taiwan and the Spanish in northern Taiwan, confrontation between the two adversaries were inevitable and eventually the Dutch drive the Spanish out of Taiwan, becoming the sole ruling power on Taiwan.
1653		Taiwan becomes the second most profitable trading port in Asia, due to its ideal central location between Japan, China and southeast Asia.
1662		Koxinga lays siege to Fort Zeelandia with the Dutch surrendering nine months later.
1683		The remnant forces of the Ming dynasty are defeated by the Qing dynasty, which has assumed full control over mainland China.

18th century

Year	Date	Event
1732		Qing forces under the administration of Yongzheng Emperor conquer Kingdom of Middag.

19th century

Year	Date	Event
1867		American military expedition sent to Kenting in response to the Rover incident.
1874		Japan sends an expedition force of 3,600 soldiers to Taiwan to test the situation for colonizing the island.
1875		Taiwan is divided into two prefectures, north and south.
1884		Keelung and Tamsui harbor are blockaded by the French Navy during the Sino-French War.
1887		Taiwan is reorganized administratively as a Taiwan Province with Liu Mingchuan as the first governor.
1895		Qing China signs the Treaty of Shimonoseki ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan after being defeated by the Japanese Navy in the First Sino-Japanese War.
1895		Pro-Qing officials declare the Republic of Formosa in an attempt to resist the arrival of the Japanese. Tang Ching-sung (唐景崧) named president.
1899		The Japanese Imperial government suppressed any opposition to its rule and eliminated all anti-Japanese groups on the island.
		Bank of Taiwan established to encourage Japanese investment into Taiwan.
		Taiwan yen is issued by the Bank of Taiwan with an exchange ratio on par with the Japanese yen.

20th century

Year	Date	Event
1901		Railroad between Keelung and Hsinchu rebuilt.
1904		Taiwan bank notes issued.
1905		Earthquake in Chiayi.
		First population census. (First Provisional Taiwan Household Registration Survey)
		Taiwan becomes financially self-sufficient and is weaned off subsidies from Japan's central government.
1907		Beipu Incident led by Cai Ching-lin (蔡清琳).
1908		North-South (Western Line) Railway completed.
1913		Miaoli Incident.
1915		Tapani Incident, largest revolt in Taiwanese history; over 100 protesters killed by Japanese authorities.
1915		Silai Temple Incident led by Yu Ching-fang (余清芳).
1921		Taiwanese Cultural Association founded.
1921		"Petition to Establish a Taiwan Parliament" movement begins.
1923		Crown Prince Hirohito (Later Emperor) of Japan visits Taiwan.
1924		Yilan Line Railroad completed.
1926		Hwatung Line Railroad completed.
1927		Taiwanese People's Party, Taiwan's first political party, founded.
1928		Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University) founded.
1930		Jianan (or Chianan) Canal (嘉南大圳) completed.
1930		Wushe Incident; Japan forcefully crushes rebellion by the Atayal aborigine group.
1935		Earthquake in Miaoli.
1935		Exposition to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Beginning of Administration in Taiwan.
1937		Four national parks planned.
1937		Sun Moon Lake Hydroelectric Power Plant completed.
1939		Industrial production surpasses agricultural production.
1941		Taiwan Revolutionary League formed to coordinate anti-Japan resistance.
		Segregation of primary schools between Japanese and Taiwanese children ends.
		Pingtung Line Railroad completed
1943		Compulsory primary education begins. Enrollment rates reached 71.3% for Taiwanese children (including 86.4% for aborigine children) and 99.6% for Japanese children in Taiwan making Taiwan's enrollment rate the second highest in Asia after Japan.^[1]
1945		Popular Legislature Election Law enacted.
1945		Japan (then including Taiwan) is defeated in World War II. Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed. United States directs Japanese forces to surrender to the ROC as per General Order No. 1. Chen Yi of the Kuomintang is appointed as Chief Executive of Taiwan as the Republic of China proclaims Retrocession Day.
1947		228 Incident; "White Terror" begins.
		US consulate in Taipei proposed "status of Taiwan is undetermined" and "Taiwan Under UN trustee" program in March; proposal was rejected by the United States State Department.
		Chen Yi recalled and Taiwan Provincial Government established.
1948		National Assembly of the Republic of China passes Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.
1948		Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. P. C. Chang is among its authors.
1949		April 6 Incident.
		The New Taiwan dollar is issued, exchanged at 1:40,000 old Taiwan dollars.
		Kuomintang army defeated in the Chinese Civil War, flees in exile to Taiwan with 2 million refugees.
		The capital of the Republic of China (ROC) relocated from Nanjing to Taipei.
		Martial law and the White Terror period. (to 1987)
1951		Treaty of San Francisco officially signed by 49 nations; Japan officially renounced claims to Taiwan, but without designating a recipient.
1952		Treaty of San Francisco comes into force. Japan renounces all right, title, and claim to Taiwan, but no "receiving country" is designated in the Treaty of San Francisco. However, Japan and the Republic of China then sign Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei).
1958		823 Artillery War.
1959		August 7 Flood: serious flooding in central Taiwan.
1960		Free China Incident.
1964		Shihmen Reservoir completed.
1964		Peng Ming-min arrested for the draft of A Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation.
1966		Chinese Cultural Renaissance
1971		The seat for "China" at the United Nations Security Council is assumed by the People's Republic of China, in place of the ROC.
1971		United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
1972		The United States establishes diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, and acknowledges the One China Policy in the Shanghai Communique.
1975		President Chiang Kai-Shek dies. Yen Chia-kan assumes the presidency until May 20, 1978.
1978		Chiang Ching-kuo elected President.
1979		The United States passes the Taiwan Relations Act, which affirms US commitment to defend Taiwan militarily and to treat Taiwan as a state for most purposes of U.S. law.
		Kaohsiung Incident.
		Western Line Railroad fully electrified; North-Link Line completed.
1980		Lin Family Murders on the anniversary of the 228 Incident.
1980		Hsinchu Science Park founded.
1981		Chen Wun-cheng (陳文成) Incident.
1984		Labor Standards Law enacted.
1986		Typhoon Wayne makes landfall in the west coast of central Taiwan.
		Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the first oppositional political party after World War II, formed illegally from the Tangwai movement.
		Yuan T. Lee wins the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
1987		Martial law lifted.
1988		President Chiang Ching-kuo dies; Lee Teng-hui assumes the presidency.
1988		Bans on publishing newspapers lifted.
1989		Bans on establishing new commercial banks lifted.
1989		Cheng Nan-jung Self-immolation.
1990		Wild Lily student movement in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
1991		Legislative Yuan and National Assembly elected in 1947 were forced to resign.
		Opposition parties legalized.
		South-Link Line Railroad completed.
1992		Fair Trade Law enacted.
		The first democratic election of the Legislative Yuan.
		1992 Consensus
1994		National Health Insurance begins.
1995		US government reverses policy and allows President Lee Teng-hui to visit the US. The People's Republic of China responds with the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis by launching a series of missiles into the waters off Taiwan. The Taiwan stock market loses one-third of its value.
1995		228 Incident monument erected; President Lee Teng-hui publicly apologizes on behalf of the KMT.
1996		President Bill Clinton dispatches the USS Nimitz supercarrier to patrol the Taiwan Strait.
		The first direct presidential election; Lee Teng-hui elected.
		Muzha Line of the Taipei Metro completed.
1997		Tamsui Line of the Taipei Metro completed.
1997		Private cellular phone companies begin services.
1999		Resolution on Taiwan's Future
1999		Chi-Chi earthquake.
2000		Chen Shui-bian, the opposition candidate from the DPP, elected president by a lead of 2.5% of votes marking the end of the KMT status as the ruling party. Voter turnout was 82.69%; first peaceful transfer of power.
		Four Noes and One Without
		Yilan Line railroad electrified.

21st century

Year	Date	Event
2001		Three mini-links between Kinmen, Matsu and the mainland of Fujian begins.
		Private fixed-line telephone companies begin services.
		Serious flooding caused by Typhoon Nari.
2002		Entry into the World Trade Organization.
2002		Penetration rate of cellular phones exceeds 100%.
2003		SARS outbreaks.
2003		North-Link Line railroad electrified.
2004		Second north-south freeway completed.
		228 Hand-in-Hand Rally.
		President Chen Shui-bian is re-elected by a margin of 0.22% votes after being shot the day before.
		Taipei 101 becomes World's Tallest Building.
2005		The first direct commercial airplane flights from Beijing to Taipei for the Chinese New Year.
		The PRC passes an "anti-secession law" authorizing the use of force against Taiwan and the ROC government should it formally declare independence. In response, 1.6 million people marched in Taipei against China's "anti-secession law". Similar marches occur across the world by Taiwanese nationalists. Protests against the PRC were held worldwide, including, but not limited to: Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, Paris, and Sydney.
		Pan Blue visit to mainland China
		President Chen is invited and attends the funeral of Pope John Paul II. He is the first Taiwanese president to visit the Vatican.
		The National Assembly of the Republic of China convenes for the last time to implement several constitutional reforms, including single-member two-vote districts, and votes to transfer the power of constitutional reform to the popular ballot, essentially abolishing itself.
2006		Taiwan's first high speed rail line, Taiwan High Speed Rail, begins operation.
2006		Rename "Chiang Kai-shek International Airport" to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
2007		Rename Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.
2007		Taiwan applies for membership in the United Nations under the name "Taiwan", and is rejected by the General Assembly.
2008		1025 demonstration
		Chen Yunlin visit
		Wild Strawberry student movement
		Lien Chen meets Hu Jintao at APEC Peru 2008
	9 March	Red Line of the Kaohsiung MRT completed.
	22 March	presidential election; with 58.48% of the vote, KMT candidate Ma defeats DPP candidate Hsieh. Many voters boycott the referenda on whether and how to join UN so the level of voter participation required for referenda to be considered valid is not achieved.
	May	Mayor Ma Ying-jeou sworn into office as the 12th term and current President of Taiwan (ROC) and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party.
	July	the first direct China-Taiwan flights begin in nearly 6 decades.^[2]^[3]^[4]
2009		World Games 2009
2009		Typhoon Morakot