Understanding Taiwan
Understanding Taiwan, or Recognizing Taiwan, (Chinese: 認識臺灣; pinyin: Rènshì Táiwān) is a textbook for junior high-school aged children that has been in widespread use in Taiwan (Republic of China) since 1997. The book is divided into sections that cover social studies, history and geography (社會篇、歷史篇、地理篇).
Background
Under the administration of the Kuomintang (KMT), or the Chinese Nationalist Party, students in Taiwan had been required to learn the history of China instead of Taiwanese local history in the postwar period. After the demise of Chiang Kai-shek, his son and successor Chiang Ching-kuo began to liberalize the political system of Taiwan, lifting martial law in 1986. After Chiang Ching-kuo's death, Lee Teng-hui, the first native Taiwanese president, continued the liberalizing trend, and held the first direct presidential election in 1996.
Content
Understanding Taiwan was released in 1996 and adopted as the junior high school textbook in 1997. This text book aroused much interest in Asia. The history section is presented as "history of Taiwan", and the era of Taiwan under Japanese rule was introduced positively with objective facts and surveys.
See also
- Political status of Taiwan
- Foreign relations of the Republic of China