The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC). It is currently the major ruling party in Taiwan, controlling both the presidency and the central government, while also being the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political groups in Taiwan.
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a political party in the Republic of China, initially based on the Chinese mainland and then in Taiwan since 1949. The KMT is a centre-right to right-wing party and the largest in the Pan-Blue Coalition, one of the two main political groups in Taiwan. Its primary rival is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the largest party in the Pan-Green Coalition. As of 2024, the KMT is the largest single party in the Legislative Yuan. The current chairman is Eric Chu.
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres, with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometres. The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei, New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
The February 28 incident was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang–led nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC). Directed by provincial governor Chen Yi and president Chiang Kai-shek, thousands of civilians were killed beginning on February 28. The incident is considered to be one of the most important events in Taiwan's modern history and was a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement.
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanking, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.
The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident, or the Formosa Magazine incident, was a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 10 December 1979 during Taiwan's martial law period.
The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial rule. The Republic experienced many trials and tribulations after its founding which included being dominated by elements as disparate as warlord generals and foreign powers.
As a result of the surrender and occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the governance of the Republic of China (ROC), ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), on 25 October 1945. Following the February 28 massacre in 1947, martial law was declared in 1949 by the Governor of Taiwan, Chen Cheng, and the ROC Ministry of National Defense. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC government retreated from the mainland as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The KMT retreated to Taiwan and declared Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC. For many years, the ROC and PRC each continued to claim in the diplomatic arena to be the sole legitimate government of "China". In 1971, the United Nations expelled the ROC and replaced it with the PRC.
Nation-wide general and local elections are held every four years, typically in January and November. By-elections and referendums are held on occasion. Electoral systems include first-past-the-post, proportional representation, single non-transferable voting, and a parallel mixture of the above.
George H. Kerr, also known in Taiwan as 葛超智, was a United States diplomat during World War II, and in later years he was an author and an academic. His published works and archived papers cover "economic and political affairs in Taiwan in the 1930s and 1940s, Taiwan's transition from Japanese rule before and during World War II to postwar Chinese rule, Taiwanese rebellion against Chinese rule in 1947, and U.S. foreign policy toward Taiwan." His works also include "information about economic and political conditions in Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands after World War II."
The Blue Sky with a White Sun is the national emblem of the Republic of China that covers the period of history in mainland China and Taiwan.
Censorship in Taiwan was in effect when the government exercised strict media control during the martial law period in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, carried over from the Nationalists which governed mainland China prior to retreating to Taiwan in 1949. Under martial law, the Kuomintang-ruled government engaged in censorship to prevent criticism of it, as part of its opposition to certain cultural products, and as a feature of anti-communist campaigns against the Chinese Communist Party. Media control was greatly relaxed when the state moved away from authoritarianism in 1987.
Yao Chia-wen is a Taiwanese politician and an important figure in Taiwan's democratization movement. He was the second chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), serving from 1987 to 1988. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 1996, and president of the Examination Yuan between 2002 and 2008.
Vernon J. Sneider was an American novelist. His 1951 novel The Teahouse of the August Moon was later adapted for a Broadway play in 1953, a motion picture in 1956, and the Broadway musical Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen in 1970. John Patrick 's play The Teahouse of the August Moon won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1954.
Martial law in Taiwan refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II, during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led regime. The term is specifically used to refer to the over 38-year-long consecutive martial law period between 20 May 1949 and 14 July 1987, which was qualified as "the longest imposition of martial law by a regime anywhere in the world" at that time.
The Taiwan Church News is a publication of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. It was first published in 1885 as the Tâi-oân-hú-siâⁿ Kàu-hōe-pò under the direction of missionary Thomas Barclay, a British pastor of the Presbyterian Church, and was Taiwan's first printed newspaper, making it the longest-running newspaper in Taiwanese history. This early edition was also notable for being printed in romanised Taiwanese using the Pe̍h-ōe-jī orthography. The publication was banned during the latter stages of Japanese rule and editions were also impounded on several occasions during the martial law era in post-war Taiwan for discussing forbidden subjects. The newspaper is renowned for its use of Pe̍h-ōe-jī.
The White Terror was the political repression of Taiwanese civilians and political dissenters under the government ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT). The period of White Terror is generally considered to have begun when martial law was declared in Taiwan on 19 May 1949, which was enabled by the 1948 Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion, and ended on 21 September 1992 with the repeal of Article 100 of the Criminal Code, allowing for the prosecution of "anti-state" activities. The Temporary Provisions were repealed a year earlier on 22 April 1991. Martial law had been lifted on 15 July 1987.
Camphor Press is a British independent publisher primarily focusing on books about East Asia. The company started as a digital-only publisher focused on providing a platform for English-language writing about Taiwan, before moving into print books in 2015. In 2017 Camphor Press acquired the backlist of US press EastBridge, reissuing those books under the Eastbridge Books imprint. Camphor Press has also acquired the rights to a number of out-of-print titles about Taiwan and the wider region.
Thomas Liao was a Taiwanese independence activist and founding leader of the Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government.
