China and Taiwan

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How far does China’s current relationship with Taiwan reflect the legacy of the past?

How is this situation likely to be resolved?

In this essay I will be analysing the current relationship between China and Taiwan and how it reflects their relations in the past. I will also explain any possible solutions to the current situation.

The relationship between China and Taiwan has been unstable at times however it has also been improving at times. In recent months the relationship has improved because there have now been 375,000 trips to Taiwan from China and vice versa these flights have been direct this shows that there has been an improvement in the relationship because if it hadn’t then why would there be direct flights to the enemies land. Both China and Taiwan have gained a finical boost by allowing direct flights to both countries. In the article “Ma Says Taiwan-China Economic Embrace ‘the Beginning’” it states that “Ma’s administration says a fuller economic agreement to cut restrictions on trade with China could increase the island’s exports by about 5 percent, or $13 billion based on last year’s figures, and add 273,000 jobs” this is proof that Taiwan has benefited from its improving alliance with China.

The history of Taiwan is 400 years old. The original name of the island was Pakan and on it lived the Malayo-Polynesian.  There were a large amount of Chinese settlers and thus the aborigines were forced to live in the hills and mountains and they were then called the mountain people. In 1590 the first western ship sailed passed the island Jan Huygen van Linschoten the Dutch navigator of the ship called it “Ilha Formosa” meaning beautiful island and this stuck and became the islands name for the next four centuries. During 1624-1662 the island was occupied by the Dutch and when they arrived they only found the aborigine population and there were no signs of administrative structure of the Chinese Imperial Government. This proves that Taiwan didn’t always belong to China. The Dutch established a fortress named zeelandia after the Dutch province Zeeland the fortress is situated at the narrow peninsula on the south-western coast of the island. The peninsula was called Tayouan and this is what lead to the island be named Taiwan. The Dutch ran the rice fields and sugar plantation via Chinese migrant workers who came for a few years then returned to China however, some became more settled and married aborigine women and thus the race Taiwanese was born. In 1662 the Dutch were defeated by a pirate Cheng Cheng Kung a loyal follower of the Ming dynasty after his death his son took over and continued the legacy however the legacy was finished in 1683 by Ch’ing troopers. The new Manchu emperors did not wish to in force their rules over the island because they thought of the people as people with little knowledge and poor navy warfare. The immigration rate increased because people needed to escape from war which was occurring in China. China attempted to gain control of Taiwan however every time China sent down officials the locals would retaliate and that is what provoked the saying “Every three years a uprising every five years a rebellion.

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  In 1870s Taiwanese pirates captured Japanese, American and French ships which were passing the island the governments of these ships protested to Peking however the Manchu emperor answered “Taiwan is beyond our territory.” Angered by the reoccurring attacks and the China taking no action the French fought back by sending a fleet of navy ships and took over northern Taiwan for nine months in 1884-85, In 1887 the Manchu Imperial authorities decided that Taiwan was “province” of their empire this was because they wanted to outmounver Japan who were becoming powerful in the south. China’s plan didn’t work ...

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