TAIWAN ： 14,000 square miles     23 million people    

Amazing Facts for Such a Small Country

17^th in the world in GNP and 15^th in trade volume in 2001

3^rd largest export of Information Technology (IT) products

6^th largest trading partner with US for trade of $40 billion

60% of the world’s notebook computers manufactured in Taiwan

84% Taiwanese, 14% Mainland Chinese, 2% Aborigines

How about the last 400 years?

1626      Spanish occupied the northeastern tip of Taiwan and called it “Santiago”

1637      Dutch discovered gold and started mining

1661      Koxinga defeated Dutch and declared it Eastern Capital of Ming Dynasty

1683   Ching Dynasty defeated Koxinga

1895       Taiwan was ceded to Japan

1895      Republic of Taiwan established for 4 days

1895      Japanese military forces took over Taiwan

1911      Republic of China was founded in China (Taiwan was under Japan)

1945       Japanese forces at Taiwan surrendered to Allied Powers at USS Missouri

1949       Chiang Kai-Shek’s KMT fled to Taiwan and declared martial law

1949       People’s Republic of China was established in China

1950   Japan renounced sovereignty on Taiwan in San Francisco Peace Treaty

1996   First popular election for president, Lee Tung-Hui was elected

2000   KMT lost presidency – a bloodless transfer of power in Taiwan

It is even more amazing that

With its fully democratic system and economic strength,

TAIWAN is still not a member of the United Nations!

People’s Republic China has never owned Taiwan for a single day,

and declares that TAIWAN is part of CHINA!