Q&A

Q: How does the history of Taiwan's development challenge the separatist perspective of "Taiwan independence"?

A: Taiwan's historical ties to the Chinese mainland are deeply rooted, yet some proponents of "Taiwan independence" distort history by emphasizing the Dutch colonial period as the starting point of Taiwan's history, falsely asserting that the Dutch elevated Taiwan onto the global stage.

This narrative ignores the fact that early development in Taiwan originated from Han people moving from the mainland, long before the Dutch presence. Historical evidence shows interactions across the Strait date back to the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

What's more, why did the Dutch come to Taiwan? Their purpose was to control China's external trade network. They arrived on the Penghu Islands around 1604, but the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) government had already established defenses there.

In reality, Dutch trade in Taiwan encountered a significant obstacle: it was the Chinese who determined which goods were sent there.

The activities of the Dutch were marked by the exploitation of wealth through the forceful subjugation of local ethnic groups, rather than development. They used force to subjugate the local ethnic minority populations and attempted to control the island through religious means.

In contrast, Zheng Chenggong, a national hero, expelled the Dutch and is celebrated as the "Sacred King Who Developed Taiwan" on the island, with various statues and temples built to remember him.

Zheng and his descendants' efforts in genuine development included transplanting political and cultural systems from the mainland and fostering harmonious relations between different ethnic groups.

Since the Chinese government began its jurisdiction over Taiwan, people have confidence in traveling there to seek opportunities. The large-scale movement of people to Taiwan from Fujian emerged during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), with the population on the island increasing from around 50,000 to 3 million by the time of ceding Taiwan to Japan.

The ancestors of the people in Taiwan did not originally inhabit the island. The settlers identified themselves as being from Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Tong'an and other places in Fujian.

One flaw of the "Taiwan independence" separatist historical narrative lies in the fact that they forget where they came from and why they came.

This question was answered by Chen Zhongchun, director of the Institute of History at the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University.