100 Years*

A bit of history to make up for the posting drought? Why not?

As witnessed by TONS of people (just ask Karen) on the streets in Taipei, there were some pretty impressive fireworks to celebrate the opening minute of 2011.

Worldwide, the eve of 2011 was just another night of partying in preparation for another year for failed resolutions.

For some, 2011 was more significant.
A centennial to be more precise. 100 years ago in China, there was a revolution which ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty and the formation of the Republic of China (ROC). So, Happy Birthday ROC!!!

Let's rewind a little bit to the year 1895. The Qing Dynasty is still in full force in China, but had just lost a war to Japan. The island of Taiwan was among the spoils of war, so in the year 1911, when the Wuchang Uprising sparked the eventual Qing Dynasty overthrow and the birth of the ROC, the Taiwanese were speaking Japanese.

Now let's fast-forward, this time to 1945 when Japan lost WWII and had to "return" Taiwan to the ROC. The ROC was then claiming sole sovereignty over all of mainland China and its surrounding islands. However, in 1949, as the result of a lengthy civil war, the communist party (CPC) forced the ROC leader to retreat to Taiwan, thereby creating the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland, which is what exists today.

One China Principle: In 1992, both the ROC (Taiwan) and PRC (mainland) agreed that China is in fact not divided. However, each claims to be the one who owns the whole bit. In other words, agree to disagree.

Um, so it's worth noting that there are a lot of different views on this topic.

--The documents signed after Japan's demise were signed by a representative of the ROC, not the PRC, but there are people who claim that the documents never technically gave the ROC the "rights" to Taiwan, but that it only called for the removal of Japanese rule, therefore leaving Taiwan an orphan, or an independent country.

--There are people in Taiwan who claim that the 1992 "One China Principle" never happened.

--Although no real battles have occurred since 1950, and in 1991 the ROC declared the war over, there is still an absence any armistice or peace treaty.

-- There are 23 countries that recognize the ROC as an independent country (who are, consequently, basically black-listed from any diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China).

--This post was inspired by people who thought Taiwan, not the Republic of China, turned 100 this year (Taiwan has only been the ROC for about 66 years).

*(from the title) Every single source I've found in extensive research about the history of Taiwan and the history of the Republic of China pretty clearly states that the Republic of China was founded on January 1, 1912, which is 365 days after the ROC's centennial celebration in Taipei. I'm not sure what that's about.

[Okay actually I figured it out. 1912 was the 1st year of the Republic (Year 1), 2011 is the 100th year of the Republic (Year 100). It's like the theory of how you are one when you are born. We celebrate 1st birthdays, making us 1 year old. Here, 1 year later, you start your second year of life, making you 2? Hmm.]

("yawn" if you hate history! "cool" if you like mysteries!)