20th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Railroad between Keelung and Hsinchu rebuilt. | |
| 1904 | Taiwan bank notes issued. | |
| 1905 | Earthquake in Chiayi. | |
| First population census. (First Provisional Taiwan Household Registration Survey) | ||
| Taiwan becomes financially self-sufficient and is weaned off subsidies from Japan's central government. | ||
| 1907 | Beipu Incident led by Cai Ching-lin (蔡清琳). | |
| 1908 | North-South (Western Line) Railway completed. | |
| 1913 | Miaoli Incident. | |
| 1915 | Tapani Incident, largest revolt in Taiwanese history; over 100 protesters killed by Japanese authorities. | |
| Silai Temple Incident led by Yu Ching-fang (余清芳). | ||
| 1921 | Taiwanese Cultural Association founded. | |
| "Petition to Establish a Taiwan Parliament" movement begins. | ||
| 1923 | Crown Prince Hirohito (Later Emperor) of Japan visits Taiwan. | |
| 1924 | Yilan Line Railroad completed. | |
| 1926 | Hwatung Line Railroad completed. | |
| 1927 | Taiwanese People's Party, Taiwan's first political party, founded. | |
| 1928 | Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University) founded. | |
| 1930 | Jianan (or Chianan) Canal (嘉南大圳) completed. | |
| Wushe Incident; Japan forcefully crushes rebellion by the Atayal aborigine group. | ||
| 1935 | Earthquake in Miaoli. | |
| Exposition to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Beginning of Administration in Taiwan. | ||
| 1937 | Four national parks planned. | |
| Sun Moon Lake Hydroelectric Power Plant completed. | ||
| 1939 | Industrial production surpasses agricultural production. | |
| 1941 | Taiwan Revolutionary League formed to coordinate anti-Japan resistance. | |
| Segregation of primary schools between Japanese and Taiwanese children ends. | ||
| Pingtung Line Railroad completed | ||
| 1943 | Compulsory primary education begins. Enrollment rates reached 71.3% for Taiwanese children (including 86.4% for aborigine children) and 99.6% for Japanese children in Taiwan making Taiwan's enrollment rate the second highest in Asia after Japan. | |
| 1945 | Popular Legislature Election Law enacted. | |
| Japan (then including Taiwan) is defeated in World War II. Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed. United States directs Japanese forces to surrender to the ROC as per General Order No. 1. Chen Yi of the Kuomintang is appointed as Chief Executive of Taiwan as the Republic of China proclaims Retrocession Day. | ||
| 1947 | 228 Incident; "White Terror" begins. | |
| US consulate in Taipei proposed "status of Taiwan is undetermined" and "Taiwan Under UN trustee" program in March; proposal was rejected by the United States State Department. | ||
| Chen Yi recalled and Taiwan Provincial Government established. | ||
| 1948 | National Assembly of the Republic of China passes Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion. | |
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. P. C. Chang is among its authors. | ||
| 1949 | April 6 Incident. | |
| The New Taiwan dollar is issued, exchanged at 1:40,000 old Taiwan dollars. | ||
| Kuomintang army defeated in the Chinese Civil War, flees in exile to Taiwan with 2 million refugees. | ||
| The capital of the Republic of China (ROC) relocated from Nanjing to Taipei. | ||
| Martial law and the White Terror period. (to 1987) | ||
| 1951 | Treaty of San Francisco officially signed by 49 nations; Japan officially renounced claims to Taiwan, but without designating a recipient. | |
| 1952 | Treaty of San Francisco comes into force. Japan renounces all right, title, and claim to Taiwan, but no "receiving country" is designated in the Treaty of San Francisco. However, Japan and the Republic of China then sign Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei). | |
| 1958 | 823 Artillery War. | |
| 1959 | August 7 Flood: serious flooding in central Taiwan. | |
| 1960 | Free China Incident. | |
| 1964 | Shihmen Reservoir completed. | |
| Peng Ming-min arrested for the draft of A Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation. | ||
| 1966 | Chinese Cultural Renaissance | |
| 1971 | The seat for "China" at the United Nations Security Council is assumed by the People's Republic of China, in place of the ROC. | |
| United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 | ||
| 1972 | The United States establishes diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, and acknowledges the One China Policy in the Shanghai Communique. | |
| 1975 | President Chiang Kai-Shek dies. Yen Chia-kan assumes the presidency until May 20, 1978. | |
| 1978 | Chiang Ching-kuo elected President. | |
| 1979 | The United States passes the Taiwan Relations Act, which affirms US commitment to defend Taiwan militarily and to treat Taiwan as a state for most purposes of U.S. law. | |
| Kaohsiung Incident. | ||
| Western Line Railroad fully electrified; North-Link Line completed. | ||
| 1980 | Lin Family Murders on the anniversary of the 228 Incident. | |
| Hsinchu Science Park founded. | ||
| 1981 | Chen Wun-cheng (陳文成) Incident. | |
| 1984 | Labor Standards Law enacted. | |
| 1986 | Typhoon Wayne makes landfall in the west coast of central Taiwan. | |
| Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the first oppositional political party after World War II, formed illegally from the Tangwai movement. | ||
| Yuan T. Lee wins the Nobel Prize in chemistry. | ||
| 1987 | Martial law lifted. | |
| 1988 | President Chiang Ching-kuo dies; Lee Teng-hui assumes the presidency. | |
| Bans on publishing newspapers lifted. | ||
| 1989 | Bans on establishing new commercial banks lifted. | |
| Cheng Nan-jung Self-immolation. | ||
| 1990 | Wild Lily student movement in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. | |
| 1991 | Legislative Yuan and National Assembly elected in 1947 were forced to resign. | |
| Opposition parties legalized. | ||
| South-Link Line Railroad completed. | ||
| 1992 | Fair Trade Law enacted. | |
| The first democratic election of the Legislative Yuan. | ||
| 1992 Consensus | ||
| 1994 | National Health Insurance begins. | |
| 1995 | US government reverses policy and allows President Lee Teng-hui to visit the US. The People's Republic of China responds with the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis by launching a series of missiles into the waters off Taiwan. The Taiwan stock market loses one-third of its value. | |
| 228 Incident monument erected; President Lee Teng-hui publicly apologizes on behalf of the KMT. | ||
| 1996 | President Bill Clinton dispatches the USS Nimitz supercarrier to patrol the Taiwan Strait. | |
| The first direct presidential election; Lee Teng-hui elected. | ||
| Muzha Line of the Taipei Metro completed. | ||
| 1997 | Tamsui Line of the Taipei Metro completed. | |
| Private cellular phone companies begin services. | ||
| 1999 | Resolution on Taiwan's Future | |
| Chi-Chi earthquake. | ||
| 2000 | Chen Shui-bian, the opposition candidate from the DPP, elected president by a lead of 2.5% of votes marking the end of the KMT status as the ruling party. Voter turnout was 82.69%; first peaceful transfer of power. | |
| Four Noes and One Without | ||
| Yilan Line railroad electrified. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Taiwanese History
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