this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
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[–] ylph@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Taiwan was conquered by China as well, in the 1680s. Taiwan was colonized by China only after it was colonized by Europeans (who arrived in early 1600s) - for most of its history it was inhabited by native non-Han aboriginals, who resisted both Chinese and Japanese attempts to settle the island in the 1500s.

Even after the Qing incorporated Taiwan into China, they didn't control the full territory - they largely left most of the mountainous areas inhabited by the aboriginals alone until late 1800s.

Qing gave Taiwan away to Japan in a treaty in 1895 btw - Japan didn't conquer the island militarily. The local population at the time wasn't happy about it, and even declared an independent Republic of Formosa to try to resist the Japanese colonization after being abandoned by Qing China, with tens of thousands of Taiwanese giving their lives fighting the Japanese.

America didn't conquer the island either - they forced Japan to surrender and give up claim to the island. With Chinese civil war breaking out, the issue of Taiwan was never fully resolved after the war, with ROC assuming control as presumed successor state of the Qing - nobody really asked the Taiwanese yet again what they wanted.

Taiwanese people should finally have the final word about their own country and sovereignty - they have their own unique history, culture and identity - Taiwan shouldn't be a plaything of empires and their imperial ambitions, be it China, Japan, America or Europe.