Considering Taiwan: Past and Present

Most of you remember Formosa being the name often used for the island that lies between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. That name came from Portuguese sailors, who, upon sighting the island in 1542, reportedly exclaimed “Ilha Formosa!” – “Beautiful Island.” But ever since that island came under Chinese sovereignty, the official name has been Taiwan. 

Taiwan was incorporated into China’s Qing Empire in 1684 and remained under Chinese sovereignty until it was ceded to Japan in 1895. At the close of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), the Treaty of Shimonoseki contained a provision that ceded Taiwan to Japan “in perpetuity.”*

On October 25, 1945, the Republic of China (ROC) accepted Japan’s surrender in Taipei, Taiwan, and took over the island’s administration and unilaterally declared Taiwan a province of China and termed it “Retrocession Day.” The Allied powers, though, did not formally recognize that unilateral annexation.

One of my faculty colleagues at Seinan Gakuin University from 1968 to the 1990s was born in Taiwan in the 1930s. He was one of the roughly half a million Japanese residents living in Taiwan at the end of WWII. Almost all these Japanese civilians were sent back to Japan, and this process was largely completed by the end of 1946.

Chiang Kai-shek relocated the Republic of China (ROC) government to Taiwan in December 1949, following the Nationalists' defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Mainland China under Mao Zedong (or Tse-tung until 1958) officially became the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949, and remains so to this day.

Chiang became the sole head of the ROC in a de facto sense by 1928, but he was not formally inaugurated as the first president of China until May 1948, and then he resigned after eight months. After relocating to Taiwan, though, he was re-elected and served as the ROC president for 25 years, from March 1950 until his death (at age 87) in April 1975.

Chiang’s arrival in 1949 was opposed/resisted by many Taiwanese, who viewed Chiang and the leaders of the Nationalist Party as outsiders imposing mainland authority over the island. And indeed, most Taiwanese citizens were unable to vote directly for their president from the ROC’s relocation to Taiwan until the first direct presidential election in 1996.

Taiwan is now under direct political threat from PRC President Xi Jinping, who insists the island will eventually be “reunited” with the mainland and refuses to renounce the use of force.

At the same time, President Trump’s assertive foreign policy has demonstrated a willingness to use military power for strategic objectives, from operations in Venezuela to repeated statements that the United States “needs” Greenland, leaving open the possibility of force.

With Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi—who has led Japan since October—openly stating that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could justify Japanese military action alongside the United States, the growing normalization of force by major powers risks lowering the threshold for Xi Jinping to pursue reunification of Taiwan by military means.

This piece has been a brief summary of Taiwan’s past from 1684 until 1996, and a bit about the current situation there. But who knows what will happen in the near future! Let’s pray that the uncertain present doesn’t lead to a major conflagration.  

Will You Walk Out Tomorrow (1/20)?

Do you know about the organization called “Women’s March”? I initially heard of it by that name during the first “No Kings” protest activities last year. For some reason, they held their own anti-Trump protests rather than joining with the main ones that day. They have continued to plan and promote various activities, and their next one is tomorrow, January 20. 

The first Women’s March event was held in 2017, the day after Donald Trump’s first inauguration. Most of you probably remember how masses of women protested, wearing pink cat-eared hats. The “pussyhats,” the event’s iconic visual symbol, were worn by hundreds of thousands of women in over 600 cities to represent solidarity against the perceived misogyny of the new POTUS. 

Their next major action was on October 2, 2021. It focused on defending abortion rights in response to new restrictions, especially Texas’s SB 8 “heartbeat” law, and fears that Roe v. Wade could be overturned. Thousands rallied in Washington, D.C., marching to the Supreme Court. On the same day there were also marches across all 50 U.S. states with focus on abortion rights.

And now, tomorrow, Women’s March is promoting massive walkouts at 2 p.m. January 20 was chosen as the day for this new protest activity as it is the end of the first year of Trump’s 2.0 presidency (although it has been so bad it seems like it has been more than just a year).

Women’s March is calling tomorrow’s action the Free America Walkout, “because we will walk out of work, school, and commerce because a Free America begins the moment we stop cooperating with fascism.”

The vision of Women’s March is clearly stated on their website: “Women’s March is building a base of feminists to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. By 2050, we will be a feminist-led movement that ensures anyone and everyone has the freedom to lead empowered lives in safety and security in their bodies, in their communities, and throughout the country.”

The year 2050 sounds far into the future, but that is only 24 years from now. And their goal includes three complicated matters:

1) Promoting Feminist Economies – “We seek an economic system that values the rights and contributions of all, and that supports safety and dignity for everyone. These feminist values prioritize stewardship and caregiving, and the just distribution of collective resources.

“We’re taking on the Billionaire Boys Club, and fighting for a wealth tax to begin reversing the grotesque hoarding of wealth … .”

2) Reimagining Democracy – “We need a democracy that works for all, in which everyone can participate fully. The opponents of multi-racial democracy have shown they are willing to use any means, from partisan gerrymandering and racist voter suppression to insurrectionary violence to promote minority rule.”

3) Ending White Supremacy – “To build a multi-racial feminist future rooted in values of justice, we must reduce the death grip that white supremacy has on hundreds of millions of people, including many white women. We also know that white supremacist ideology is fueled by patriarchy and misogyny … .” 

Strong resistance to the POTUS’s leaning toward fascism is imperative NOW. I am grateful for what Women’s March has planned for tomorrow. Even though there is nothing I can walk out of and I don’t have the energy/stamina to join a protest march, I strongly encourage those of you who can to walk out of your place of employment—or wherever you are—at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Walk out because the future of our democracy in the U.S. is at stake. Trump’s words and actions during this first year of his second term have been incredibly bad in so many ways. Here is a list of just a few of those ways.

* He has lied and/or uttered misleading statements daily.

* He has greatly increased his personal wealth in ways that should have led to impeachment.

* He has endangered the good standing of the U.S. in international affairs.

* He has illegally abducted the president of Venezuela and seized some of that country’s oil.

* He is threatening to destroy NATO by his eagerness to gain control of Greenland.

Thanks, Women’s March, for all you have planned for tomorrow’s Free America Walkout!

 

The Year of the Fire Horse

As many of you know, in Japan and China the zodiac consists of twelve animal signs, and each year is named after one of them. This new year of 2026 is the Year of the Horse—but more specifically it is the Year of the Fire Horse, which occurs every sixty years.** 

It was 60 years ago that my family and I arrived in Japan for the first time. Even though we were told it was the Year of the Horse, I can’t remember anyone telling us it was the Year of the Fire Horse.

After two years of language study in Tokyo, we moved to Fukuoka City in southwest Japan. We lived in an all-Japanese neighborhood, and the Shibata family next door became dear friends. Mr. Shibata’s given name was Toraichirō, and since tora is the Japanese word for tiger, it was easy to discern he was born in the Year of the Tiger, the same as I was.

In 1974 when I turned 36, three times around the Japanese zodiac, Mr. Shibata celebrated his 72^nd birthday, having completed six cycles. At some point, we learned that Mrs. Shibata celebrated her birthday on January 1 even though she was born at the end of 1906, which was the year of the Fire Horse.

For the Japanese people who take the “superstitions” entwined with the zodiac seriously, it is commonly believed that “girls born in the Year of the Fire Horse will be temperamental, have bad marriages and be threats to their fathers and husbands.”

Since 1906 was the Year of the Fire Horse and thus seen as a bad year, especially for women born with that zodiac sign, Mrs. Shibata’s family registered her birth as being at the beginning of 1907. She did grow up to be a rather strong-willed woman, but Toraichirō-san was a kind, patient man, and we enjoyed having them both as neighbors during the 23 years we lived next door to them.

What can we expect this Year of the Fire Horse (which has little meaning in the Western world)? At the end of each year, there are always many articles published with what is thought to be the best or worst of whatever in the past year. But I want to think only about 2026 (and beyond) rather than looking back over the past year. I don’t want to walk into the future backwards.

In the Old Testament, the writer of Second Isaiah records these words from the Lord God: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!” (43:18-19a, NIV). We do need to learn from what has previously happened, but it is important not to dwell on the past. Rather, we are encouraged to focus on the future where God is “doing a new thing.”

Despite the negative aspects of the Year of the Fire Horse, especially for women, there are positive aspects also. The Fire Horse can legitimately be considered as a symbol of strong will and forward motion, encouraging individuals, families, and communities alike to pursue important changes and reforms.

 In that sense, the Year of the Fire Horse becomes a metaphor for times when intense pressures and rapid shifts do not just unsettle life but also open the way for renewal, growth, and more authentic directions.

Rather than dwelling on 2025 as a horrible year, let’s look forward to this new year being a year of positive change. I am a regular reader of “The Cottage,” Diane Butler Bass’s Substack newsletter. Her January 1 post was titled “Annus Mirabilis Everybody!”

Bass rightly notes that so many pundits labeled 2025 as annus horribilis, a “horrible year.” That, she writes, is “the 2025 consensus: Horrible. A disaster. Glad that’s done.” But, looking forward, she challenges us readers to name the new year of 2026 annus mirabilis, the “wonderful year,” the “year of miracles,” or the “beautiful year.”

She continues, “We can do this. Together. Let’s name this year Mirabilis. … If we start now, 2026 can be a year of wonder, a year of miracles, or maybe even a beautiful year.”

Among other things, with Fire Horse energy, may we USAmericans of goodwill work together to change the direction our nation is heading by voting to change the political leadership of the nation come November.

_____

** As mentioned in my previous (12/31) blog post, Japan has long used the “Western calendar,” with the new year beginning on January 1. But the traditional Chinese-style calendar (generally referred to as 旧暦 (kyūreki, “old calendar”) is still often used when referring to the zodiac, which was borrowed from China. Thus, the “Chinese” Year of the Fire Horse doesn’t begin until February 17.