History of Taiwan since 1945

As a result of the Surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, the island of Taiwan was placed under the governance of the Republic of China ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT) since 25 October 1945. After the massacre in 1947, the government of the ROC declared martial law in 1949 by the Governor of Taiwan Province, Chen Cheng, and the ROC Ministry of National Defense Following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC government was forcibly expelled by the Chinese Communists from the mainland who would proclaim the establishment of the People's Republic of China and retreated to Taiwan and declared Taipei as their temporary capital. For many years, the ROC and PRC continued to claim in the diplomatic arena as the sole legitimate government of "China" until 1971 when the United Nations expelled the KMT government and replaced with the PRC.

In 1987, martial law was lifted and Taiwan began the democratisation process beginning the abolition of the Temporary Provisions and culminating with the first direct president election in 1996. By 2000, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power and began to pursue Taiwanese independence and identity but efforts to do are blocked by the PRC.