A brief history of Taiwan

Taiwan [re-elected their President](http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=514261&section=news)  today. He must be something interesting (or dangerous) because someone tried to kill him on the eve of the election. Oh my! It was a squeaker too, with recounts and everything. High drama!

The above-linked article has a succinct rundown of Taiwan’s recent history. In case you’re curious, gentle reader, here’s the important bit:

… Sun Yat-sen, a revolutionary who overthrew China’s last dynasty in 1911 and founded the Republic of China. The Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists lost a civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communists. More than five decades of Nationalist rule in Taiwan ended in 2000 when Chen won the presidential elections.

I knew, in vague terms, that something went on there involving those people, but I was sketchy on the details. This brings it all together nicely. I’ve got a passing familiarity with Sun Yat-sen because of some absolutely beautiful gardens in Vancouver that were named in his honour. Go there on a rainy day, if you can. Stunning.