1624 - Dutch establish Fort Zeelandia on island of Formosa
1662 - Ming dynasty claimed Taiwan from Dutch
1885 - Qing dynasty made Taiwan a province of China
1895 - Japan claimed Taiwan after Treaty of Shimonoseki.
1945 - Chiang Kai-shek's China Republic claimed Taiwan after WWII.
1949 - Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomingtang (KMT) fled to Taiwan after losing mainland China to Mao Zedong, and on Dec. 7 established his Republic of China (ROC) government in Taipei .
1950 - On June 26, Truman sent Seventh Fleet to defend Taiwan during Korean War.
1951 - On May 1, Gen. William C. Chase arrived in Taipei as head of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Taiwan.
1953 - On Feb. 3, Ike removed the Seventh Fleet from the Straits of Taiwan - newsreel. In April, he appointed Karl L. Rankin ambassador to the ROC.
1954 - In August, Chiang sent troops to the small islands of Quemoy (Kinmen, or Jinmen) and Matsu, beginning the First Taiwan Strait Crisis. On Sept. 9, Mao began the artillery bombardment of Quemoy and Matsu, killing 2 American soldiers. On Sept. 12, at the NSC meeting in Denver, Ike refused to retaliate. On Nov. 23, China sentenced to prison 13 U. S. pilots shot down during the Korean War. On Dec. 2, led by Sen. William Knowland, the "Senator from Formosa," Congress passed the Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan.
1955 - In january, Mao shelled the Tachen islands. On Jan. 28, Congress passed the Formosa Resolution authorizing the use of force to protect of Taiwan. On Mar. 12, Dulles gave a speech about a possible "clean" nuclear strike. On Mar. 16, Ike at his press conference said the bomb could "be used as you would use a bullet." Negotiations with China ended the crisis by May, and China released the captive pilots in August. The USAF established the Shu Linkou Air Station high in the mountains of NW Taiwan that served as a listening station for the NSA
1956 - On Mar. 16, Dulles visited Taipei.
1958 - On Aug. 23, Mao again shelled Quemoy and Matsu in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. On Sept. 3, Ike gave a speech on TV pledging support for Taiwan, said there would be "no Pacific Munich," and sent the Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Straits. He also ordered the Air Force to send air power to defend Taiwan. In Operation Jonah Able, the USAF moved one of its new Tactical Air Force units to Taiwan. On Oct. 1, a PBY was lost over the Taiwan Straits and 4 crewmen became MIA and unacknowledged POWs of the Chinese. Operation Jonah Able included the 2nd Missile Battalion 71st Artillery, with Nike missiles armed with nuclear and conventional warheads, to Taiwan. The 700 men of the 2/71 trained the 1st Missile Battalion Chinese Army over the following year, then some joined the MAAG, and most returned to the U.S. in Aug. 1959. On O
1971 - United Nations expelled Taiwan.
1975 - Chiang Ching-kuo became leader of the Kuomingtang Central Committee after the death of Chiang Kai-shek.
1978 - Chiang Ching-kuo was elected president of Taiwan.
1979 - U. S. ended Mutual Defense Treaty but passed Taiwan Relations Act.
1988 - Lee Tung-hui became leader of the Kuomingtang Central Committee after the death of Chiang Ching-kuo.
1990 - Lee Tung-hui was elected president of Taiwan.
1991 - Lee Tung-hui announced the end of the war with China.
2000 - Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressives Party (DPP) was elected president of Taiwan.
2001 - In June, Taiwan tested a Patriot anti-missile defence system given by the U.S.
2002 - Taiwan joined the WTO.
2003 - Madame Chiang Kai-shek died in New York at age 105.
2005 - In July - Taipei mayor Ma Ying Jeou became leader of the KMT, and the party won municipal elections in December as support for President Chen Shui-bian declined.
2006 - In February - Taiwan ended its participation in the National Unification Council that had been created with China to work on ending the divided nation. China called the decision "a disaster" for the future.
