Taiwan’s 100 year fight for freedom | If You're Listening

For decades, Taiwan has existed in political limbo: claimed by China, governed separately, and shaped by a history far more complicated than most people realise. After the Second World War, Taiwan was handed from Japan back to China just as the mainland descended into civil war. Mao Zedong’s Communists eventually defeated Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists, who fled to Taiwan and rebuilt the Republic of China government there. Taiwan was marketed internationally as “Free China” but on the ground it was a different story. Taiwanese people were subject to nearly 40 years of martial law: censorship, political persecution, arrests, and violent crackdowns on dissent. Eventually the people started to push back. Today, Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province. But in Taiwan, a growing number of people see themselves as something entirely separate: not Chinese, but Taiwanese. ****EDITOR'S NOTE: At 0:22 on this video, the narration says “More than a hundred years ago, the ancient Chinese empire was overthrown in a revolution.” An incorrect image is shown at this time with the video depicting a poster from the Cultural Revolution, rather than from 1911. The ABC apologises for this error. Check out our past episodes on Taiwan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_N9w5e9NrE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9s6m8V8Eyg Watch all episodes of If You're Listening - in our playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq Subscribe: https://ab.co/3yqPOZ5 Welcome to ABC News In-depth, where you'll find our long-form journalism and other videos to help you understand what's going on in the world around you. Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1 For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY Get breaking news and livestreams from our ABC News channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/NewsOnABC Like ABC News on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au Follow ABC News on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au Follow ABC News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/abcnews Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated. #ABCNewsIndepth #ABCNewsAustralia #ifyourelistening #areyoulistening