1895

The island of Taiwan is ceded to Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ends the first Sino-Japanese War.

May 1895

Taiwan Governor Tang Ching-sung declares Taiwan to be independent.

1895-1902

Insurgency against Japanese occupation breaks out.

October 1911-January 1912

The Republican Revolution overthrows the Qing Dynasty, ending dynastic rule over China.

August 1912

The Kuomintang (KMT) is founded.

July 1921

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is officially founded.

1922-1927

The CCP and the KMT ally to fight against the warlords.

November 1924

Lin Hsien-tang issues twelve demands.

March 1925

Sun Yat-sen dies.

July 1926-1928

Chiang Kai-shek rises to power in the KMT after the Northern Expedition.

April 1927

CCP-KMT cooperation ends in a bloody purge of CCP members.

1934-1935

The CCP is forced to flee to Yan'An in the "Long March." Mao Zedong rises to power in the CCP.

1936-1937

A mutiny in the KMT army forces Chiang to restore cooperation between the CCP and KMT in a "united front" against Japan.

December 1941

Japan attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor.

December 1943

China, the United States, and Great Britain issue the Cairo Declaration.