The gripping story of Taiwan from the flood myths of ancient legend to its 'Asian Tiger'
economic miracle - and the looming threat of invasion by China. Once dismissed by the Kangxi
Emperor as nothing but a 'ball of mud' Taiwan has a modern GDP larger than that of Sweden in
a land area smaller than Indiana. It is the last surviving enclave of the Republic of China a
lost colony of Japan and claimed by Beijing as a rogue province - merely the latest chapters
in its long history as a refuge for pirates rebels settlers and outcasts. In Rebel Island
Jonathan Clements offers a concise and vivid telling of Taiwan's complex island story
beginning with the unique conditions of its archaeology before examining its indigenous history
and its days as a Dutch and Spanish trading post. He delves into its periods as an independent
kingdom Chinese province and short-lived republic and the transformations wrought by 50
years as part of the Japanese Empire. In 1949 the island became a lifeboat for two million
refugees from the Chinese Communist Revolution and the White Terror began. Later chapters
explain the recent conflicts that have emerged after the suspension of four decades of martial
law as the Taiwanese debate issues of self-determination independence and home rule - all
under the watchful gaze of President Xi Jinping and politicians around the world. Rebel
Island is an essential guide to Taiwan's past and present providing invaluable context at a
time of escalating tension over its future.
