Taiwan Documents Project

Taiwan Documents Project is a privately funded, non-partisan entity, and is not affiliated with any other organization. Taiwan Documents Project is based in Los Angeles, United States of America.

The political status of Taiwan has been in direct dispute since the Chinese Civil War, and issues surrounding its sovereignty continue to be relevant to U.S. foreign relations—especially Taiwanese objections to the “one-China” policy.

Though this website claims to be a “non-partisan” entity presenting objective information related to the political status of Taiwan, the secondary sources it offers favor Taiwanese independence. Nevertheless, it presents a cache of documents that allow users to explore important themes in world history, such as Cold War relations, American foreign policy and expansion into the Pacific, Japan’s role as a colonizing power, and the rise of Taiwanese nationalism. “Documents” forms the core of the website, providing more than 150 conference declarations, United Nations materials, joint communiqués, United States laws and legislative activities, and treaties.

Materials range in date roughly from the treaty signed between Koxinga and the Dutch in 1662 and a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China in 1978. Several maps and an extensive bibliography serve to contextualize these materials, making the site valuable for students and teachers alike.

Read a more in-depth review of the Taiwan Documents Project written by Michael Chang of George Mason University.

Or, explore other website reviews at World History Sources, Finding World History.

Selections are made by Kelly Schrum, Director of Educational Projects for George Mason's Center for History and New Media and Website Review Editor for HNN.