Democratic Progressive Party founded in Taiwan

Deng Xiaoping told British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that China intended to recover Hong Kong in 1997 and outlined a special administrative arrangement. The meeting began high-stakes...

The National People’s Congress adopted the current PRC Constitution, establishing the formal framework for reform-era institutions and state modernization. The document affirmed Party leadership and...

The CCP Central Committee adopted a decision to reform China’s economic structure, expanding the reform agenda beyond agriculture and rural policy. It gave market mechanisms a larger role while...

China and the United Kingdom set terms for Hong Kong’s 1997 transfer under the “one country, two systems” framework. The agreement addressed a colonial-era settlement, while subsequent disputes over...

The PRC formally requested to resume its status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, beginning a long process that eventually led to WTO accession. The application marked an attempt to enter...

China and Portugal signed a declaration setting the terms for Portugal’s administration of Macau until the 1999 transfer of sovereignty. The agreement drew on negotiations between two states but...

President Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law in Taiwan after 38 years. The decision followed sustained opposition organizing and opened a transition toward competitive politics; this history...

The National People’s Congress approved Hainan’s elevation to provincial status and designated it a special economic zone. The measure extended the experimentation with market opening and sought to...

Chinese troops used force to end the occupation of Tiananmen Square and surrounding protests, causing deaths and injuries. The crackdown isolated China diplomatically for a period and revealed the...

Nine students began a sit-in at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, demanding political reform and an end to the entrenched “ten-thousand-year” legislature. The six-day protest helped press Taiwan’s...