An alternative history of Taiwan (pretend that you are reading a wikipedia article about Taiwanese history, the alternative version that is):
The Foundation:
The history of Taiwan as an independent kingdom with a well developed political system of administration was conceived by the collapse of the Ming dynasty in Mainland China. In the 1640's, the Manchurian swept down from the north to conquer the whole of China and founded the Ching dynasty. But these conquerors met stubborn resistance in a man named Zheng Chen Kong, the leader of the rebel force seeking to expel the new non-Han Chinese power and re-build the Ming dynasty.
Zheng was both a highly capable military strategist and a great administrator. Moreover, born into a merchant family that dealt extensively in oversea trade, Zheng inherited a cosmopolitan worldview that embraced foreign ideas that were incrementally making their encroachment into East Asia at a time when European sea powers were penetrating this part of the world.
Upon taking over the Taiwan from the Dutch who ruled the island for 38 years, Zheng crafted a grand strategy which aimed to transform Taiwan into a base of operation from where to launch an assault on the Manchurian Ching dynasty.
Zheng's grand strategy manifested itself in a series of very farsighted policies. The first policy was the comprehensive economic development of Taiwan. Initially, priority was given to agriculture. Later on, as population in Taiwan increased, the development of industries and manufacturing also occupied a significant portion of Zheng government's effort. Commerce and trading was given relatively low priority and would not bloom for the next 20 years. This neglect of the mercantile interest was a reflection of the traditional Confucian disdain for merchant class, moderated only by Zheng's own family background as part of that class.
The second policy was the unconditional "open door" policy, welcoming fugitives from Mainland China to come and settle in what was still a sparsely populated island. Another population policy sought to culturally assimilate the indigenous population (of Polynesian origin) who had dwell on the island for millenium before the arrival of the Chinese. The motivation for this policy was to incorporate the indigenous population into the workforce, which was itself instrumental to the development of Taiwanese agriculture.
The third policy was the formation of alliance with another anti-Ching faction operating in Mainland China. This faction was called the Tien Di (Heaven and Earth) organization. A symbiotic relationship would evolve from this alliance that would stretch for two centuries. In its nature, Zheng's Taiwan provided material support to fund Tien Di's clandestine operation throughout Ching empire. The latter reciprocated with vital intelligence to Zheng's government in Taiwan. These intelligence would serve Taiwan very well.
Events in China:
The policies described above established for Taiwan a very prosperous economic foundation on only which a strong army capable of resisting a continental enemy such as Ching dynasty China could be built.
However, as many historians have pointed out, Taiwan under Zheng could survive initially and flourish later as an independent entity only because events on the Mainland diverted the attention of the Ching government. For example, rebellions throughout China during the early years of the Ching dynasty was frequent. In addition, Tsarist Russia was expanding rapidly into Asia. Dealing with this Western power occupied a significant attention of the Ching court. Relationship with Korea, Mongolia, Central Asian states, and Tibet further drained the administrative energies of the empire which otherwise could have been spend on the Taiwan issue.
But a new school of thought recently emerged which contended that whether or not Ching court considered Zheng's Taiwan as a threat that had to be dealt with immediately was in part determined by Zheng's own actions. It must be pointed out that Zheng's policies when he was in China was very different from after his power base was relocated to Taiwan. When still in China, Zheng carried out a very aggressive and successful policy both on the diplomatic and military front. He successfully united all the various anti-Ching faction in southern China under his banner, and at many times crossed the Yangtze River into northern China, threatening to march toward Beijing, which was Ching dynasty's power center.
However in Taiwan, Zheng would embark on no military venture at all. Instead, he focused his whole effort on the development of Taiwan. In that sense, Zheng was a state builder. But for a Ching dynasty that was plagued by internal rebellion and external wars with Russia and Mongolia, a state builder confined to a small island such as Taiwan was no immediate threat.
To be continued...