y were followed by others
fleeing from the communist regime, mainly from Chekiang, Kiangsu, and
the northern provinces of the mainland. Eventually, there were on Taiwan
about two million of these "mainlanders," as they have sometimes been
called.

When the Chinese Nationalists took over from the Japanese, they assumed
all the leading positions in the government. The Taiwanese nationals who
had opposed the Japanese were disappointed; for their part, the
Nationalists felt threatened because of their minority position. The
next years, especially up to 1952, were characterized by terror and
bloodshed. Tensions persisted for many years, but have lessened since
about 1960.

The new government of Taiwan resembled China's pre-war government under
Chiang Kai-shek. First, to maintain his claim to the legitimate rule of
all of China, Chiang retained--and controlled through his party, the
KMT--his former government organization, complete with cabinet
ministers, administrators, and elected parliament, under the name
"Central Government of China." Secondly, the actual government of
Taiwan, which he considered one of China's provinces, was organized as
the "Provincial Government of Taiwan," whose leading positions were at
first in the hands of KMT mainlanders. There have since been elections
for the provincial assembly, for local government councils and boards,
and for various provincial and local positions. Thirdly, the military
forces were organized under the leadership and command of mainlanders.
And finally, the education system was set up in accordance with former
mainland practices by mainland specialists. However, evolutionary
changes soon occurred.

The government's aim was to make Mandarin Chinese the language of all
Chinese in Taiwan, as it had been in mainland China long before the War,
and to weaken the Taiwanese dialects. Soon almost every child had a
minimum of six years of education (increased in 1968 to nine years),
with Mandarin Chinese as the medium of instruction. In the beginning few
Taiwanese qualified as teachers because, under Japanese rule, Japanese
had been the medium of instruction. As the children of Taiwanese and
mainland families went to school together, the Taiwanese children
quickly learned Mandarin, while most mainland children became familiar
with the Taiwan dialect. For the generation in school today, the
difference between mainlander and Taiwanese has lost its importance. At
the same time, more t