Only 2.3% of the Taiwanese population is native

The other 97.7% are ethnically Chinese. This is because Taiwan was ruled by the Qing Dynasty for 200 years from 1683 to 1895. During this time, the locals were pushed out in the same way native Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders were by Europeans. This isn’t an upbeat Taiwan fact but it’s important to know. Nowadays, there are just 500,000 indigenous people made up of eight different tribal groups. Sadly, their 26 native languages have become almost extinct. Unemployment rates are high and education levels low. However, since the 80s there has been a bit of a revival and several cities host indigenous cultural events.

A revival of national pride has been expressed in many ways by Taiwan's ethnic minorities, including incorporating elements of their culture into pop music. Massive efforts are underway in indigenous communities to restore and revive their cultural traditions and preserve their traditional languages. Some ethnic groups are developing tourism and ecotourism-related industries to increase their economic autonomy and even gain more political and life power.