Bus service is excellent. The government operates several railroad lines. Kaohsiung and Chilung are the chief seaports in Taiwan. Taipei has an international airport. About 30 daily newspapers are published in Taiwan.
Most families own a TV set and one or more radios.
Aborigines were the first inhabitants of Taiwan. Some Chinese came to the island from the mainland as early as the 500's, but large settlements did not begin until the 1600's. Dutch traders occupied a Taiwanese port from 1624 until 1661. Koxinga, a Chinese Ming dynasty official, drove them out. Manchu conquerors had overthrown the Ming dynasty in mainland China, and Koxinga hoped to restore the dynasty to power.