10/10 is Taiwan's national holiday, and this year marks year 100, but don't be fooled into thinking that it's Taiwan's 100th birthday.
You've probably already figured out that Taiwan has been here for more than 100 years. The centennial actually marks 100 years since the foundation of the People Republic of China in 1911. But during that period Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, so wasn't even part of China. Taiwan eventually joined the P.R.C after WWII in 1945 when Japan lost the war. So technically it's not even 100 years of government in Taiwan, it more so marks 100 years of a government which now exists in exile.
What does it mean for us? The answer, not really all that much. Sure Monday is a holiday so we get a nice long weekend, which is probably the best time to escape Taiwan, because where ever you go here it's super crowded. I was trapped at Sun Moon lake for hours (quite a scary experience where I didn't know if I would ever get home). I also heard that they were offering to pay foreigners $400NT to stand in front of Sun-Yat sen memorial hall along with the Taiwanese. Most probably to promote Taiwan as being more multicultural. But $400NT, really only adds up to about $12 US, so it didn't seem worth it.
The 100th year also made me feel quite nervous. I know that the Mainland Chinese can be quite dramatic, so I was thinking if they suddenly decided to invade Taiwan, they would probably hold out for some historic date to do it. But so far we're all in one piece, so maybe Taiwan just isn't worth it after all.
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