Taiwan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Republic of China" redirects here. For the People's Republic of China, see China. For other uses,
see Republic of China (disambiguation) and Taiwan (disambiguation).

Coordinates:

2330N 12100E

[1]

Republic of China

Zhnghu Mngu[a]

Flag

National Emblem

Anthem:

National Anthem of the Republic of China

National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China

0:00

MENU

0:00

MENU

Territory under the control of the Republic of China

Taipei[2]
Capital

2502N 12138E

Largest city
Official languages
Recognised regional languages

New Taipei
Standard Chinese[3]
Taiwanese Hokkien
Hakka
Formosan languages
Fuzhou dialect

Official script

Traditional Chinese
98% Han Chinese[4][5]
70% Hokkien
Ethnic groups
14% Hakka
14% Waishengren[b]
2% Aborigines[c]
Taiwanese[6][7][8]
Demonym
and / or Chinese[d]
Unitary semi-presidentialconstitutional
Government
republic
- President
Ma Ying-jeou
- Vice-President
Wu Den-yih
- Premier
Mao Chi-kuo
- President of the Legislative Yuan
Wang Jin-pyng
- President of the Judicial Yuan
Rai Hau-min
- President of the Examination Yuan
Wu Jin-lin
- President of the Control Yuan
Chang Po-ya
Legislature
Legislative Yuan
Establishment from the Xinhai Revolution
- Wuchang Uprising
10 October 1911
- Republic established
1 January 1912
- Current constitution
25 December 1947
The ROC government retreated to Taipei due
1 October 1949 /10 December 1949
toChinese Civil War.
Area
36,193[9] km2 (136th)
- Total
13,974 sq mi
Population
- December 2013 estimate
23,373,517[9] (52nd)
644/km2 (17th)
- Density
1,664/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2014 estimate
- Total
$977.088 billion[10](20th)
- Per capita
$41,581[10] (17th)
GDP (nominal)
2014 estimate
- Total
$517.019 billion[10](25th)
- Per capita
$22,002[10] (39th)
34.2[11]
Gini (2010)
medium
0.890[e]
HDI (2012)
very high 23rd
Currency
New Taiwan dollar(NT$) (TWD)
Time zone
National Standard Time(UTC+8)
yyyy-mm-dd
Date format

yyyy m d
(CE; CE+2697)

Drives on the
Calling code
ISO 3166 code
Internet TLD

yy m d
right
+886
TW
.tw

 .
.[13]
Taiwan

Traditional Chinese or
Simplified Chinese
Taiwan
Postal Map
[show]Transcriptions
Republic of China
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Chunghwa Minkuo
Postal Map
[show]Transcriptions
This article contains Chinese text.Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead
ofChinese characters.

Taiwan ( i/tawn/ Chinese: or ; pinyin: Tiwn; see below), officially

the Republic of China (ROC;Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhnghu Mngu), is
a sovereign state in East Asia. The Republic of China, originally based in
mainland China, now governs the island of Taiwan, which makes up over 99%
of its territory,[f] as well asPenghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands.
Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to
the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the seat of
the central government.[2]New Taipei, encompassing the metropolitan area
surrounding Taipei proper, is the most populous city.
The island of Taiwan (formerly known as "Formosa") was mainly inhabited
by Taiwanese aborigines until the Dutchand Spanish settlement during the Age
of Discovery in the 17th century, when Han Chinese began immigrating to the
island. In 1662, the pro-Ming loyalist Koxinga expelled the Dutch and
established the first Han Chinese polity on the island, the Kingdom of Tungning.
The Qing Dynasty of China later defeated the kingdom and annexed Taiwan. By
the time Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, the majority of Taiwan's
inhabitants were Han Chinese either by ancestry or by assimilation.
The Republic of China (ROC) was established in China in 1912. After Japan's
surrender in 1945, the ROC assumed its control of Taiwan. Following
the Chinese civil war, the Communist Party of China took full control ofmainland
China and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The ROC
relocated its government to Taiwan, and its jurisdiction became limited
to Taiwan and its surrounding islands. In 1971, the PRC assumed China's seat at
the United Nations, which the ROC originally occupied. International

recognition of the ROC has gradually eroded as most countries switched

recognition to the PRC. 21 UN member states and the Holy See currently
maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC. It has unofficial ties with
most other states via its representative offices.
Constitutionally, there is dispute over whether the government claims
sovereignty over all of "China," in a definition that includes mainland China
and Outer Mongolia,[14] but the ROC has not made retaking mainland China a
political goal since 1992.[15] However, the government's stance on defining its
political position of relation with China largely depends on which political
coalition is in charge. Meanwhile, the PRC also asserts itself to be the sole legal
representation of China and claims Taiwan as its 23rd province to be under its
sovereignty, denying the status and existence of ROC as a sovereign state. The
PRC has threatened the use of military force as a response to any formal
declaration of Taiwanese independence, or if it deems peaceful reunification no
longer possible.[16] Cross-Strait relations as well as issues of national
identity within the country are important factors in Taiwanese politics and a
cause of social and political division among political parties and their respective
supporters.
During the latter half of the 20th century, Taiwan experienced rapid economic
growth and industrialization and is now an advanced industrial economy. In the
1980s and early 1990s, Taiwan evolved into a multi-party democracy with
universal suffrage. Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers and a member of
the WTO and APEC. The 19th-largest economy in the world,[17][18] its hightech industry plays a key role in the global economy. Taiwan is ranked highly in
terms of freedom of the press, health care,[19] public education, economic
freedom, and human developmen