wan,[II] 

officially the Republic of China (ROC),[I][h] is a country[22][23][24][25][26] in East Asia, at the junction of

the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of
China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands,[i] with a combined area of 36,193 square
kilometres (13,974 sq mi).[j][15][37] The main island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, has an area
of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds
and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. The
capital, Taipei, forms along with New Taipei City and Keelung the largest metropolitan area of
Taiwan. Other major cities include Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taoyuan. With 23.45 million
inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries in the world.
Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous
peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han
Chinese immigration to western Taiwan began under a Dutch colony and continued under
the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China,
and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in
1911, took control of Taiwan on behalf of the Allies of World War II following the surrender of
Japan in 1945. The resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the ROC's loss of mainland
China to forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and consequent retreat to Taiwan in 1949.
Its effective jurisdiction has since been limited to Taiwan and smaller islands.
In the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialisation called the
"Taiwan Miracle".[38] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-party military
dictatorship to a multi-party democracy with a semi-presidential system. Taiwan's export-oriented
industrial economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and 20th-largest by PPP
measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is
a developed country,[39][40] ranking 20th on GDP per capita. It is ranked highly in terms of civil
liberties[41] and healthcare,[42] and human development.[k][20]
The political status of Taiwan is contentious.[46] The ROC no longer represents China as a member of
the United Nations, after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead.[47] The ROC
maintained its claim of being the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory, although
this has been downplayed since its democratization in the 1990s. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC,
which refuses diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official
diplomatic relations with 13 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See,[47][48][49] though many
others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representative offices and institutions that function
as de facto embassies and consulates. International organisations in which the PRC participates
either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate only on a non-state basis under
various names. Domestically, the major political contention is between parties favouring
eventual Chinese unification and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with those aspiring to
formal international recognition and promoting a Taiwanese identity; into the 21st century, both sides
have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal.[50][51]

Contents

 1Name
 2History
o 2.1Early settlement (to 1683)
o 2.2Qing rule (1683–1895)
o 2.3Japanese rule (1895–1945)
o 2.4Republic of China (1945–1949)
 o 2.5Republic of China on Taiwan (1949–present)
 2.5.1Martial law era (1949–1987)
 2.5.2Post-martial law era (1987–present)
 3Geography
o 3.1Climate
o 3.2Geology
 4Political and legal status
o 4.1Relations with the PRC
o 4.2Foreign relations
o 4.3Participation in international events and organizations
o 4.4Domestic opinion
 5Government and politics
o 5.1Government
o 5.2Constitution
o 5.3Major camps
o 5.4National identity
o 5.5Administrative divisions
 6Military
 7Economy
o 7.1Economic history
o 7.2High-tech manufacturing
o 7.3International participation
 8Transport
 9Education
 10Demographics
o 10.1Largest cities and counties
o 10.2Ethnic groups
o 10.3Languages
o 10.4Religion
o 10.5LGBT rights
 11Public health
 12Culture
o 12.1Arts
o 12.2Cuisine
o 12.3Popular culture
o 12.4Sports
o 12.5Calendar
 13See also
 14Notes
o 14.1Words in native languages
 15References
o 15.1Citations
o 15.2Works cited
 16Further reading
 17External links
o 17.1Overviews and data
o 17.2Government agencies
Name
See also: Chinese Taipei, Names of China, and China and the United Nations
Various names for the island of Taiwan remain in use, each derived from explorers or rulers during a
particular historical period. The name Formosa (福爾摩沙) dates from 1542,
when Portuguese sailors sighted an uncharted island and noted it on their maps as Ilha
Formosa ("beautiful island").[52][53] The name Formosa eventually "replaced all others in European
literature"[attribution needed][54] and remained in common use among English speakers into the 20th century.[55]
In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company established a commercial post at Fort
Zeelandia (modern-day Anping, Tainan) on a coastal sandbar called "Tayouan",[56] after
their ethnonym for a nearby Taiwanese aboriginal tribe, possibly Taivoan people, written by the
Dutch and Portuguese variously as Taiouwang, Tayowan, Teijoan, etc.[57] This name was also
adopted into the Chinese vernacular (in particular, Hokkien, as Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-oân/Tâi-oân) as the
name of the sandbar and nearby area (Tainan). The modern word "Taiwan" is derived from this
usage, which is written in different transliterations (大員, 大圓, 大灣, 臺員, 臺圓 and 臺窩灣) in
Chinese historical records. The area occupied by modern-day Tainan was the first permanent
settlement by both European colonists and Chinese immigrants. The settlement grew to be the
island's most important trading centre and served as its capital until 1887.
Use of the current Chinese name (臺灣/台灣) became official as early as 1684 with the
establishment of Taiwan Prefecture which centred in modern-day Tainan. Through its rapid
development the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as "Taiwan".[58][59][60][61]
In his Daoyi Zhilüe (1349), Wang Dayuan used "Liuqiu" as a name for the island of Taiwan, or the
part of it closest to Penghu.[62] Elsewhere, the name was used for the Ryukyu Islands in general
or Okinawa, the largest of them; indeed the name Ryūkyū is the Japanese form of Liúqiú. The name
also appears in the Book of Sui (636) and other early works, but scholars cannot agree on whether
these references are to the Ryukyus, Taiwan or even Luzon.[63]
The official name of the country in English is the "Republic of China"; it has also been known under
various names throughout its existence. Shortly after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was
still located on the Chinese mainland, the government used the short form "China" (Zhōngguó (中
國)) to refer to itself, which derives from zhōng ("central" or "middle") and guó ("state, nation-state"),
[l]
 a term which also developed under the Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne,[m] and the
name was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern
Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state
during the Qing era.[65]
During the 1950s and 1960s, after the ROC government had withdrawn to Taiwan upon losing
the Chinese Civil War, it was commonly referred to as "Nationalist China" (or "Free China") to
differentiate it from "Communist China" (or "Red China").[67] It was a member of the United Nations
representing China until 1971, when the ROC lost its seat to the People's Republic of China. Over
subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly known as "Taiwan", after the
main island. In some contexts, including ROC government publications, the name is written as
"Republic of China (Taiwan)", "Republic of China/Taiwan", or sometimes "Taiwan (ROC)".[68][69][70]
The Republic of China participates in most international forums and organizations under the name
"Chinese Taipei" as a compromise with the People's Republic of China (PRC). For instance, it is the
name under which it has participated in the Olympic Games as well as the World Trade
Organization. In 2009, after reaching an agreement with Beijing, the ROC participated in the World
Health Organization for the first time in 38 years, under the name "Chinese Taipei".[71] "Taiwan
authorities" is sometimes used by the PRC to refer to the current government in Taiwan.[72]

History
Main articles: History of Taiwan and History of the Republic of China
See the History of China article for historical information in mainland China before 1949.

Early settlement (to 1683)

Main articles: Prehistory of Taiwan, Dutch Formosa, Spanish Formosa, Kingdom of Middag,
and Kingdom of Tungning

A young Tsou man

Taiwan was joined to the Asian mainland in the Late Pleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000
years ago.[73] Fragmentary human remains dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago have been found on
the island, as well as later artifacts of a Paleolithic culture.[74][75] These people were similar to
the negritos of the Philippines.[76]
Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan was settled by farmers, most likely from what is now southeast
China.[77] They are believed to be the ancestors of today's Taiwanese indigenous peoples, whose
languages belong to the Austronesian language family, but show much greater diversity than
the rest of the family, which spans a huge area from Maritime Southeast Asia west
to Madagascar and east as far as New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. This has led linguists to
propose Taiwan as the urheimat of the family, from which seafaring peoples dispersed across
Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[78][79]
Han Chinese fishermen began settling in the Penghu islands in the 13th century.[80] Hostile tribes,
and a lack of valuable trade products, meant that few outsiders visited the main island until the 16th
century.[80] During the 16th century, visits to the coast by fishermen and traders from Fujian, as well
as Chinese and Japanese pirates, became more frequent.[80]
The Dutch East India Company attempted to establish a trading outpost on the Penghu Islands
(Pescadores) in 1622, but was driven off by Ming forces.[81] In 1624, the company established a
stronghold called Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan, which is now part of the main island
at Anping, Tainan.[61] When the Dutch arrived, they found southwestern Taiwan already frequented
by a mostly-transient Chinese population numbering close to 1,500.[82] David Wright, a Scottish agent
of the company who lived on the island in the 1650s, described the lowland areas of the island as
being divided among 11 chiefdoms ranging in size from two settlements to 72. Some of these fell
under Dutch control, including the Kingdom of Middag in the central western plains, while others
remained independent.[61][83] The Company encouraged farmers to immigrate from Fujian and work
the lands under Dutch control.[84] By the 1660s, some 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese were living on the
island.[85]
Fort Zeelandia, the Governor's residence in Dutch Formosa

In 1626, the Spanish Empire landed on and occupied northern Taiwan as a trading base, first
at Keelung and in 1628 building Fort San Domingo at Tamsui.[86] This colony lasted 16 years until
1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces.[87] The Dutch then marched south, subduing
hundreds of villages in the western plains between their new possessions in the north and their base
at Tayouan.[87]
Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in Beijing in 1644, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) pledged
allegiance to the Yongli Emperor of Southern Ming and attacked the Qing dynasty along the
southeastern coast of China.[88] In 1661, under increasing Qing pressure, he moved his forces from
his base in Xiamen to Taiwan, expelling the Dutch in the following year. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and some analysts consider his regime to be loyal to the Ming, while others argue that he
acted as an independent ruler and his intentions were unclear.[89][90][91][92]
After being ousted from Taiwan, the Dutch allied with the new Qing dynasty in China against the
Zheng regime in Taiwan. Following some skirmishes the Dutch retook the northern fortress at
Keelung in 1664.[93] Zheng Jing sent troops to dislodge the Dutch, but they were unsuccessful. The
Dutch held out at Keelung until 1668, when aborigine resistance,[94] and the lack of progress in
retaking any other parts of the island persuaded the colonial authorities to abandon this final
stronghold and withdraw from Taiwan altogether.[95]

Qing rule (1683–1895)

Main article: Taiwan under Qing rule

Hunting deer, painted in 1746

In 1683, following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang, the Qing
dynasty formally annexed Taiwan, making it a prefecture of Fujian province while retaining its
administrative seat (now Tainan) under Koxinga as the capital.[96] The Qing imperial government tried
to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, issuing a series of edicts to manage immigration and
respect aboriginal land rights. Immigrants mostly from southern Fujian continued to enter Taiwan.
The border between taxpaying lands and what was considered "savage" lands shifted eastward, with
some aborigines becoming sinicized while others retreated into the mountains. During this time,
there were a number of conflicts between different ethnic groups of Han Chinese, Quanzhou
Minnanese feuding with Zhangzhou and Hakkas peasants, and major clan fights between Minnans
(Hoklos), Hakkas and aborigines too.
There were more than a hundred rebellions, riots, and instances of civil strife during the Qing's
administration, including the Lin Shuangwen rebellion (1786–1788). Their frequency was evoked by
the common saying "every three years an uprising, every five years a rebellion" (三年一反、五年一
亂), primarily in reference to the period between 1820 and 1850.[97][98][99] These conditions
notwithstanding, the production of sugar became profitable on the island and, together with rice,
provided surpluses for export to the mainland. Meanwhile, a rapidly increasing population settled the
western coastal areas.[100]
Northern Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were the scene of subsidiary campaigns in the Sino-
French War (August 1884 to April 1885). The French occupied Keelung on 1 October 1884, but
were repulsed from Tamsui a few days later. The French won some tactical victories but were
unable to exploit them, and the Keelung Campaign ended in stalemate. The Pescadores Campaign,
beginning on 31 March 1885, was a French victory, but had no long-term consequences. The
French evacuated both Keelung and the Penghu archipelago after the end of the war.
In 1887, the Qing upgraded the island's administration from being the Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian
Province to Fujian-Taiwan-Province, the twentieth in the empire, with its capital at Taipei. This was
accompanied by a modernization drive that included a telegraph line between Tainan and Taipei and
the building of China's first railway.[96][101]

Japanese rule (1895–1945)

Main article: Taiwan under Japanese rule

Japanese colonial soldiers march Taiwanese captured after the Tapani Incident in 1915 from the Tainan jail to
court.

Following Qing's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Taiwan, its associated islands,
and the Penghu archipelago were ceded to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, along
with other concessions.[102] Inhabitants on Taiwan and Penghu wishing to remain Qing subjects were
given a two-year grace period to sell their property and move to mainland China. Very few
Formosans saw this as feasible.[103] On 25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed
the Republic of Formosa to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at
Tainan and quelled this resistance on 21 October 1895.[104] Guerrilla fighting continued periodically
until about 1902 and ultimately took the lives of 14,000 Taiwanese, or 0.5 per cent of the population.
[105]
 Several subsequent rebellions against the Japanese (the Beipu uprising of 1907, the Tapani
incident of 1915, and the Musha incident of 1930) were all unsuccessful but demonstrated
opposition to Japanese colonial rule.
The colonial period was instrumental to the industrialization of the island, with its expansion of
railways and other transport networks, the building of an extensive sanitation system, the
establishment of a formal education system, and an end to the practice of headhunting.[106][107] During
this period, the human and natural resources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan.
The production of cash crops such as sugar greatly increased, especially since sugar cane was
salable only to a few Japanese sugar mills, and large areas were therefore diverted from the
production of rice, which the Formosans could market or consume themselves.[108] By 1939, Taiwan
was the seventh-greatest sugar producer in the world.[109]
Still, the Hans and the aborigines were classified as second- and third-class citizens. Many
prestigious government and business positions were closed to them, leaving few natives capable of
taking on leadership and management roles decades later when Japan relinquished the island.
[110]
 After suppressing Chinese guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japanese authorities
engaged in a series of bloody campaigns against the mountain aborigines, culminating in the Musha
Incident of 1930.[111] Intellectuals and labourers who participated in left-wing movements within
Taiwan were also arrested and massacred (e.g. Chiang Wei-shui and Masanosuke Watanabe).
[112]
 Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more
firmly to the Japanese Empire. People were taught to see themselves as Japanese under the
Kominka Movement, during which Taiwanese culture and religion were outlawed, and the citizens
were encouraged to adopt Japanese surnames.[113] By 1938, 309,000 Japanese settlers were
residing in Taiwan.[114]
Burdened by Japan's upcoming war effort, the island was developed into a naval and air base while
its agriculture, industry, and commerce suffered.[115][116] Initial air attacks and the subsequent invasion
of the Philippines were launched from Taiwan. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily from
Taiwanese ports, and its think tank "South Strike Group" was based at the Taihoku Imperial
University in Taipei. Military bases and industrial centres, such as Kaohsiung and Keelung, became
targets of heavy Allied bombings, which also destroyed many of the factories, dams, and transport
facilities built by the Japanese.[117][116] In October 1944, the Formosa Air Battle was fought between
American carriers and Japanese forces in Taiwan.
During the course of World War II, tens of thousands of Taiwanese served in the Japanese military.
[118]
 In 1944, Lee Teng-hui, who would become Taiwan's president later in life, volunteered for service
in the Imperial Japanese Army and became a second lieutenant.[119] His elder brother, Lee Teng-chin
(李登欽), also volunteered for the Imperial Japanese Navy and died in Manila.[120] In addition, over
2,000 women, euphemistically called "comfort women", were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial
Japanese troops.[121]
After Japan's surrender in WWII, most of Taiwan's approximately 300,000 Japanese residents
were expelled and sent to Japan.[122]

Republic of China (1945–1949)

Main article: Republic of China (1912–1949)

General Chen Yi (right) accepting the receipt of General Order No. 1 from Rikichi Andō (left), the last Japanese
Governor-General of Taiwan, in Taipei City Hall

While Taiwan was still under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was founded on the mainland on
1 January 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution, which began with the Wuchang uprising on 10
October 1911, replacing the Qing dynasty and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in
China.[123] From its founding until 1949 it was based in mainland China. Central authority waxed and
waned in response to warlordism (1915–28), Japanese invasion (1937–45), and the Chinese Civil
War (1927–50), with central authority strongest during the Nanjing decade (1927–37), when most of
China came under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT) under an authoritarian one-party state.[124]
In September 1945 following Japan's surrender in WWII, ROC forces, assisted by small American
teams, prepared an amphibious lift into Taiwan to accept the surrender of the Japanese military
forces there, under General Order No. 1, and take over the administration of Taiwan.[125][126] On 25
October, General Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese
forces on the island, signed the receipt and handed it over to ROC General Chen Yi to complete the
official turnover. Chen proclaimed that day to be "Taiwan Retrocession Day", but the Allies, having
entrusted Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Chinese administration and military occupation,
nonetheless considered them to be under Japanese sovereignty until 1952 when the Treaty of San
Francisco took effect.[127][128] In the 1943 Cairo Declaration, US, UK, and ROC representatives
specified territories such as Formosa and the Pescadores to be restored by Japan to the Republic of
China.[129][130] Its terms were later referred to in the 1945 Potsdam Declaration,[131] whose provisions
Japan agreed to carry out in its instrument of surrender.[132][133] Due to disagreements over which
government (PRC or ROC) to invite, China did not attend the eventual signing of the Treaty of San
Francisco, whereby Japan renounced all titles and claims to Formosa and the Pescadores without
specifying to whom they were surrendered.[134] In 1952, Japan and the ROC signed the Treaty of
Taipei, recognizing that all treaties concluded before 9 December 1941 between China and Japan
have become null and void.[135] Interpretations of these documents and their legal implications give
rise to the debate over the sovereignty status of Taiwan.
While initially enthusiastic about the return of Chinese administration and the Three Principles of the
People, Formosans grew increasingly dissatisfied about being excluded from higher positions, the
postponement of local elections even after the enactment of a constitution on the mainland, the
smuggling of valuables off the island, the expropriation of businesses into government operated
monopolies, and the hyperinflation of 1945–1949.[136][137][138][139] The shooting of a civilian on 28 February
1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed by Chen with military force in what is now
called the February 28 Incident.[140][141] Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000
to 30,000. Many native leaders were killed, as well as students and some mainlanders.[142][143][144] Chen
was later relieved and replaced by Wei Tao-ming, who made an effort to undo previous
mismanagement by re-appointing a good proportion of islanders and re-privatizing businesses.[145]

The Nationalists' retreat to Taipei

After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed between the Chinese Nationalists
(Kuomintang), led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led
by CCP Chairman Mao Zedong. Throughout the months of 1949, a series of Chinese Communist
offensives led to the capture of its capital Nanjing on 23 April and the subsequent defeat of the
Nationalist army on the mainland, and the Communists founded the People's Republic of China on 1
October.[146]
On 7 December 1949, after the loss of four capitals, Chiang evacuated his Nationalist government to
Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC (also called the "wartime capital" by
Chiang Kai-shek).[147] Some 2 million people, consisting mainly of soldiers, members of the ruling
Kuomintang and intellectual and business elites, were evacuated from mainland China to Taiwan at
that time, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million. These people came to be
known in Taiwan as "waisheng ren" (外省人), residents who came to the island in the 1940s and 50s
after Japan's surrender, as well as their descendants. In addition, the ROC government took to
Taipei many national treasures and much of China's gold and foreign currency reserves.[148][149][150]
After losing control of mainland China in 1949, the ROC retained control of Taiwan and Penghu
(Taiwan, ROC), parts of Fujian (Fujian, ROC)—specifically Kinmen, Wuqiu (now part of Kinmen) and
the Matsu Islands and two major islands in the South China Sea (within the Dongsha/Pratas
and Nansha/Spratly island groups). These territories have remained under ROC governance until
the present day. The ROC also briefly retained control of the entirety of Hainan (an island province),
parts of Zhejiang (Chekiang)—specifically the Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands—and
portions of Tibet, Qinghai, Sinkiang and Yunnan. The Communists captured Hainan in 1950,
captured the Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955
and defeated the ROC revolts in Northwest China in 1958. ROC forces in Yunnan province entered
Burma and Thailand in the 1950s and were defeated by Communists in 1961. Ever since losing
control of mainland China, the Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over 'all of China', which it
defined to include mainland China (including Tibet), Taiwan (including Penghu), Outer Mongolia,
and other minor territories.

Republic of China on Taiwan (1949–present)

Main articles: History of the Republic of China and History of Taiwan (1945–present)
Martial law era (1949–1987)
See also: Martial law in Taiwan and Taiwan Miracle

Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang from 1925 until his death in 1975

Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949,[151] continued to be in effect after the central
government relocated to Taiwan. It was also used as a way to suppress the political opposition and
was not repealed until 38 years later in 1987.[151][152] During the White Terror, as the period is known,
140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist.
[153]
 Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for their real or perceived link to
the Chinese Communist Party. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite,
an entire generation of political and social leaders was decimated. In 1998, a law was passed to
create the "Compensation Foundation for Improper Verdicts" which oversaw compensation to White
Terror victims and families. President Ma Ying-jeou made an official apology in 2008, expressing
hope that there would never be a tragedy similar to White Terror.[154]
Due to the eruption of Korean war, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S.
Truman decided to intervene again and dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan
Strait to prevent hostilities between Taiwan and mainland China.[155]Continuing fierce combat
between both sides of the Chinese Civil War through the 1950s, and intervention by the United
States notably resulted in legislation such as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and
the Formosa Resolution of 1955. By virtue of aforementioned pacts, the KMT regime received
substantial foreign aid from the US between 1951 and 1965.[156] In the Treaty of San Francisco and
the Treaty of Taipei, which came into force respectively on 28 April 1952 and 5 August 1952, Japan
formally renounced all right, claim and title to Taiwan and Penghu, and renounced all treaties signed
with China before 1942. Neither treaty specified to whom sovereignty over the islands should be
transferred, because the United States and the United Kingdom disagreed on whether the ROC or
the PRC was the legitimate government of China.[157]