Taiwan

"Republic of China" redirects here. For the People's Republic of China, see China. For other uses, see Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (disambiguation), and Taiwan (disambiguation).

Republic of China
Anthem: 
中華民國國歌
Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guógē
"National Anthem of the Republic of China"
Flag anthem: 
中華民國國旗歌
Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guóqígē
"National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China"
CapitalTaipei[a][2]
25°04′N 121°31′E / 25.067°N 121.517°E / 25.067; 121.517
Largest cityNew Taipei City
Official languagesStandard Chinese[b][5][6][7]
Official scriptTraditional Chinese[8]
National languages[c]
Ethnic groups
(2016)[12]
Religion
(2020)[13]
Demonym(s)Taiwanese[14]
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic[15][16]
• President
Lai Ching-te
Hsiao Bi-khim
Cho Jung-tai
Han Kuo-yu
Shieh Ming-yan
LegislatureLegislative Yuan[g]
Establishment
• Proclamation of the Republic of China
1 January 1912
25 October 1945
7 December 1949
Area
• Total
36,197 km2 (13,976 sq mi)[17][14]
Population
• 1 July 2022 estimate
Neutral increase 23,894,394[18] (56th)
• 2010 census
23,123,866[19]
• Density
650/km2 (1,683.5/sq mi) (17th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $1.685 trillion [20] (20th)
• Per capita
Increase $72,485[20] (15th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $751.930 billion[20] (21st)
• Per capita
Decrease $32,339[20] (30th)
Gini (2022)Negative increase 34.2[21]
medium inequality
HDI (2021)Increase 0.926[h][22]
very high (19th)
CurrencyNew Taiwan dollar (NT$) (TWD)
Time zoneUTC+8 (National Standard Time)
ISO 3166 codeTW
Internet TLD.tw, .台灣, .台湾[23]

Taiwan,[II][i] officially the Republic of China (ROC),[I][j] is a country[27] in East Asia.[m] The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between 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. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands[n] in total covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles).[17][39] The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

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 began under a Dutch colony and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history. 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 1912 under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, took control following the surrender of Japan in 1945. The immediate resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the loss of the Chinese mainland to Communist forces, who established the People's Republic of China and the flight of the ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effective jurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan, Penghu, and smaller islands.

The early 1960s saw rapid economic growth and industrialization called the "Taiwan Miracle".[40] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-party state under martial law to a multi-party democracy, with democratically elected presidents beginning in 1996. Taiwan's export-oriented economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 20th-largest by PPP measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is a developed country.[41][42] It is ranked highly in terms of civil liberties,[43] healthcare,[44] and human development.[h][22]

The political status of Taiwan is contentious.[49] Despite being a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member of the United Nations after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead.[50] The ROC maintained its claim of being the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased to regard the Chinese Communist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its control over mainland China.[51] Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with 11 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See.[52] Many others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. International organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis. Domestically, the major political contention is between parties favoring eventual Chinese unification and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with those aspiring to formal international recognition and promoting a Taiwanese identity; in the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal.[53][54]


Cite error: There are <ref group=upper-roman> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=upper-roman}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Since the implementation of the Act Governing Principles for Editing Geographical Educational Texts (地理敎科書編審原則) in 1997, the guiding principle for all maps in geographical textbooks was that Taipei was to be marked as the capital with a label stating: "Location of the Central Government"". 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Interior minister reaffirms Taipei is ROC's capital". Taipei Times. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  3. ^ "推動雙語國家政策問題研析". ly.gov.tw (in Chinese). 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. ^ "法律統一用語表-常見公文用語說明" (PDF) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Chapter 2: People and Language". The Republic of China Yearbook 2012. Government Information Office. 2012. p. 24. ISBN 978-986-03-4590-2. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  6. ^ Government Information Office (2010). "Chapter 2: People and Language" (PDF). The Republic of China Yearbook 2010. 中華民國政府出版品. p. 42. ISBN 978-986-02-5278-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2011.
  7. ^ Liao, Silvie (2008). "A Perceptual Dialect Study of Taiwan Mandarin: Language Attitudes in the Era of Political Battle". In Chan, Marjorie K. M.; Kang, Hana (eds.). Proceedings of the 20th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL-20) (PDF). Vol. 1. The Ohio State University. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-9824715-0-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013.
  8. ^ "行政院第3251次院會決議". ey.gov.tw (in Chinese). December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  9. ^ 國家語言發展法. law.moj.gov.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Hakka Basic Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Indigenous Languages Development Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. ^ The Republic of China Yearbook 2016. Executive Yuan, R.O.C. 2016. p. 10. ISBN 978-986-04-9949-0. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020. Ethnicity: 70 percent Hoklo; 15 percent Hakka 10–15 percent mainlanders; 2 percent indigenous Austronesian peoples
  13. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019.
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cia-factbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Kucera, Ondrej (1 July 2006). "Is Taiwan a Presidential System?". China Perspectives (in French). 2006 (4). doi:10.4000/chinaperspectives.1036. ISSN 1996-4617. S2CID 152497908. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Taiwan - Chiang Kai-shek's Government, Democratization, and Constitutional Reforms". Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b "TAIWAN SNAPSHOT". Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Population of Taiwan as of July 2022". Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  19. ^ "General Statistical analysis report, Population and Housing Census" (PDF). National Statistics, ROC (Taiwan). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Taiwan)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  21. ^ "Table 4. Percentage Share of Disposable Income by Quintile Group of Households and Income Inequality Indices". Statistical Bureau. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  22. ^ a b c "國情統計通報（第 195 號）" (PDF). Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan (ROC). 14 October 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  23. ^ "ICANN Board Meeting Minutes". ICANN. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  24. ^ "Laws and Regulations Regarding Mainland Affairs". mac.gov.tw. Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan. 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021. Article 2: The following terms as used in this Act are defined below.
    1. "Taiwan Area" refers to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and any other area under the effective control of the Government.
  25. ^ "Taiwan Relations Act". ait.org.tw. American Institute in Taiwan. 30 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022. ...Section. 15. For purposes of this Act- 2. the term "Taiwan" includes, as the context may require, the islands of Taiwan and the Pescadores (Penghu).
  26. ^ "Geography". Penghu County Government. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022. Penghu locates on the Taiwan Strait between China and Taiwan in Asia. It is the only island county of Taiwan... The utmost west isle (of Penghu) is also the utmost west boundary of Taiwan.
  27. ^ Multiple sources:
  28. ^ Bellwood, Peter S. (2017). First islanders: prehistory and human migration in Island Southeast Asia (First ed.). Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119251552.
  29. ^ "國情簡介-土地" [Country profile-Territories] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Executive Yuan. 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. 臺灣本島及其21個附屬島嶼面積共3萬5886.8623平方公里。 [The main island of Taiwan and its 21 associated islands have a total area of 35,886.8623 square kilometers.]
  30. ^ "Measure of the area". Penghu County Government. 2022. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  31. ^ "澎湖縣各行政區域島嶼簡介" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Kun Shan University. 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. 澎湖群島原為64個島嶼組成，經2005年澎湖縣政府重新進行澎湖群島島嶼數量清查，係由90座大小島嶼所組成。 [The Penghu Archipelago was conventionally considered to comprise 64 islands. In 2005, the Penghu County Government re-scrutinized the total number of islands in the archipelago, which consists of 90 islands of varying sizes.]
  32. ^ "自然環境" [Natural Environment] (PDF). 金門縣第四期（104–107年）離島綜合建設實施方案 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). National Development Council, Executive Yuan: 44. 23 December 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022. 金門縣總面積151平方公里，除大金門本島外，尚包括小金門、大膽、二膽、東碇、北碇等17個島嶼。西距廈門外港約10海浬，東距臺灣約150海浬，為一典型大陸型島嶼。 [The total area of Kinmen County is 151 square kilometers. In addition to the main island of Kinmen, the county also includes Xiaokinmen, Dadan, Erdan, Dongding and Beiding for a total of 17 islands. It is about 10 nautical miles away from the Port of Xiamen to the west and 150 nautical miles away from Taiwan to the east. It is a typical continental island.]
  33. ^ "About Kinmen". Kinmen County Government. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022.
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  35. ^ Guy Plopsky (22 February 2017). "Taiwan's Cold War Fortresses". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  36. ^ "連江縣志 地理志" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 馬祖資訊網. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022. 馬祖列島所涵括的36座島嶼分屬四鄉，各鄉除了包括有聚落發展的較大島嶼外，還轄有數座無人島礁。 [Matsu islands encompass 36 Islands which are divided into four townships. In addition to the larger islands with inhabitants, each township also has numerous uninhabited islands and reefs]
  37. ^ Lung Tsun-Ni (龍村倪) (1998). 東沙群島-東沙島紀事集錦 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 臺灣綜合研究院. p. 13. ISBN 957-98189-0-8. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. 東沙島為東沙群島唯一島嶼 [Pratas Island is the only island in the Pratas Islands]
  38. ^ "Limits in the Seas – No. 127 Taiwan's Maritime Claims" (PDF). United States Department of State. 15 November 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2020. The Pratas Reef lies 230 miles to the southwest of the southern tip of Taiwan. It consists of an island in the mouth of a semicircular shoal open to the west.
  39. ^ Economic Development R.O.C (Taiwan) (Report). National Development Council (Taiwan). p. 4. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  40. ^ Gold (1985).
  41. ^ World Bank Country and Lending Groups Archived 11 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, World Bank. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
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  43. ^ Keoni Everington (1 March 2024). "Taiwan rated 2nd freest in Asia by Freedom House, 7th in world". Taiwan News. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  44. ^ Yao, Grace; Cheng, Yen-Pi; Cheng, Chiao-Pi (5 November 2008). "The Quality of Life in Taiwan". Social Indicators Research. 92 (2): 377–404. doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9353-1. S2CID 144780750. a second place ranking in the 2000 Economist's world healthcare ranking
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  49. ^ Horton, Chris (9 November 2021). "The World Is Fed Up With China's Belligerence". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021.
  50. ^ Wood, Richard (27 November 2021). "What is behind the China-Taiwan dispute?". Nine News. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. Experts agree a direct conflict is unlikely, but as the future of self-ruled Taiwan increasingly becomes a powder keg, a mishap or miscalculation could lead to confrontation while Chinese and American ambitions are at odds.
  51. ^ Han Cheung (25 April 2021). "Taiwan in Time: The 'communist rebellion' finally ends". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. ...Most importantly, with the repeal of the temporary provisions, the Chinese Communist Party would no longer be seen as a rebel group. "From now on, we will see the Chinese Communist Party as a political entity that controls the mainland region and we will call them the 'mainland authorities' or the 'Chinese Communist authorities'," President Lee said during the press conference
  52. ^ "Nauru switches diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China". ABC News. Associated Press. 15 January 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  53. ^ Fell, Dafydd (2006). Party Politics in Taiwan. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-134-24021-0.
  54. ^ Achen, Christopher H.; Wang, T. Y. (2017). "The Taiwan Voter: An Introduction". In Achen, Christopher H.; Wang, T. Y. (eds.). The Taiwan Voter. University of Michigan Press. pp. 1–25. doi:10.3998/mpub.9375036. ISBN 978-0-472-07353-5. pp. 1–2.


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