Taiwan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Republic of China
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|
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Anthem:
《中華民國國歌》
National Anthem of the Republic of China
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| Capital |
Taipei[2]
 25°02′N 121°38′E |
| Largest city |
New Taipei |
| Official languages |
Standard Chinese[3] |
| Recognised regional languages |
|
| Official scripts |
Traditional Chinese |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Demonym |
Taiwanese[6][7][8]
and / or Chinese[d] |
| Government |
Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic |
| - |
President |
Ma Ying-jeou |
| - |
Vice-President |
Wu Den-yih |
| - |
Premier |
Jiang Yi-huah |
| - |
President of the Legislative Yuan |
Wang Jin-pyng |
| - |
President of the Judicial Yuan |
Rai Hau-min |
| - |
President of the Examination Yuan |
John Kuan |
| - |
President of the Control Yuan |
Chang Po-ya |
| Legislature |
Legislative Yuan |
| Establishment Xinhai Revolution |
| - |
Wuchang Uprising |
10 October 1911 |
| - |
Republic established |
1 January 1912 |
| - |
Current constitution |
25 December 1947 |
| - |
The ROC government retreated to Taipei due to Chinese Civil War. |
1 October 1949/December 10, 1949 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
36,193[9] km2 (136th)
13,974 sq mi |
| Population |
| - |
December 2013 estimate |
23,373,517
Male population: 11,684,674
Female population: 11,688,843[9] (52nd) |
| - |
Density |
644/km2 (17th)
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 |
$22,002[10] (39th) |
| Gini (2010) |
34.2[11]
medium |
| HDI (2012) |
 0.890[e][12]
very high · 23rd |
| Currency |
New Taiwan dollar (NT$) (TWD) |
| Time zone |
National Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
not observed (UTC+8) |
| Date format |
|
| Drives on the |
right |
| Calling code |
+886 |
| ISO 3166 code |
TW |
| Internet TLD |
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Taiwan (
i// Chinese:
臺灣 or 台灣;
pinyin:
Táiwān; see
below), officially the
Republic of China (
ROC;
Chinese:
中華民國;
pinyin:
Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a
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 as
Penghu,
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
Dutch and
Spanish settlement during the
Age of Discovery in the 17th century, when
Han Chinese people began immigrating to the island. In 1662, the pro-
Ming loyalist
Koxinga expelled the Dutch and established the first Han Chinese polity to rule on the island, the
Kingdom of Tungning. The
Qing Dynasty of China later conquered Taiwan in 1683. 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. At the end of World War II in 1945, Japan
surrendered Taiwan to ROC military forces on behalf of the
Allies.
Following the
Chinese civil war, the
Communist Party of China took full control of
mainland 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. Only
21 UN member states and the
Holy See currently maintain official
diplomatic relations with the ROC, though it has unofficial ties with most other states via its
representative offices.
Constitutionally, the ROC government has claimed sovereignty over all
of "China," in a definition that includes mainland China and
Outer Mongolia,
[14] but 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
high-tech 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 development.
[e][12][20]
Names
There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today,
derived from explorers or rulers by each particular period. The former
name
Formosa (
福爾摩沙) dates from 1544, when
Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it
Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island."
[21] In the early 17th century, the
Dutch East India Company established a commercial post at
Fort Zeelandia (modern
Anping, Tainan) on a coastal islet called "Tayouan" in the local
Siraya language; the name was later extended to the whole island as "Taiwan."
[22]
Historically, "Taiwan" has also been written as
大員, 大灣, 臺員, 臺圓, 大圓 and
臺窩灣.
The official name of the
state
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 Asian mainland, the government used
the abbreviation "China" (
Zhōngguó) to refer to itself. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was common to refer to it as "Nationalist China" (or "
Free China") to differentiate it from "Communist China" (or "
Red China").
[23] It was a member of the UN representing "China" until 1971, when it
lost its seat
to the People's Republic of China. Since then, the name "China" has
been commonly used internationally to refer only to the People's
Republic of China.
[24]
Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly
known as "Taiwan," after the island that composes most of its controlled
territory. The Republic of China participates in most international
forums and organizations under the name "
Chinese Taipei" due to diplomatic pressure from the PRC. For instance, it is the name under which it has
competed at the Olympic Games since 1984, and its name as an observer at the
World Health Organization.
[25]
History
Prehistoric Taiwan
Taiwan was joined to the Asian mainland in the
Late Pleistocene, until
sea levels
rose about 10,000 years ago. Fragmentary human remains have been found
on the island, dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, as well as later
artifacts of a Paleolithic culture.
[26][27][28]
More than 8,000 years ago, Austronesians first settled on Taiwan.
[29][30] The languages of their descendants, who are known as the
Taiwanese aborigines nowadays, belong to the
Austronesian language family, which also includes the
Malayo-Polynesian languages spanning a huge area, including the entire
Maritime Southeast Asia (i.e.,
Tagalog of
The Philippines,
Malay and
Indonesian of
Malaysia and
Indonesia, or the
Javanese of
Java), the
Pacific and
Indian Ocean: westernmost to the
Malagasies of
Madagascar and easternmost to the
Rapa Nui people of
Easter Island.
The aboriginal languages on Taiwan show much greater diversity than the
rest of Austronesian put together, leading linguists to propose Taiwan
as the
Urheimat of the family, from which seafaring peoples dispersed across Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
[31][32][33]
Han Chinese began settling in the
Penghu
islands in the 13th century, but Taiwan's hostile tribes and its lack
of trade resources valued in that era rendered it unattractive to all
but "occasional adventurers or fishermen engaging in barter" until the
16th century.
[34]
Opening in the 17th century
The
Dutch East India Company
attempted to establish a trading outpost on the Penghu Islands
(Pescadores) in 1622, but were driven off by the Ming authorities.
[35] 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.
[22]
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, while others remained independent.
[22][36] The Company began to import laborers from
Fujian and
Penghu (Pescadores), many of whom settled.
[35]
In 1626, the Spanish landed on and occupied northern Taiwan, at the ports of
Keelung and
Tamsui,
as a base to extend their trading. This colonial period lasted 16 years
until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces.
Following the fall of the
Ming Dynasty,
Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), a self-styled Ming loyalist, arrived on the island and captured Fort Zeelandia in 1662, expelling the
Dutch government and military from the island. Koxinga established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683), with his capital at
Tainan. He and his heirs,
Zheng Jing, who ruled from 1662 to 1682, and
Zheng Keshuang, who ruled less than a year, continued to launch raids on the southeast coast of mainland China well into the
Qing Dynasty.
[35]
Qing rule
Hunting deer, painted in 1746
In 1683, following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral
Shi Lang of southern Fujian, the
Qing
formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian
province. 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
"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 groups of
Chinese from different regions of southern Fujian, and between southern Fujian Chinese and aborigines.
[21]
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 1885, the Qing redesignated
Taiwan Prefecture of
Fujian as
Taiwan Province, the twentieth in the empire, with its capital at
Taipei.
[21] This was accompanied by a modernization drive that included building Taiwan's first railroad and starting a postal service.
[37]
Japanese rule
The Qing Dynasty was defeated in the
First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Taiwan and Penghu were
ceded in full sovereignty to the
Empire of Japan.
Inhabitants wishing to remain Qing subjects were given a two-year grace
period to sell their property and move to mainland China. Very few
Taiwanese saw this as feasible.
[38] 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.
[39]
Japanese rule was instrumental in the industrialization of the
island, extending the railroads and other transportation networks,
building an extensive sanitation system, and establishing a formal
education system.
[40] Japanese rule ended the practice of
headhunting.
[41]
During this period, both rice and sugarcane production greatly
increased. By 1939, Taiwan was the seventh greatest sugar producer in
the world.
[42]
Still, the Taiwanese and aborigines were classified as second- and
third-class citizens. After suppressing Chinese guerrillas in the first
decade of their rule, Japanese authorities engaged in a series of bloody
campaigns against the mountain aboriginals, culminating in the
Wushe Incident of 1930.
[43]
Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide
assimilation project
to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire and people were
taught to see themselves as Japanese under the Kominka Movement, during
which time Taiwanese culture and religion were outlawed and the citizens
were encouraged to adopt Japanese surnames.
[44] During World War II, tens of thousands of Taiwanese served in the Japanese military.
[45] For example, former ROC President
Lee Teng-hui's elder brother served in the Japanese navy and died while on duty in the Philippines in February 1945. The
Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily out of Taiwanese ports. The "
South Strike Group" was based at the
Taihoku Imperial University in Taipei. Many of the Japanese forces participating in the
Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa
were based in Taiwan. Important Japanese military bases and industrial
centers throughout Taiwan, like Kaohsiung, were targets of heavy
American bombing.
[46]
Also during this time, over 2,000 women were forced into sexual slavery
for Imperial Japanese troops, now euphemistically called "
comfort women."
[47]
In 1938 there were 309,000
Japanese settlers in Taiwan.
[48] After World War II, most of the Japanese were
repatriated to Japan.
[citation needed]
After World War II
On 25 October 1945, the
US Navy ferried ROC troops to Taiwan in order to accept the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in
Taipei (then part of
Taihoku Prefecture), as part of
General Order No. 1 for temporary military occupation. General
Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed the
instrument of surrender and handed it over to General
Chen Yi of the ROC military to complete the official turnover. Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "
Taiwan Retrocession Day", but the
Allies considered Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to be under
military occupation and still under Japanese sovereignty until 1952, when the
Treaty of San Francisco took effect.
[50][51]
The ROC administration of Taiwan under
Chen Yi
was strained by increasing tensions between Taiwan-born people and
newly arrived mainlanders, which were compounded by economic woes, such
as
hyperinflation.
Furthermore, cultural and linguistic conflicts between the two groups
quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new government.
[52]
The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide
unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called
the
228 Incident. Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000, mainly Taiwanese elites.
[53][54]
Chinese Nationalist one-party rule
After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed between the Chinese Nationalists (
Kuomintang), led by
Chiang Kai-shek, and the
Chinese Communist Party, led by
Mao Zedong. By 1949, a series of Chinese Communist offensives led to the defeat of the Nationalist army, and the Communists founded the
People's Republic of China on 1 October.
[55]
In December 1949, Chiang evacuated his government to Taiwan and made Taipei the
temporary capital of the ROC (also called the "wartime capital" by Chiang Kai-shek).
[56]
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. In addition, the ROC government
took to Taipei many national treasures and much of China's
gold reserves and foreign currency reserves.
[57][58][59]
From this point onwards, the Kuomintang was reduced to control of Taiwan,
Kinmen,
Matsu Islands, and two major islands of
Dongsha Islands and
Nansha Islands. The Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over all "China", which it defined to include
mainland China, Taiwan,
Outer Mongolia and
other areas.
On mainland China, the victorious Communists claimed they ruled the
sole and only China (which they claimed included Taiwan) and that the
Republic of China no longer existed.
[60]
Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949,
[61] continued to be in effect after the central government relocated to Taiwan. It was not repealed until 1987,
[61] and was used as a way to suppress the political opposition in the intervening years.
[62] 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.
[63]
Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for
their real or perceived link to the Communists. Since these people were
mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of
political and social leaders was decimated. It was not until 2008 that a
public apology was made for those actions. No form of restitution or
compensation has been made as of 2010.
[64]
Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that
Taiwan would fall to the Communists. However, in 1950 the conflict
between
North Korea and
South Korea,
which had been ongoing since the Japanese withdrawal in 1945, escalated
into full-blown war, and in the context of the Cold War, US President
Harry S. Truman intervened again and
dispatched the 7th Fleet into the
Taiwan Straits to prevent hostilities between Taiwan and mainland China.
[65] 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.
[66]
Continuing conflict 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.
As the Chinese Civil War continued without truce, the government
built up military fortifications throughout Taiwan. Within this effort,
KMT veterans built the now famous
Central Cross-Island Highway through the
Taroko Gorge
in the 1950s. The two sides would continue to engage in sporadic
military clashes with seldom publicized details well into the 1960s on
the China coastal islands with an unknown number of
night raids. During the
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in September 1958, Taiwan's landscape saw
Nike-Hercules missile
batteries added, with the formation of the 1st Missile Battalion
Chinese Army that would not be deactivated until 1997. Newer generations
of missile batteries have since replaced the Nike Hercules systems
throughout the island.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian,
single-party government while its economy became industrialized and
technology oriented. This rapid economic growth, known as the
Taiwan Miracle,
was the result of a fiscal regime independent from mainland China and
backed up, among others, by the support of US funds and demand for
Taiwanese products.
[67][68] In the 1970s, Taiwan was economically the second fastest growing state in Asia after Japan.
[69] Taiwan, along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, became known as one of the
Four Asian Tigers.
Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations
regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the
1970s. Later, especially after the termination of the Sino-American
Mutual Defense Treaty, most nations switched
diplomatic recognition to the PRC (see
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758).
Up until the 1970s, the government was regarded by Western critics as
undemocratic for upholding martial law, for severely repressing any
political opposition and for controlling media. The KMT did not allow
the creation of new parties and those that existed did not seriously
compete with the KMT. Thus, competitive democratic elections did not
exist.
[70][71][72][73][74]
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, however, Taiwan went through reforms
and social changes that transformed it from an authoritarian state to a
democracy. In 1979, a pro-democracy protest known as the
Kaohsiung Incident took place in
Kaohsiung to celebrate
Human Rights Day.
Although the protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, it is
today considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition.
[75]
Democratization
Chiang Ching-kuo,
Chiang Kai-shek's
son and successor as the president, began to liberalize the political
system in the mid-1980s. In 1984, the younger Chiang selected
Lee Teng-hui, a Taiwanese-born, U.S.-educated technocrat, to be his vice president. In 1986, the
Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) was formed and inaugurated as the first opposition party in the
ROC to counter the KMT. A year later Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law
on the main island of Taiwan (martial law was lifted on Penghu in 1979,
Matsu island in 1992 and Kinmen island in 1993). With the advent of
democratization, the issue of the
political status of Taiwan
gradually resurfaced as a controversial issue where, previously, the
discussion of anything other than unification under the ROC was
taboo.
After the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in January 1988, Lee Teng-hui
succeeded him as president. Lee continued to democratize the government
and decrease the concentration of government authority in the hands of
mainland Chinese. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of
localization
in which Taiwanese culture and history were promoted over a pan-China
viewpoint in contrast to earlier KMT policies which had promoted a
Chinese identity. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the
Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and streamlining
the
Taiwan Provincial Government with most of its functions transferred to the
Executive Yuan. Under Lee, the original members of the
Legislative Yuan and
National Assembly,
elected in 1947 to represent mainland Chinese constituencies and having
held the seats without re-election for more than four decades, were
forced to resign in 1991. The previously nominal representation in the
Legislative Yuan was brought to an end, reflecting the reality that the
ROC had no jurisdiction over mainland China, and vice versa.
Restrictions on the use of
Taiwanese Hokkien in the broadcast media and in schools were also lifted.
[citation needed]
Democratic reforms continued in the 1990s, with Lee Teng-hui
re-elected in 1996, in the first direct presidential election in the
history of the ROC.
[76]
During the later years of Lee's administration, he was involved in
corruption controversies relating to government release of land and
weapons purchase, although no legal proceedings commenced. In 2000,
Chen Shui-bian of the
Democratic Progressive Party
was elected as the first non-Kuomintang (KMT) President and was
re-elected to serve his second and last term since 2004. Polarized
politics has emerged in Taiwan with the formation of the
Pan-Blue Coalition of parties led by the KMT, favoring eventual
Chinese reunification, and the
Pan-Green Coalition of parties led by the DPP, favoring an eventual and official declaration of
Taiwanese independence.
On 30 September 2007, the ruling DPP approved a
resolution asserting a separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new
constitution
for a "normal country". It also called for general use of "Taiwan" as
the country's name, without abolishing its formal name, the Republic of
China.
[77]
The Chen administration also pushed for referendums on national defense
and UN entry in the 2004 and 2008 elections, which failed due to voter
turnout below the required legal threshold of 50% of all registered
voters.
[78]
The Chen administration was dogged by public concerns over reduced
economic growth, legislative gridlock due to a pan-blue,
opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan and corruption involving the
First Family as well as government officials.
[79][80]
The KMT increased its majority in the Legislative Yuan in the
January 2008 legislative elections, while its nominee
Ma Ying-jeou went on to
win the presidency
in March of the same year, campaigning on a platform of increased
economic growth and better ties with the PRC under a policy of "
mutual nondenial".
[78] Ma took office on 20 May 2008, the same day that President Chen Shui-bian stepped down and was notified by prosecutors of
possible corruption charges.
Part of the rationale for campaigning for closer economic ties with the
PRC stems from the strong economic growth China attained since joining
the
World Trade Organization.
However, some analysts say that despite the election of Ma Ying-jeou,
the diplomatic and military tensions with the PRC have not been reduced.
[81]
(video) Looking down at
Taoyuan from the air.
Geography
Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east, with gently sloping plains in the west. The
Penghu Islands are west of the main island.
The total area of the
current jurisdiction of the Republic of China is 36,193 km
2 (13,974 sq mi),
[9] making it slightly smaller than the combined area of
Maryland and
Delaware.
The island of Taiwan lies some 180 kilometres (110 mi) off the southeastern coast of mainland China, which lies across the
Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,883 km
2 (13,855 sq mi).
[9] The
East China Sea lies to the north, the
Philippine Sea to the east, the
Bashi Channel of the
Luzon Strait directly to the south, and the
South China Sea to the southwest.
[82] All are
arms of the
Pacific Ocean. The shape of the main island of Taiwan is similar to a
sweet potato seen in a south-to-north direction, and therefore, Taiwanese (especially
Min Nan speakers) often call themselves "children of the Sweet Potato."
[83]
The island is characterized by the contrast between the eastern
two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges
from the northern to the southern tip of the island, and the flat to
gently rolling
Chianan Plains in the west that are also home to most of Taiwan's population. Taiwan's highest point is
Yu Shan (Jade Mountain) at 3,952 metres (12,966 ft), and there are five other peaks over 3,500 m (11,500 ft).
[82] This makes it the world's
fourth-highest island.
[84]
Climate
Taiwan lies on the
Tropic of Cancer, and its
climate is marine
tropical.
[85] The northern part of the island has a rainy season that lasts from January through late March during the northeast
monsoon, and experiences
meiyu in May.
[86]
The entire island experiences hot, humid weather from June through
September. The middle and southern parts of the island do not have an
extended monsoon season during the winter months.
Typhoons are common between July and October.
[82][87]
The
Penghu Islands, 50 km (31.1 mi) west of the main island, have an area of 126.9 km
2 (49.0 sq mi). More distant islands controlled by the Republic of China are the
Kinmen,
Wuchiu and
Matsu Islands off the coast of
Fujian, with a total area of 180.5 km
2 (69.7 sq mi), and the
Pratas Islands and
Taiping Island in the South China Sea, with a total area of 2.9 km
2 (1.1 sq mi) and no permanent inhabitants.
[9]
Geology
The island of Taiwan lies in a complex
tectonic area between the
Yangtze Plate to the west and north, the
Okinawa Plate on the north-east, and the
Philippine Mobile Belt on the east and south. The upper part of the crust on the island is primarily made up of a series of
terranes, mostly old
island arcs which have been forced together by the collision of the forerunners of the
Eurasian Plate and the
Philippine Sea Plate. These have been further uplifted as a result of the detachment of a portion of the Eurasian Plate as it was
subducted beneath remnants of the Philippine Sea Plate, a process which left the crust under Taiwan more buoyant.
[88]
The east and south of Taiwan are a complex system of belts formed by,
and part of the zone of, active collision between the North Luzon
Trough portion of the
Luzon Volcanic Arc and South China, where accreted portions of the
Luzon Arc and Luzon forearc form the
eastern Coastal Range and parallel inland
Longitudinal Valley of Taiwan respectively.
[89]
The major seismic faults in Taiwan correspond to the various suture zones between the various
terranes. These have produced major quakes throughout the history of the island. On 21 September 1999, a 7.3 quake known as the "
921 earthquake" killed more than 2,400 people. The
seismic hazard map for Taiwan by the USGS shows 9/10 of the island as the highest rating (most hazardous).
[90]
Political and legal status
The political and legal statuses of Taiwan are contentious issues. The
People's Republic of China
(PRC) claims that the Republic of China government is illegitimate,
referring to it as the "Taiwan Authority". The ROC, however, with its
own constitution, independently elected president and armed forces,
continues to view itself as a
sovereign state. The present territory of the state has never been controlled by the PRC.
[91][92] Internationally, there is controversy on whether the ROC still exists as a state or a defunct state per
international law due to the loss of membership/recognition in the
United Nations and lack of wide
diplomatic recognition. In a poll of Taiwanese aged 20 and older taken by the
TVBS in March 2009, a majority of 64% opted for the status quo, while 19% favored independence and 5% unification.
[93]
Relations with the PRC
The political environment is complicated by the potential for
military conflict should Taiwan make overt actions toward de jure
independence; it is the official PRC policy to use force to ensure
reunification if peaceful reunification is no longer possible, as stated
in its
anti-secession law, and for this reason there are substantial military installations on the
Fujian coast.
[94][95] Although more recently
[vague] the PRC has moved towards promoting peaceful relations with the current ROC government aimed at gradual reunification.
[citation needed]
The PRC supports a version of the
One-China policy,
which states that Taiwan and mainland China are both part of China, and
that the PRC is the only legitimate government of China. It uses this
policy to prevent the international recognition of the ROC as an
independent sovereign state. For its part, the People's Republic of
China appears to find the retention of the name "Republic of China" more
acceptable than an official declaration of an independent Taiwan. With
the rise of the Taiwanese independence movement, the name "Taiwan" has
been employed increasingly often on the island.
[96]
Foreign relations
Countries maintaining relations with the ROC
unofficial relations (see text)
Before 1928, the
foreign policy
of Republican China was complicated by a lack of internal
unity—competing centers of power all claimed legitimacy. This situation
changed after the defeat of the
Peiyang Government by the Kuomintang, which led to widespread diplomatic recognition of the Republic of China.
[97]
After the KMT's retreat to Taiwan, most countries, notably the countries in the
Western Bloc,
continued to maintain relations with the ROC. Due to diplomatic
pressure, recognition gradually eroded and many countries switched
recognition to the PRC in the 1970s.
UN Resolution 2758 (25 October 1971) recognized the
People's Republic of China as China's sole representative in the
United Nations.
[98]
The PRC refuses to have diplomatic relations with any nation that
recognizes the ROC, and requires all nations with which it has
diplomatic relations to make a statement recognizing its claims to
Taiwan.
[99] As a result, only
21 UN member states and the
Holy See
maintain official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. The
ROC maintains unofficial relations with most countries via
de facto embassies and
consulates called
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices
(TECRO), with branch offices called "Taipei Economic and Cultural
Offices" (TECO). Both TECRO and TECO are "unofficial commercial
entities" of the ROC in charge of maintaining
diplomatic relations, providing consular services (i.e. visa applications), and serving the national interests of the ROC in other countries.
[100]
The
United States remains one of the
main allies of the ROC and, through the
Taiwan Relations Act passed in 1979, has continued selling arms and provide military training to the
Republic of China Armed Forces.
[101]
This situation continues to be an issue for the People's Republic of
China which considers US involvement disruptive to the stability of the
region. In January 2010, the Obama administration announced its
intention to sell $6.4 billion worth of military hardware to Taiwan. As a
consequence, the PRC threatened the US with economic sanctions and
warned that their cooperation on international and regional issues could
suffer.
[102]
The official position of the United States is that the PRC is
expected to "use no force or threat[en] to use force against Taiwan" and
the ROC is to "exercise prudence in managing all aspects of
Cross-Strait relations." Both are to refrain from performing actions or espousing statements "that would unilaterally alter Taiwan's status."
[103]
Participation in international events and organizations
The flag used by the ROC at the Olympic Games, where it competes as "
Chinese Taipei" (中華台北).
The ROC was a founding member of the United Nations, and held the
seat of China on the
Security Council
and other UN bodies until 1971, when it was expelled by Resolution 2758
and replaced in all UN organs with the PRC. Each year since 1992, the
ROC has petitioned the UN for entry, but its applications have not made
it past committee.
[104]
Due to its limited international recognition, the Republic of China is a member of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, represented by a government-funded organization, the
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) under the name "Taiwan".
[105][106]
Also due to its One China policy, the PRC only participates in
international organizations where the ROC is not recognized as a
sovereign country. Most
member states,
including the United States, do not wish to discuss the issue of the
ROC's political status for fear of souring diplomatic ties with the PRC.
[107] However, both the US and
Japan publicly support the ROC's bid for membership in the
World Health Organization as an observer.
[108] However, though the ROC has applied for WHO membership every year since 1997
[citation needed] under various names, their efforts have consistently been blocked by the PRC.
Due to PRC pressure, the ROC is forced to use the name "
Chinese Taipei" in international events such as the
Olympic Games where the PRC is also a party.
[109]
The ROC is typically barred from using its national anthem and national
flag in international events due to PRC pressure; ROC spectators
attending events such as the Olympics are often barred from bringing
ROC flags into venues.
[110] The ROC is able to participate as "China" in organizations that the PRC does not participate in, such as the
World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Opinions within Taiwan
Within Taiwan, opinions are polarized between those supporting unification, represented by the
Pan-Blue Coalition of parties, and those supporting independence, represented by the
Pan-Green Coalition.
The KMT, the largest Pan-Blue party, supports the status quo for the
indefinite future with a stated ultimate goal of unification. However,
it does not support unification in the short term with the PRC as such a
prospect would be unacceptable to most of its members and the public.
[111]
Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the KMT and the incumbent president of the
ROC, has set out democracy, economic development to a level near that of
Taiwan, and equitable wealth distribution as the conditions that the
PRC must fulfill for reunification to occur.
[112]
The
Democratic Progressive Party,
the largest Pan-Green party, officially seeks independence, but in
practice also supports the status quo because its members and the public
would not accept the risk of provoking the PRC.
[113][114]
Former President
Chen Shui-bian
of the DPP stated during his years of administration that any decision
should be decided through a public referendum of the people of the ROC.
Both parties' current foreign policy positions support actively
advocating ROC participation in international organizations, but while
the KMT accepts the
One-China principle, the DPP encourages the participation of Taiwan as a sovereign state.
[citation needed]
On 2 September 2008,
El Sol de México asked President Ma about his views on the subject of "
two Chinas"
and if there was a solution for the sovereignty issues between the two.
The president replied that the relations are neither between two Chinas
nor two states. It is a
special relationship. Further, he stated that the sovereignty issues between the two cannot be resolved at present, but he quoted the "
1992 Consensus",
currently accepted by both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of
China, as a temporary measure until a solution becomes available.
[115]
The relationship with the PRC and the related issues of Taiwanese
independence and Chinese reunification continue to dominate politics.
[116]
Government
The government of the Republic of China was founded on the
Constitution of the ROC and its
Three Principles of the People, which states that the ROC "shall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people."
[117] The government is divided into five administrative branches (
Yuan): the
Executive Yuan (cabinet), the
Legislative Yuan, the
Judicial Yuan, the
Control Yuan (audit agency), and the
Examination Yuan
(civil service examination agency). The Pan-Blue and Pan-Green
coalitions are presently the dominant political blocs in the Republic of
China.
The
head of state and commander-in-chief of the
armed forces is the
president,
who is elected by popular vote for a maximum of 2 four-year terms on
the same ticket as the vice-president. The president has authority over
the Yuan. The president appoints the members of the Executive Yuan as
his
cabinet, including a
premier, who is officially the President of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for policy and administration.
[117]
The main
legislative body is the
unicameral
Legislative Yuan with 113 seats. Seventy-three are elected by popular
vote from single-member constituencies; thirty-four are elected based on
the proportion of nationwide votes received by participating political
parties in a separate party list ballot; and six are elected from two
three-member aboriginal constituencies. Members serve four-year terms.
Originally the unicameral
National Assembly, as a standing
constitutional convention and
electoral college, held some
parliamentary
functions, but the National Assembly was abolished in 2005 with the
power of constitutional amendments handed over to the Legislative Yuan
and all eligible voters of the Republic via referendums.
[117]
The premier is selected by the president without the need for
approval from the legislature, but the legislature can pass laws without
regard for the president, as neither he nor the Premier wields veto
power.
[117]
Thus, there is little incentive for the president and the legislature
to negotiate on legislation if they are of opposing parties. After the
election of the pan-Green's Chen Shui-bian as President in 2000,
legislation repeatedly stalled because of deadlock with the Legislative
Yuan, which was controlled by a pan-Blue majority.
[118]
Historically, the ROC has been dominated by strongman single party
politics. This legacy has resulted in executive powers currently being
concentrated in the office of the president rather than the premier,
even though the constitution does not explicitly state the extent of the
president's executive power.
[119]
The Judicial Yuan is the highest
judicial
organ. It interprets the constitution and other laws and decrees,
judges administrative suits, and disciplines public functionaries. The
president and vice-president of the Judicial Yuan and additional
thirteen justices form the Council of Grand Justices.
[120] They are nominated and appointed by the president, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan. The highest court, the
Supreme Court,
consists of a number of civil and criminal divisions, each of which is
formed by a presiding judge and four associate judges, all appointed for
life. In 1993, a separate
constitutional court
was established to resolve constitutional disputes, regulate the
activities of political parties and accelerate the democratization
process. There is no
trial by jury
but the right to a fair public trial is protected by law and respected
in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges.
[117]
Capital punishment
is still used in Taiwan, although efforts have been made by the
government to reduce the number of executions. Nevertheless, according
to a survey in 2006, about 80% of Taiwanese still wanted to keep the
death penalty.
[121]
The Control Yuan is a watchdog agency that monitors (controls) the actions of the executive. It can be considered a standing
commission for administrative inquiry and can be compared to the
Court of Auditors of the
European Union or the
Government Accountability Office of the United States.
[117]
The Examination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of
civil servants. It is based on the old
imperial examination system used in dynastic China. It can be compared to the
European Personnel Selection Office of the European Union or the
Office of Personnel Management of the United States.
[117]
Politics
Tangwai (Independent) Taiwanese-born politician
Wu San-lian (2L) celebrated his landslide victory (65.5%) in
Taipei City's first mayoral election in January 1951 with supporters.
The constitution of the Republic of China was drafted before the fall of mainland China to the
Communist Party of China.
It was created by the KMT for the purpose of all of its claimed
territory, including Taiwan, even though the Communist Party boycotted
the drafting of the constitution. The constitution went into effect on
25 December 1947.
[122]
The ROC remained under martial law from 1948 until 1987 and much of
the constitution was not in effect. Political reforms beginning in the
late 1970s and continuing through the early 1990s liberalized the
country and transformed into a multiparty democracy. Since the lifting
of martial law, the Republic of China has democratized and reformed,
suspending constitutional components that were originally meant for the
whole of China. This process of amendment continues. In 2000, the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the
presidency,
ending KMT's continuous control of the government. In May 2005, a new
National Assembly was elected to reduce the number of parliamentary
seats and implement several constitutional reforms. These reforms have
been passed; the National Assembly has essentially voted to abolish
itself and transfer the power of constitutional reform to the popular
ballot.
[123]
Major camps
The tension between the PRC and Taiwan colors most of the political
life, and any government move towards "Taiwan independence" is met by
threat of military attack from the PRC.
[124] The PRC's official policy is to
reunify Taiwan and mainland China under the formula of "
one country, two systems" and refuses to renounce the use of military force, especially should Taiwan seek a declaration of independence.
[125]
The political scene is generally divided into two major camps in
terms of views on how Taiwan should relate to China or the PRC, referred
to as
Cross-Strait relations. It is the main political difference between two camps: the
Pan-Blue Coalition, composed of the pro-unification
Kuomintang,
People First Party (PFP), and
New Party, who believe that the ROC is the sole legitimate government of "China" (including Taiwan) and supports eventual
Chinese reunification. The opposition
Pan-Green Coalition is composed of the pro-independence DPP and
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU). It regards Taiwan as an independent, sovereign state
synonymous with the ROC, opposes the definition that Taiwan is part of "China", and seeks wide
diplomatic recognition and an eventual declaration of formal
Taiwan independence.
[126]
The Pan-Green camp tends to favor emphasizing the Republic of China as
being a distinct country from the People's Republic of China. Thus, in
September 2007, the then ruling Democratic Progressive Party approved a
resolution asserting separate identity from China and called for the
enactment of a new constitution for a "
normal country". It called also for general use of "
Taiwan" as the country's name, without abolishing its formal name, the "Republic of China".
[127] Some members of the coalition, such as former
President
Chen Shui-bian, argue that it is unnecessary to proclaim independence
because "Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign country" and the
Republic of China is the same as Taiwan.
[128] Despite being a member of KMT prior to and during his presidency,
Lee Teng-hui also held a similar view and was a supporter of the
Taiwanization movement.
[129]
Pan-Blue members generally support the concept of the One-China
policy, which states that there is only one China and that its only
government is the ROC. They favor eventual re-unification of China.
[130]
The more mainstream Pan-Blue position is to lift investment
restrictions and pursue negotiations with the PRC to immediately open
direct transportation links. Regarding independence, the mainstream
Pan-Blue position is to maintain the
status quo, while refusing immediate
reunification.
[111] President
Ma Ying-jeou stated that there will be no unification nor declaration of independence during his presidency.
[131][132]
As of 2009, Pan-Blue members usually seek to improve relationships with
mainland China, with a current focus on improving economic ties.
[133]
Current political issues
The dominant political issue in Taiwan is
its relationship with the PRC.
For almost 60 years, there were no direct transportation links,
including direct flights, between Taiwan and mainland China.
This was a
problem for many Taiwanese businesses that had opened factories or
branches in mainland China. The former DPP administration feared that
such links would lead to tighter economic and political integration with
mainland China, and in the 2006 Lunar New Year Speech, President Chen
Shui-bian called for managed opening of links. Direct weekend charter
flights between Taiwan and mainland China began in July 2008 under the
current KMT government, and the first direct daily charter flights took
off in December 2008.
[134]
Other major political issues include the passage of an arms procurement bill that the United States authorized in 2001.
[135]
In 2008, however, the United States was reluctant to send over more
arms to Taiwan out of fear that it would hinder the recent improvement
of ties between the PRC and the ROC.
[136]
Another major political issue is the establishment of a National
Communications Commission to take over from the Government Information
Office, whose advertising budget exercised great control over the media.
[137]
The politicians and their parties have themselves become major
political issues. Corruption among some DPP administration officials has
been exposed. In early 2006, President Chen Shui-bian was linked to
possible corruption. The political effect on President Chen Shui-bian
was great, causing a divide in the DPP leadership and supporters alike.
It eventually led to the creation of a political camp led by ex-DPP
leader
Shih Ming-teh
which believes the president should resign. The KMT assets continue to
be another major issue, as it was once the richest political party in
the world.
[138]
Nearing the end of 2006, KMT's chairman Ma Ying-jeou was also hit by
corruption controversies, although he has since then been cleared of any
wrong-doings by the courts.
[139] After completing his second term as President, Chen Shui-bian was charged with corruption and
money laundering.
[140] Following his conviction, he is serving a 17-year sentence in
Taipei Prison.
[141]
The merger of the KMT and
People First Party
(PFP) was thought to be certain, but a string of defections from the
PFP to the KMT have increased tensions within the Pan-Blue camp.
[142][143]
National identity
Roughly 84% of Taiwan's population descends from Han Chinese who
migrated from mainland China between 1661 and 1895. Another significant
fraction descends from Han Chinese who immigrated from mainland China in
the 1940s and 1950s. The shared cultural origin combined with several
hundred years of geographical separation, some hundred years of
political separation and foreign influences, as well as hostility
between the rival ROC and PRC have resulted in national identity being a
contentious issue with political overtones. Since democratization and
the lifting of martial law, a distinct Taiwanese identity (as opposed to
Taiwanese identity as a subset of a Chinese identity) is often at the
heart of political debates. Its acceptance makes the island distinct
from mainland China, and therefore may be seen as a step towards forming
a consensus for
de jure Taiwan independence.
[144] The
pan-green camp supports a distinct Taiwanese identity, while the
pan-blue camp supports a Chinese identity only.
[130] The KMT has downplayed this stance in the recent years and now supports a Taiwanese identity as part of a Chinese identity.
[145][146]
According to a survey conducted in March 2009, 49% of the respondents
consider themselves as Taiwanese only, and 44% of the respondents
consider themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese. 3% consider themselves as
only Chinese.
[93]
Another survey, conducted in Taiwan in July 2009, showed that 82.8% of
respondents consider the ROC and the PRC as two separate countries with
each developing on its own.
[147]
A survey conducted in December 2009 showed that 62% of the respondents
consider themselves as Taiwanese only, and 22% of the respondents
consider themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese. 8% consider
themselves as only Chinese. The survey also shows that among 18- to
29-year-old respondents, 75% consider themselves as Taiwanese only.
[148]
In a survey conducted over the first half of 2013 by the Election Study Center at
National Chengchi University,
57.5% of residents (excluding those in Kinmen and Matsu) aged 20 or
above identified themselves exclusively as Taiwanese, and 36.1%
identified themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese.
[149] On the other hand, in a survey conducted in February 2013 by the
Taiwan Competitiveness Forum and Apollo Survey Company (
艾普羅民意調查公司)
in which Taiwanese identity was implied, it was shown that 61.1% of
residents aged 20 or above (including those in Kinmen and Matsu)
considered themselves to be Chinese.
[150]
Percentage of Taiwanese residents who consider themselves
Taiwanese, Chinese or Taiwanese and Chinese according to various
surveys.
| Survey |
Taiwanese |
Chinese |
Taiwanese and Chinese |
| Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission, Executive Yuan (April 2008)[151] |
67.1% |
13.6% |
15.2% |
| Common Wealth Magazine (December 2009)[148] |
62% |
8% |
22% |
| National Chengchi University (June 2012)[152] |
53.6% |
3.1% |
39.6% |
| TVBS Poll Center (October 2012)[153][154] |
75% |
15% |
(not an option for this question) |
| TVBS Poll Center (October 2012)[153][155] |
55% |
3% |
37% |
Military
The
Republic of China Army takes its roots in the
National Revolutionary Army, which was established by
Sun Yat-sen in 1925 in
Guangdong with a goal of reunifying China under the Kuomintang. When the
People's Liberation Army won the
Chinese Civil War,
much of the National Revolutionary Army retreated to Taiwan along with
the government. It was later reformed into the Republic of China Army.
Units which surrendered and remained in mainland China were either
disbanded or incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.
Today, the Republic of China maintains a large and technologically
advanced military, mainly as defense against the constant threat of
invasion by the PRC under the
Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China.
[95] From 1949 to the 1970s, the primary mission of the military was to "retake the mainland" through
Project National Glory.
As this mission has shifted to defense, the ROC military has begun to
shift emphasis from the traditionally dominant Army to the
air force and
navy.
Control of the armed forces has also passed into the hands of the civilian government.
[156][157]
As the ROC military shares historical roots with the KMT, the older
generation of high-ranking officers tends to have Pan-Blue sympathies.
However, many have retired and there are many more non-mainlanders
enlisting in the armed forces in the younger generations, so the
political leanings of the military have moved closer to the public norm
in Taiwan.
[158]
The ROC began a force reduction program, Jingshi An (translated to
streamlining program), to scale down its military from a level of
450,000 in 1997 to 380,000 in 2001.
[159] As of 2009, the armed forces of the ROC number approximately 300,000,
[160] with nominal reserves totaling 3.6 million as of 2005.
[161]
Conscription remains universal for qualified males reaching age
eighteen, but as a part of the reduction effort many are given the
opportunity to fulfill their draft requirement through alternative
service and are redirected to government agencies or defense related
industries.
[162] Current plans call for a transition to a predominantly professional army over the next decade.
[163][164] Conscription periods are planned to decrease from 14 months to 12.
[165]
In the last months of the Bush administration, Taipei took the decision
to reverse the secular trend of declining defense spending, at a time
when most Asian countries kept on reducing their military expenditures.
It also decided to modernize both defensive and offensive capabilities.
Taipei still keeps a large military apparatus relative to the island’s
population: defense expenditures for 2008 were NTD 334 billion
(approximately U.S. $10.5 billion), which accounted for 2.94% of GDP.
The armed forces' primary concern at this time, according to the
National Defense Report, is the possibility of an invasion by the PRC, consisting of a naval blockade, airborne assault, and/or missile bombardment.
[156] Four upgraded
Kidd-class destroyers were recently purchased from the United States, significantly upgrading Taiwan's air defense and submarine hunting abilities.
[166]
The Ministry of National Defense planned to purchase diesel-powered
submarines and Patriot anti-missile batteries from the United States,
but its budget has been stalled repeatedly by the opposition-
Pan-Blue Coalition
controlled legislature. The defense package was stalled from 2001 to
2007 where it was finally passed through the legislature and the US
responded on 3 October 2008, with a $6.5 billion arms package including
PAC III Anti-Air defense systems, AH-64D Apache Attack helicopters and
other arms and parts.
[167]
A significant amount of military hardware has been bought from the
United States, and, as of 2009, continues to be legally guaranteed by
the
Taiwan Relations Act.
[101] In the past,
France and the
Netherlands
have also sold military weapons and hardware to the ROC, but they
almost entirely stopped in the 1990s under pressure of the PRC.
[168][169]
The first line of defense against invasion by the PRC is the ROC's
own armed forces. Current ROC military doctrine is to hold out against
an invasion or blockade until the US military responds.
[170]
There is, however, no guarantee in the Taiwan Relations Act or any
other treaty that the United States will defend Taiwan, even in the
event of invasion.
[171]
The joint declaration on security between the US and Japan signed in
1996 may imply that Japan would be involved in any response. However,
Japan has refused to stipulate whether the "area surrounding Japan"
mentioned in the pact includes Taiwan, and the precise purpose of the
pact is unclear.
[172] The
Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS Treaty) may mean that other US allies, such as
Australia, could theoretically be involved.
[173] In practice, the risk of losing economic ties with China may prevent Australia from taking action.
[174] The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Chile, and Peru conduct maritime exercises in the
Pacific Ocean every 2 years called
RIMPAC.
They are conducted to promote stability and to be able to respond in
case of an armed conflict in the region – that includes an invasion of
Taiwan by China.
[175]
Administrative divisions
According to the 1947 constitution, written and promulgated whilst
the ROC government still controlled mainland China, the territory of the
ROC consisted of
provinces,
special municipalities, as well as
Mongolia[176] and
Tibet.
Accordingly, when the ROC retreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed
territory consisted of 35 provinces, 12 special municipalities, 1
special administrative region, as well as Mongolia
[176] and Tibet. However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled only
Taiwan Province and some islands of
Fujian Province. The ROC also controls the
Pratas Islands (Dong-Sha) and
Taiping Island in the
Spratly Islands, which are part of the disputed
South China Sea Islands. They were placed under
Kaohsiung administration after the retreat to Taiwan.
[177]
Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control.
Taipei
became a special municipality in 1967 and Kaohsiung in 1979. The two
provincial governments were "streamlined", with their functions
transferred to the central government (Fujian in 1956 and Taiwan in
1998).
[178] In 2010,
New Taipei,
Taichung, and
Tainan were upgraded to
special municipalities. This brought the top-level divisions of the ROC to their current state:
[179]
According to Article 4 of the Local Government Act, laws pertaining
to special municipalities also apply to counties with a population
exceeding 2 million. This provision is currently applied only to
Taoyuan County.
[180]
Economy and industry
Taipei 101 was the world's tallest building from its opening in 2004 until 2010.
The quick industrialization and rapid growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the 20th century has been called the "
Taiwan Miracle". Taiwan is one of the "
Four Asian Tigers" alongside
Hong Kong,
South Korea and
Singapore.
Japanese rule prior to and during World War II brought changes in the
public and private sectors, most notably in the area of public works,
which enabled rapid communications and facilitated transport throughout
much of the island. The Japanese also improved public education and made
it compulsory for all residents of Taiwan.
By 1945,
hyperinflation
was in progress in mainland China and Taiwan as a result of the war
with Japan. To isolate Taiwan from it, the Nationalist government
created a new currency area for the island, and began a price
stabilization program. These efforts significantly slowed inflation.
When the KMT government fled to Taiwan it brought millions of
taels (where 1 tael ~1.2
ozt) of
gold and the foreign currency reserve of mainland China, which, according to the KMT, stabilized prices and reduced hyperinflation.
[181]
Perhaps more importantly, as part of its retreat to Taiwan, the KMT
brought the intellectual and business elites from Mainland China.
[182] The KMT government instituted many laws and
land reforms that it had never effectively enacted on mainland China. The government also implemented a policy of
import-substitution, attempting to produce imported goods domestically.
In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the United States began
an aid program which resulted in fully stabilized prices by 1952.
[183] Economic development was encouraged by American economic aid and programs such as the
Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction,
which turned the agricultural sector into the basis for later growth.
Under the combined stimulus of the land reform and the agricultural
development programs, agricultural production increased at an average
annual rate of 4 per cent from 1952 to 1959, which was greater than the
population growth, 3.6%.
[184]
In 1962, Taiwan had a (nominal) per-capita gross national product
(GNP) of $170, placing its economy on a par with those of Zaire and
Congo. On a
purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, its GDP per capita in early 1960s was $1,353 (in 1990 prices).
[185] By 2011 per-capita GNP, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), had risen to $37,000, contributing to a
Human Development Index
(HDI) equivalent to that of other developed countries. Taiwan's HDI in
2012 is 0.890, (23rd, very high), according to the UN's new
"Inequality-adjusted HDI" calculation method.
In 1974, Chiang Ching-kuo implemented the
Ten Major Construction Projects,
the beginning foundations that helped Taiwan transform into its current
export driven economy. Since the 1990s, a number of Taiwan-based
technology firms have expanded their reach around the world. Well-known
international technology companies headquartered in Taiwan include
personal computer manufacturers
Acer Inc. and
Asus, mobile phone maker
HTC, as well as electronics manufacturing giant
Foxconn, which makes products for Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Computex Taipei is a major computer expo, held since 1981.
Taiwan High Speed Rail, with trains running at speeds above 300 km/h, links Taipei and the southern port city of Kaohsiung in just 90 minutes.
Today Taiwan has a dynamic, capitalist, export-driven economy with
gradually decreasing state involvement in investment and foreign trade.
In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and
industrial firms are being
privatized.
[186] Real growth in
GDP
has averaged about 8% during the past three decades. Exports have
provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is
substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's fifth largest.
[187] The Republic of China has its own currency, the
New Taiwan dollar.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the economic ties between Taiwan
and Mainland China have been very prolific. As of 2008, more than US$150
billion
[188]
have been invested in the PRC by Taiwanese companies, and about 10% of
the Taiwanese labour force works in the PRC, often to run their own
businesses.
[189]
Although the economy of Taiwan benefits from this situation, some have
expressed the view that the island has become increasingly dependent on
the Mainland Chinese economy. A 2008 white paper by the Department of
Industrial Technology states that "Taiwan should seek to maintain stable
relation with China while continuing to protect national security, and
avoiding excessive 'Sinicization' of Taiwanese economy."
[190]
Others argue that close economic ties between Taiwan and Mainland China
would make any military intervention by the PLA against Taiwan very
costly, and therefore less probable.
[191]
Taiwan's total trade in 2010 reached an all-time high of US$526.04
billion, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Finance. Both exports and
imports for the year reached record levels, totaling US$274.64 billion
and US$251.4 billion, respectively.
[192]
In 2001,
agriculture constituted only 2% of GDP, down from 35% in 1952.
[193]
Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being moved
offshore and with more capital and technology-intensive industries
replacing them. High-technology industrial parks have sprung up in every
region in Taiwan. The ROC has become a major foreign investor in the
PRC,
Thailand,
Indonesia, the
Philippines,
Malaysia, and
Vietnam.
It is estimated that some 50,000 Taiwanese businesses and
1,000,000 businesspeople and their dependents are established in the
PRC.
[194]
Because of its conservative financial approach and its
entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of
its neighbors from the
1997 Asian financial crisis.
Unlike its neighbors, South Korea and Japan, the Taiwanese economy is
dominated by small and medium sized businesses, rather than the large
business groups. The global economic downturn, however, combined with
poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad
debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into
recession
in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Due to the
relocation of many manufacturing and labor intensive industries to the
PRC, unemployment also reached a level not seen since the 1970s oil
crisis. This became a major issue in the
2004 presidential election. Growth averaged more than 4% in the 2002–2006 period and the unemployment rate fell below 4%.
[195]
The ROC often joins international organizations under a politically
neutral name. The ROC is a member of governmental trade organizations
such as the
World Trade Organization under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (
Chinese Taipei) since 2002.
[196]
Transportation
The
Ministry of Transportation and Communications
of the Republic of China is the cabinet-level governing body of the
transportation network in Taiwan. Taiwan has an extensive highway
network, classified into five levels: National highways, provincial
highways, county routes, township routes, and special routes, with the
first four being common. Taiwan also has an extensive bus network, which
are mostly run by private bus companies. There are two rail systems in
Taiwan:
Taiwan Railway Administration and
Taiwan High Speed Rail. The
Taipei Metro and the
Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit serve the
Taipei metropolitan area and
Kaohsiung, respectively. The
Taoyuan Metro and
Taichung Metro are currently under construction. Major airports include
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport,
Taipei Songshan Airport,
Kaohsiung International Airport, and
Taichung Airport. The four international seaports are the
Port of Keelung, the
Port of Kaohsiung, the
Port of Taichung, and the
Port of Hualien.
Education, research, and academia
The higher education system was established in Taiwan by Japan during the colonial period. However, after the Republic of China
took over
Taiwan from Japan in 1945, the system was promptly replaced by the same
system as in mainland China which mixed with features of the Chinese
and American educational systems.
[197]
The educational system includes six years of elementary school, three
years of middle school, three years of high school, and four years of
university.
[198] The system has been successful in that pupils in Taiwan boast some of the highest test scores in the world, especially in
mathematics and
science;
[199]
However, it has also been criticized for placing excessive pressure on
students and eschewing creativity in favor of rote memorization.
[200][201]
Many Taiwanese students attend cram schools, or
bushiban,
to improve skills and knowledge on problem solving against exams of
subjects like mathematics, nature science, history and many others.
Courses are available for most popular subjects. Lessons are organized
in lectures, reviews, private tutorial sessions, and recitations.
[202][203]
As of 2012, the
literacy rate in Taiwan, defined as those over age 15 who could read and write, is 98.2%.
Demographics
Taiwan's population was estimated in December 2013 at 23,373,517,
most of whom are on the island of Taiwan. The remainder live on
Penghu (100,400),
Kinmen (120,713) and the
Matsu Islands (12,165).
[9]
Ethnic groups
Bunun dancer in traditional aboriginal dress
About 98% of Taiwan's population is of
Han Chinese ethnicity.
[5] Of these, 86% are descendants of early Han Chinese immigrants known as the "
benshengren" (
Chinese:
本省人;
pinyin:
Běnshěng rén; literally: "home-province person") in Chinese.
[5]
This group is often referred to "native Taiwanese" in English, but the
term is also frequently used for the Taiwanese aborigines. The
benshengren group contains two subgroups: the
Hoklo people (70% of the total population), whose ancestors migrated from the coastal southern
Fujian (Min-nan) region in the southeast of
mainland China starting in the 17th century, and the
Hakka (15% of the total population), whose ancestors originally migrated south to
Guangdong, its surrounding areas and Taiwan.
[5]
About 12% of the population are known as
waishengren (
Chinese:
外省人;
pinyin:
Wàishěng rén; literally: "out-of-province person"), composed of people who
emigrated from mainland China after 1945.
[5]
The existence of
Fuzhou people can be traced to the
Matsu islands of Republic of China, they make up about 2% of the population. The main language used by the
Fuzhou people are the
Fuzhou dialect and Mandarin. In order to preserve the
Fuzhou dialect, Matsu island has introduced the teaching of their dialect in their elementary schools.
[204]
The other 2.25% of the population number about 522,942
Taiwanese aborigines, divided into 14 major groups. The
Ami,
Atayal,
Bunun,
Kavalan,
Paiwan,
Puyuma,
Rukai,
Saisiyat,
Sakizaya,
Sediq,
Thao,
Truku and
Tsou live mostly in the eastern half of the island, while the
Yami inhabit
Orchid Island.
[5][205][206]
Languages
Mandarin
is the official national language and is spoken by the vast majority of
the population of Taiwan. It has been the primary language of
instruction in schools since the Japanese rule ended. As in
Hong Kong and
Macau,
Traditional Chinese is used as the writing system in Taiwan.
[207]
Most Waishengren speak primarily Mandarin. The 70% of the population belonging to the
Hoklo ethnic group speak
Taiwanese Hokkien (a variant of the
Min Nan speech of
Fujian
province) as their mother tongue, in addition to Mandarin, and many
others have some degree of understanding. The Hakka ethnic group (15% of
the population) use the
Hakka language.
[208]
Although Mandarin is the language of instruction in schools and
dominates television and radio, non-Mandarin languages or dialects have
undergone a revival in public life in Taiwan, particularly since
restrictions on their use were lifted in the 1990s.
[207]
Fuzhou dialect are also spoken in
Matsu Islands,
territory of Republic of China. Most of the inhabitants speak Fuzhou as
their mother tongue although Mandarin is taught in the public schools.
[204]
Taiwan's indigenous languages, the
Formosan languages, do not belong to the Chinese or Sino-Tibetan language family, but rather to the
Austronesian language family. Their use among Taiwan's aboriginal minority groups has been in decline as usage of Mandarin has risen.
[207] Of the 14 extant languages, five are considered
moribund.
[209]
Religion
The
Constitution of the Republic of China protects people's
freedom of religion and the practices of belief.
[210]
There are approximately 18,718,600 religious followers in Taiwan as of
2005 (81.3% of total population) and 14–18% are non-religious. According
to the 2005 census, of the 26 religions recognized by the ROC
government, the five largest are: Buddhism (8,086,000 or 35.1%), Taoism
(7,600,000 or 33%),
Yiguandao (810,000 or 3.5%), Protestantism (605,000 or 2.6%), and Roman Catholicism (298,000 or 1.3%).
[211]
The CIA World Factbook reports that over 93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of the
polytheistic ancient Chinese religion,
Buddhism,
Confucianism, and
Taoism; 4.5% are adherents of
Christianity, which includes
Protestants,
Catholics, and other, non-denominational, Christian groups; and less than 2.5% are adherents of other religions, such as
Islam; it is not clear how recent its figures are.
[5][212] Taiwanese aborigines
comprise a notable subgroup among professing Christians: "...over 64%
identify as Christian... Church buildings are the most obvious markers
of Aboriginal villages, distinguishing them from Taiwanese or Hakka
villages."
[213]
Confucianism is a philosophy that deals with secular moral ethics, and serves as the foundation of both
Chinese and
Taiwanese culture. The majority of
Taiwanese people usually combine the secular moral teachings of Confucianism with whatever religions they are affiliated with.
As of 2009, there were 14,993 temples in Taiwan, approximately one
place of worship per 1,500 residents. 9,202 of those temples were
dedicated to
Taoism. In 2008, Taiwan had 3,262 Churches, an increase of 145.
[214]
Largest cities
The figures below are the 2011 estimates for the twenty largest urban
populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking
exists when considering the total
metropolitan area populations (in such rankings the
Taipei-Keelung metro area is by far the largest agglomeration).
|
Largest cities or towns of Taiwan
source
|
|
Rank |
Name |
Division |
Pop. |
|
New Taipei
Kaohsiung |
1 |
New Taipei |
New Taipei City |
3,913,595 |
Taichung
Taipei |
| 2 |
Kaohsiung |
Kaohsiung City |
2,773,855 |
| 3 |
Taichung |
Taichung City |
2,662,770 |
| 4 |
Taipei |
Taipei City |
2,647,122 |
| 5 |
Tainan |
Tainan City |
1,876,706 |
| 6 |
Hsinchu |
Hsinchu City |
419,384 |
| 7 |
Taoyuan |
Taoyuan County |
409,796 |
| 8 |
Keelung |
Keelung City |
380,281 |
| 9 |
Zhongli |
Taoyuan County |
372,117 |
| 10 |
Chiayi |
Chiayi City |
271,594 |
Public health
Health care in Taiwan is managed by the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI).
[215]
The current program was implemented in 1995, and is considered to be a
form of social insurance. The government health insurance program
maintains compulsory insurance for citizens who are employed,
impoverished, unemployed, or victims of natural disasters with fees that
correlate to the individual and/or family income; it also maintains
protection for non-citizens working in Taiwan. A standardized method of
calculation applies to all persons and can optionally be paid by an
employer or by individual contributions.
[216]
BNHI insurance coverage requires co-payment at the time of service
for most services unless it is a preventative health service, for
low-income families, veterans, children under three years old, or in the
case of catastrophic diseases. Low income households maintain 100%
premium coverage by the BNHI and co-pays are reduced for disabled or
certain elderly peoples.
[citation needed]
According to a recently published survey, out of 3,360 patients
surveyed at a randomly chosen hospital, 75.1% of the patients said they
are "very satisfied" with the hospital service; 20.5% said they are
"okay" with the service. Only 4.4% of the patients said they are either
"not satisfied" or "very not satisfied" with the service or care
provided.
[217]
Taiwan has its own Center for Disease Control, and during the
SARS
outbreak in March 2003 there were 347 confirmed cases. During the
outbreak the CDC and local governments set up monitored stations
throughout public transportation, recreational sites and other public
areas. With full containment in July 2003, there has not been a case of
SARS since.
[218]
As of 2006, the BNHI Facility Contract Distribution facilities total 17,259, including:
[219]
| Number |
Subject |
| 16,174 |
outpatient-only facilities |
| 5,701 |
dental clinics |
| 2,422 |
Chinese medicine clinics |
| 1,085 |
inpatient/outpatient facilities |
| 437 |
local community hospitals |
| 35 |
Chinese medicine hospitals |
| 123 |
academic medical centers |
Basic coverage areas of the insurance include:
- In-patient care
- Ambulatory care
- Laboratory tests
- Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
- Dental services
|
|
- Mental Illness
- Traditional Chinese medicine
- Home care
- Preventative services (check-ups, prenatal care, pap smears)
|
In 2004, the infant mortality rate was 5.3 with 15 physicians and
63 hospital beds per 10,000 people. The life expectancy for males was
73.5 years and 79.7 years for females according to the World Health
Report.
In July 2013, the Department of Health was restructured as the
Ministry of Health and Welfare.
[220]
Culture
The cultures of Taiwan are a hybrid blend of various sources,
incorporating elements of traditional Chinese culture, attributable to
the historical and ancestry origin of the majority of its current
residents, Japanese culture, traditional Confucianist beliefs, and
increasingly Western values.
After their move to Taiwan, the
Kuomintang imposed an official interpretation of traditional Chinese culture over Taiwan. The government launched a
program promoting
Chinese calligraphy,
traditional Chinese painting,
folk art, and
Chinese opera.
[citation needed]
The status of Taiwanese culture is debated.
[221]
It is disputed whether Taiwanese culture is a regional form of Chinese
culture or a distinct culture. Reflecting the continuing controversy
surrounding the
political status of Taiwan,
politics continues to play a role in the conception and development of a
Taiwanese cultural identity, especially in the prior dominant frame of a
Taiwanese and
Chinese dualism. In recent years, the concept of Taiwanese
multiculturalism
has been proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which
has allowed for the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups
into the continuing re-definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively
held systems of meaning and customary patterns of thought and behavior
shared by the people of Taiwan.
[222] Identity politics,
along with the over one hundred years of political separation from
mainland China, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including
cuisine and
music.
Wang Tuoh, a Taiwanese writer, literary critic and politician
One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the
National Palace Museum,
which houses more than 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade,
calligraphy, painting, and porcelain and is considered one of the
greatest collections of Chinese art and objects in the world.
[223] The KMT moved this collection from the
Forbidden City
in Beijing in 1933 and part of the collection was eventually
transported to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. The collection,
estimated to be one-tenth of China's cultural treasures, is so extensive
that only 1% is on display at any time. The PRC had said that the
collection was stolen and has called for its return, but the ROC has
long defended its control of the collection as a necessary act to
protect the pieces from destruction, especially during the
Cultural Revolution.
Relations regarding this treasure have warmed recently; Beijing Palace
Museum Curator Zheng Xinmiao said that artifacts in both Chinese and
Taiwanese museums are "China's cultural heritage jointly owned by people
across the Taiwan Strait."
[224]
The classical music culture in Taiwan is highly developed and features artists such as violinist
Cho-Liang Lin, pianist
Ching-Yun Hu, and the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Artist Director
Wu Han.
Karaoke,
drawn from contemporary Japanese culture, is extremely popular in
Taiwan, where it is known as KTV. KTV businesses operate in a hotel-like
style, renting out small rooms and ballrooms varying on the number of
guests in a group. Many KTV establishments partner with restaurants and
buffets to form all-encompassing elaborate evening affairs for families,
friends, or businessmen. Tour buses that travel around Taiwan have
several TV's, equipped not for watching movies, but primarily for
singing Karaoke. The entertainment counterpart of a KTV is an MTV, being
found much less frequently out of the city. There, movies out on DVD
can be selected and played in a private theater room. However, MTV, more
so than KTV, has a growing reputation for being a place that young
couples will go to be alone and intimate.
Taiwan has a high density of 24-hour convenience stores, which, in
addition to the usual services, provide services on behalf of financial
institutions or government agencies such as collection of parking fees,
utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments.
[225] They also provide a service for mailing packages.
Taiwanese culture has also influenced other cultures.
Bubble tea and milk tea are available in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
Taiwan television shows are popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian countries.
Taiwanese films have won various international awards at film festivals around the world.
Ang Lee, a Taiwanese director, has directed critically acclaimed films such as:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon;
Eat Drink Man Woman;
Sense and Sensibility;
Brokeback Mountain;
Life of Pi; and
Lust, Caution. Other famous Taiwanese directors include
Tsai Ming-Liang,
Edward Yang, and
Hou Hsiao-hsien.
Sports
Yani Tseng with the 2011 Women's British Open trophy
Baseball is Taiwan's
national sport and it is a popular spectator sport. Two of the most famous Taiwanese baseball pitchers are
Chien-Ming Wang and
Wei-Yin Chen, both are starting pitchers in
Major League Baseball. Other notable players playing in the United States include
Chin-hui Tsao who played for the
Colorado Rockies (2003–2005) and the
Los Angeles Dodgers (2007),
Hong-Chih Kuo,
Fu-Te Ni, and
Chin-lung Hu. The
Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan was established in 1989,
[226] and eventually absorbed the competing
Taiwan Major League in 2003. As of 2008, the CPBL has four teams with average attendance of approximately 3,000 per game.
Besides baseball,
basketball is Taiwan's major sport.
[227] Taekwondo has also become a mature and successful sport in recent years. In the 2004 Olympics,
Chen Shih-hsin and
Chu Mu-yen
won the first two gold medals in women's flyweight event and men's
flyweight event, respectively. Subsequent taekwondo competitors such as
Yang Shu-chun have strengthened Taiwan's taekwondo culture.
Taiwan participates in international sporting organizations and events under the name of "
Chinese Taipei" due to
its political status. In 2009, Taiwan hosted two international sporting events on the island. The
World Games 2009 were held in
Kaohsiung between 16 and 26 July 2009. Taipei hosted the
21st Summer Deaflympics in September of the same year. Furthermore, Taipei will host the Summer
Universiade in 2017.
[228]
Taiwan is also a major Asian country for
Korfball. In 2008, Taiwan hosted the World Youth Korfball Championship and took the silver medal.
[229] In 2009, Taiwan's korfball team won a bronze medal at the World Game.
[230]
Yani Tseng is the most famous Taiwanese
professional golfer currently playing on the U.S.-based
LPGA Tour. She is the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five
major championships and had been ranked number 1 in the
Women's World Golf Rankings for 109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013.
[231][232][233]
Foods, cuisine, and shopping
A calendar that commemorates the first year of the Republic as well as the election of
Sun Yat-sen as the provisional President
Calendar
Taiwan uses two official calendars: the
Gregorian calendar and the
Minguo calendar.
The latter numbers years starting from 1911, the year of the founding
of the Republic of China. For example, 2007 is the "96th year of the
Republic" (民國96年),
[234] while its months and days are numbered according to the Gregorian calendar.
Usually, year numbering may use the Gregorian system as well as the
ROC era system. For example, 3 May 2004, may be written 2004-05-03 or
93–05–03. The use of two different calendar systems in Taiwan may be
confusing, in particular for foreigners. For instance, products for
export marked using the Minguo calendar can be misunderstood as having
an expiration date 11 years earlier than intended.
[235]
Taiwan also uses the
lunar calendar for traditional festivals such as the
Chinese New Year, the
Lantern Festival, and the
Dragon Boat Festival.
[236]
