Portal:Taiwan

Taiwan portal logo

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Main

Geography

Recognized content

edit

Introduction

Shortcuts

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. It is located at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands with a combined area of 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles). The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, 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 capital, Taipei, forms along with New Taipei City and Keelung the largest metropolitan area. 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, took control following the surrender of Japan in 1945. Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan in 1952. 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.

In the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization called the "Taiwan Miracle". 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 since 1996. Taiwan's export-oriented industrial 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. It is ranked highly in terms of civil liberties, healthcare, and human development.

The political status of Taiwan is contentious. The ROC no longer represents China as a member of the United Nations after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead. The ROC maintained its claim of being the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased to regard the CCP as a rebellious group and recognized its control over mainland China. 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. 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; into the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. (Full article...)

Read more about Taiwan (ROC) ...

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Official portrait, 2005

Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (Chinese: 呂秀蓮; pinyin: Lǚ Xiùlián; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lū Siù-liân; born 7 June 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 1990, and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. Subsequently, she served as Taoyuan County Magistrate between 1997 and 2000, and was the Vice President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008, under President Chen Shui-bian. Lu announced her intentions to run for the presidency on 6 March 2007, but withdrew to support eventual DPP nominee Frank Hsieh. Lu ran again in 2012, but withdrew for a second time, ceding the nomination to DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen. She lost the party's Taipei mayoral nomination to Pasuya Yao in 2018, and stated that she would leave the party. However, by the time Lu announced in September 2019 that she would contest the 2020 presidential election on behalf of the Formosa Alliance, she was still a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected biography

Official portrait, 2016

Tsai Ing-wen (Chinese: 蔡英文; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the 7th president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024, and was the first woman to hold that position. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she intermittently served as chair of the DPP from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2022.

Tsai was born and raised in Taipei and studied law and international trade, and later became a law professor at Soochow University School of Law and National Chengchi University after earning an LLB from National Taiwan University and an LLM from Cornell Law School. She later studied law at the London School of Economics and was awarded a PhD. In 1993, as an independent (without party affiliation), she was appointed to a series of governmental positions, including trade negotiator for WTO affairs, by the then ruling party Kuomintang (KMT) and was one of the chief drafters of the special state-to-state relations doctrine under the President Lee Teng-hui. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Cheng Yen Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Teresa Teng Tsai Wan-lin Wang Jinping (scholar and activist) Jay Chou Ang Lee S.H.E Lee Teng-hui Justin Huang Chiau Wen-yan Kao Chin Su-mei Latisha Chan Wu Nien-jen Wu Zhaonan

Selected picture - show another

The Grand Hotel is an iconic landmark in Taipei City, Taiwan, and has played host to many foreign dignitaries that have visited Taipei.

Photo credit: Liyu

More selected pictures...

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

A THSR 700T train running Taiwan High Speed Rail line

Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately 350 km (217 mi) along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a private company, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), which also operates the line, the total cost of the project was NT$513.3 billion in 1998. The system's technology is based primarily on Japan's Shinkansen.

The railway opened for service on 5 January 2007, with trains running at a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), currently running from Nangang to Zuoying in as little as 1 hour and 45 minutes, reaching almost 90% of Taiwan's population. Most intermediate stations on the line lie outside the cities served; however, a variety of transfer options, such as free shuttle buses, conventional rail, and metros have been constructed to facilitate transport connections. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa Chen Chi-mai EVA Air Chai Trong-rong Pe̍h-ōe-jī Mei-Ann Chen Hsu Tain-tsair You Are the Apple of My Eye

edit

Did you know - show different entries

... that the Formosan black bear (pictured) is an endangered and endemic species of bear that can only be found in Taiwan?

... that Jade Mountain, at 3,952 meters (13,114 feet), is the tallest mountain in Taiwan. Did you also know that it stands 176 meters taller than Mount Fuji in Japan, and that it was named Niitakayama, or 'new tall mountain' during Japanese rule?

... that Gueishan Island is an islet formed by the only active volcano in Taiwan?

More did you know...

General images

The following are images from various Taiwan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Depiction of Qing ships crossing the ocean to suppress the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, 1787–1788 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 2The original flag of the Taiwanese People's Party, 2 January 1929 – 6 October 1929 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 3Chinese depiction of Chikan (Fort Provintia), 1752 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 4Japanese painting of the expedition forces attacking the Mudan tribe, 1874 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 5The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path. (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 6The Capture of Lin Shuangwen (from History of Taiwan)
Image 7The Imperial Guard Defeats the Enemy in Hard Fighting at Keelung on the Island of Taiwan, 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 8Map of Asia showing the "Chinese Empire" (1892) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 9Zheng Keshuang (from History of Taiwan)
Image 101901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 11Depiction of a Chinese man, woman, and soldier, by Georg Franz Müller (1646–1723) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 12Original geographic distributions of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples (from History of Taiwan)
Image 13Apo Hsu and the NTNU Symphony Orchestra on stage in the National Concert Hall in Taipei and Play Saint-Saens's Organ Symphony No. 3 (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 14Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1734 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 15Sky Lantern festival in Pingxi, Taiwan (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 16A map of the Empire of Japan including Taiwan ("barbarian land" in red) in 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 17Yin and Yang symbol of Taoism (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 18Shi Lang (1621–1696) in an 18th-century painting (from History of Taiwan)
Image 19Evacuation of Keelung by the French forces, image created 1887 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 20Photo from Savages of Formosa, a 1926 government report on tribal life in Taiwan (from History of Taiwan)
Image 21Map of Taiwan with the western coast pointed downwards, c. 1640 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 22Kagi Shrine, one of many Shinto shrines built in Taiwan. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 23Portrait of Zheng Jing (1642–1681), possibly 17th c. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 24Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 25Mid-17th century portrait of Koxinga (Guoxingye or "Kok seng ia" in southern Fujianese), "Lord of the Imperial Surname" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 26Pearl milk tea (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 27Taichung Middle School in 1919 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 28Section of a painting depicting daily life of the Taokas people, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 29Map showing the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673–1681) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 30Departure of a Ryukyuan ship bearing tribute to Beijing, 1831 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 31Severed heads of Seediq rebels (from History of Taiwan)
Image 32Entrance hall of a K-TV in Taipei (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 33Takasago Volunteers in October 1944 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 34Section of Kangxi period painting of Taiwan, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 35Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty by 1894 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 36Taiwan in the 17th century, showing Dutch (magenta) and Spanish (green) possessions, and the Kingdom of Middag (orange) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 37The Qing Empire in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 38Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1685 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 39Conquest of Douliumen (Zhuluo) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 40Territory controlled by Koxinga, founder of the Kingdom of Tungning (from History of Taiwan)
Image 41Statue of Chen Di in Lianjiang County (from History of Taiwan)
Image 42Population density map of Taiwan in 2019 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 43Bunun dancer in traditional aboriginal dress (1989) (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 44Bird's eye view of Fort Zeelandia in Dutch Formosa in the 17th-century (from History of Taiwan)
Image 45Woodcut of the mass killings which took place during the February 28 Incident (from History of Taiwan)
Image 46Siege of Fort Zeelandia (from History of Taiwan)

On this day...

More June anniversaries

edit

In the news

28 May 2024 – 2024 Taiwanese legislative reform protests: The Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party pass amendments granting the Legislative Yuan greater powers to oversee the executive and to question officials and citizens, despite claims that these amendments violate civil liberties and could reduce the powers of president Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party. (The Guardian)
23 May 2024 – Cross-Strait relations: China's People's Liberation Army begins two days of military drills around Taiwan. In response, Taiwan mobilizes its military. (BBC News) (Reuters)
20 May 2024 –: Lai Ching-te is sworn in as President of Taiwan, with Hsiao Bi-khim as his Vice President. (Al Jazeera)
17 May 2024 –: A brawl breaks out in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament, following disagreements over draft reforms between the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang. (The Independent)

Topics

edit

Administrative divisions

The Republic of China government governs 22 administrative divisions
The administrative divisions presently consist of 13 counties, 6 special municipalities and three cities.


Chiayi City	Chiayi County	Changhua County	Hsinchu City	Hsinchu County

Hualian County	Kaohsiung City	Keelung City	Kinmen Country	Lienchang County

Miaoli County	Nantou County	New Taipei City	Penghu County	Pingtung County

Taichung City	Tainan City	Taipei City	Taitung County	Taoyuan City

Yilan County	Yunlin County

Related portals

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Portals listed here are related to Taiwan by way of history, Asian region, diplomatic relations with ROC, and significant diaspora of overseas Taiwanese

Projects

You are cordially invited to join and contribute to WikiProject Taiwan, a WikiProject dedicated to the development and improvement of articles relating to Taiwan.

WikiProject Taiwan Membership Discussion