Taiwan

Taiwan,^[II][i] officiallythe Republic of China (ROC),^[I][j] isa country^[27] in East Asia.^[m] Themain island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa,lies between the East and SouthChina Seas in the northwestern PacificOcean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to thenortheast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating theeastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population isconcentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consistof 168 islands^[n] intotal covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles).^[17][39] The largest metropolitan area isformed by Taipei (thecapital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. Witharound 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most denselypopulated countries.

Taiwan hasbeen settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settledthe island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale HanChinese immigration began under a Dutchcolony and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantlyHan Chinese state in Taiwanesehistory. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qingdynasty of China and ceded to the Empireof Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrownthe Qing in 1912 under the leadership of SunYat-sen, took control following the surrender of Japan in 1945. The immediateresumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the loss ofthe Chinese mainland to Communist forces, who established the People'sRepublic of China, and the flight ofthe ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effectivejurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan, Penghu, andsmaller islands.

The early1960s saw rapid economic growth and industrialization called the "TaiwanMiracle".^[40] Inthe late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-partystate under martial law to a multi-party democracy, with democraticallyelected presidents beginning in 1996. Taiwan's export-oriented economy is the 21st-largest in the worldby nominal GDP and the 20th-largest by PPP measures,with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing.Taiwan is a developed country.^[41][42] Itis ranked highly in terms of civilliberties,^[43] healthcare,^[44] and human development.^[h][22]

The political status of Taiwan iscontentious.^[49] Despitebeing a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member ofthe United Nations after UN members voted in 1971to recognize the PRC instead.^[50] TheROC maintained its claim of being the sole legitimaterepresentative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceasedto regard the ChineseCommunist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its controlover mainland China.^[51] Taiwanis claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations withcountries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with11 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See.^[52] Manyothers maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representativeoffices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates.International organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse togrant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis.Domestically, the major political contention is between parties favoringeventual Chinese unification and promoting apan-Chinese identity, contrasted with those aspiring to formal internationalrecognition and promoting a Taiwanese identity; in the 21st century, bothsides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal.^[53][54]

Etymology

Names forthe island

In his DaoyiZhilüe (1349), WangDayuan used "Liuqiu"as a name for the island, or the part of it closest to Penghu.^[55] Elsewhere,the name was used for the RyukyuIslands in general or Okinawa specifically;the name Ryūkyū is the Japanese form of Liúqiú.The name also appears in the Book ofSui (636) and other early works, but scholars cannot agree onwhether these references are to the Ryukyus, Taiwan or even Luzon.^[56]

The nameFormosa (福爾摩沙) dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors noted iton their maps as Ilha Formosa (Portuguese for "beautiful island").^[57][58] Thename Formosa eventually "replaced all others in Europeanliterature"^[59] andremained in common use among English speakers into the 20th century.^[60]

In 1603, aChinese expedition fleet anchored at a place in Taiwan called Dayuan, a variantof "Taiwan".^[61][62][63] Inthe early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company establisheda commercial post at Fort Zeelandia (modern-day Anping)on a coastal sandbar called "Tayouan",^[64] aftertheir ethnonym fora nearby Taiwanese aboriginal tribe,possibly Taivoan people.^[65] Thisname was also adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbarand nearby area (Tainan). The modern word "Taiwan" is derived fromthis usage, which is written in different transliterations (大員，大圓，大灣，臺員，臺圓 or 臺窩灣) in Chinese historical records. The area occupiedby modern-day Tainan was the first permanent settlement by both Europeancolonists and Chinese immigrants. The settlement grew to be the island's mostimportant trading center and served as its capital until 1887.

Use of thecurrent Chinese name (臺灣 / 台灣)became official as early as 1684 during the Qingdynasty with the establishment of TaiwanPrefecture centered in modern-day Tainan. Throughits rapid development the entire Taiwanese mainland eventually became known as"Taiwan".^{[66][67][68][69]}

Names ofthe country and jurisdiction

Seealso: Chinese Taipei, Namesof China, and China and the United Nations

The officialname of the country in English is the "Republic of China". Shortlyafter the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located on theChinese mainland, the government used the short form "China" (Zhōngguó, 中國)to refer to itself, derived from zhōng ("central" or"middle") and guó ("state, nation-state").^[o] Theterm developed under the Zhoudynasty in reference to its royal demesne,^[p] andwas then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) duringthe Eastern Zhou and later to China's Central Plain, before being used as anoccasional synonym for the state during the Qing era.^[71] Thename of the republic had stemmed from the party manifesto of the Tongmenghui in1905, which says the four goals of the Chinese revolution was "to expelthe Manchu rulers, to revive Chunghwa, to establish a Republic, and todistribute land equally among the people."^[III] Revolutionaryleader Sun Yat-sen proposed the name ChunghwaMinkuo as the assumed name of the new country when the revolutionsucceeded.

During the1950s and 1960s, after the ROC government had withdrawn to Taiwan, it wascommonly referred to as "Nationalist China" (or "Free China") todifferentiate it from "communist China" (or "Red China").^[73] Oversubsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly known as"Taiwan", after the main island. To avoid confusion, the ROCgovernment in Taiwan began to put "Taiwan" next to its official namein 2005.^[74] InROC government publications, the name is written as "Republic of China(Taiwan)", "Republic of China/Taiwan", or sometimes "Taiwan(ROC)".^[75][76][77]

"TaiwanArea" was defined to mean the island of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, andother territory under ROC's effective control,^[78] incontrast to "Mainland Area" which refers to ROC territory outside theTaiwan Area and under Chinese Communist control.^[79]

The Republicof China participates in most international forums and organizations under thename "Chinese Taipei" as a compromise with thePeople's Republic of China (PRC). For instance, it is the name under which ithas participated in the OlympicGames as well as the APEC.^[80] "Taiwanauthorities" is sometimes used by the PRC to refer to the government inTaiwan.^[81]

History

Mainarticle: History of Taiwan

For achronological guide, see Timeline of Taiwanese history.

Pre-colonialperiod

Mainarticles: Prehistory of Taiwan and Taiwanese indigenous peoples

Taiwan wasjoined to the Asian mainland in the LatePleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago.^[82] Humanremains and Paleolithic artifacts dated 20,000 to 30,000 yearsago have been found.^[83][84] Studyof the human remains suggested they were Australo-Papuan peoplesimilar to Negritopopulations in the Philippines.^[85] PaleolithicTaiwanese likely settled the RyukyuIslands 30,000 years ago.^[86] Slash-and-burn agriculturepractices started at least 11,000 years ago.^[87]

Stone toolsof the Changbin culture havebeen found in Taitung and Eluanbi.Archaeological remains suggest they were initially hunter-gatherers that slowlyshifted to intensive fishing.^[88][89] Thedistinct Wangxing culture, foundin Miaoli County, were initially gatherers who shiftedto hunting.^[90]

Around 6,000years ago, Taiwan was settled by farmers of the Dapenkengculture, most likely from what is now southeast China.^[91] Thesecultures are the ancestors of modern Taiwanese Indigenous peoples andthe originators of the Austronesian language family.^[92][93] Tradewith the Philippines persisted from the early 2nd millenniumBCE, including the use of Taiwanese jade in the Philippine jade culture.^[94][95]

TheDapenkeng culture was succeeded by a variety of cultures throughout the island,including the Tahu and Yingpu;the Yuanshan were characterized by rice harvesting. Iron appeared in suchcultures as the Niaosung culture, influenced by trade with Chinaand Maritime Southeast Asia.^[96][97] The Plains Indigenous peoples mainlylived in permanent walled villages, with a lifestyle based on agriculture, fishing,and hunting.^[98] Theyhad traditionally matriarchal societies.^[98]

Earlycolonial period (to 1683)

Mainarticles: Early Chinese contact with Taiwan, DutchFormosa, Spanish Formosa, Kingdomof Middag, and Kingdom of Tungning

The Penghu Islands wereinhabited by Han Chinese fishermen by 1171, and in 1225 Penghuwas attached to Jinjiang.^{[99][100][101][102]} The Yuandynasty officially incorporated Penghu under the jurisdiction of Tong'an Countyin 1281.^[102] Penghuwas evacuated in the 15th century by the Mingdynasty as part of their maritime ban,which lasted until the late 16th century.^[103] In1349, Wang Dayuan provided the first written account ofa visit to Taiwan.^[104][105] Bythe 1590s, a small number of Chinese from Fujian hadstarted cultivating land in southwestern Taiwan.^[106] Some1,500-2,000 Chinese lived or stayed temporarily on the southern coast ofTaiwan, mostly for seasonal fishing but also subsistence farming and trading,by the early 17th century.^[107][105] In1603, ChenDi visited Taiwan on an anti-wokou expeditionand recorded an account of the Taiwanese Indigenous people.^[62]

In 1591,Japan sent envoys to deliver a letter requesting tribute relations with Taiwan.They found no leader to deliver the letter to and returned home. In 1609, aJapanese expedition was sent to survey Taiwan. After being attacked by theIndigenous people, they took some prisoners and returned home. In 1616, aJapanese fleet of 13 ships were sent to Taiwan. Due to a storm, only one shipmade it there and is presumed to have returned to Japan.^[108][109]

In 1624,the Dutch East India Company (VOC)established Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet ofTayouan (in modern Tainan).^[110][69] Thelowland areas were occupied by 11 Indigenous chiefdoms,some of which fell under Dutch control, including the Kingdomof Middag.^[69][111] Whenthe Dutch arrived, southwestern Taiwan was already frequented by a mostlytransient Chinese population numbering close to 1,500.^[107] TheVOC encouraged Chinese farmers to immigrate and work the lands under Dutchcontrol and by the 1660s, some 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese were living on theisland.^[112][113] Mostof the farmers cultivated rice for local consumption and sugar for export whilesome immigrants engaged in deer hunting for export.^{[114][115][116]}

In 1626,the Spanish Empire occupied northern Taiwan as atrading base, first at Keelung and in 1628 building Fort Santo Domingo at Tamsui.^[117][118] Thiscolony lasted until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces.^[119] TheDutch then marched south, subduing hundreds of villages in the western plains.^[119]

Followingthe fall of the Ming dynasty in Beijing in 1644, Koxinga (ZhengChenggong) pledged allegiance to the YongliEmperor and attacked the Qing dynasty along the southeastern coast ofChina.^[120] In1661, under increasing Qing pressure, he moved his forces from his basein Xiamen toTaiwan, expelling the Dutch the followingyear. The Dutch retook the northern fortress at Keelung in 1664, but left theisland in 1668 in the face of indigenous resistance.^[121][122]

The Zhengregime, known as the Kingdom of Tungning, proclaimed its loyalty tothe overthrown Ming, but ruled independently.^{[123][124][125][126]} However, Zheng Jing'sreturn to China to participate in the Revolt of the Three Feudatories pavedthe way for the Qing invasion and occupation of Taiwan in 1683.^[127][128]

Qing rule(1683–1895)

Mainarticle: Taiwan under Qing rule

Followingthe defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang in1683, the Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan in May 1684, making it a prefecture ofFujian province while retaining its administrative seat (now Tainan) underKoxinga as the capital.^{[129][130][131]}

The Qinggovernment generally tried to restrict migration to Taiwan throughout theduration of its administration because it believed that Taiwan could notsustain too large a population without leading to conflict. After the defeat ofthe Kingdom of Tungning, most of its population in Taiwan was sent back to themainland, leaving the official population count at only 50,000, including10,000 troops. Despite official restrictions, officials in Taiwan solicitedsettlers from the mainland, causing tens of thousands of annual arrivals by1711. A permit system was officially recorded in 1712, but it likely existed asearly as 1684; its restrictions included only allowing those to enter who hadproperty on the mainland, family in Taiwan, and who were not accompanied bywives or children. Many of the male migrants married local Indigenous women.Over the 18th century, restrictions were relaxed. In 1732, families wereallowed to move to Taiwan.^[132][133] By1811, there were more than two million Han settlers in Taiwan, and profitablesugar and rice production industries provided exports to the mainland.^{[134][135][136]} In1875, restrictions on entering Taiwan were repealed.^[137]

Threecounties nominally covered the entire western plains, but actual control wasrestricted to a smaller area. A government permit was required for settlers togo beyond the Dajia River. Qing administration expanded across thewestern plains area over the 18th century due to continued illegal crossingsand settlement.^[138] TheTaiwanese Indigenous peoples were categorized by the Qing administration intoacculturated aborigines who had adopted Han culture and non-acculturatedaborigines who had not. The Qing did little to administer or subjugate them.When Taiwan was annexed, there were 46 aboriginal villages under its control,likely inherited from the Kingdom of Tungning. During the early Qianlong periodthere were 93 acculturated villages and 61 non-acculturated villages that paidtaxes. In response to the Zhu Yigui settler rebellion in 1722, separation ofaboriginals and settlers became official policy via 54 stelae used to mark thefrontier boundary. The markings were changed four times over the latter half ofthe 18th century due to continued settler encroachment. Two aboriginal affairssub-prefects, one for the north and one for the south, were appointed in 1766.^[139]

During the200 years of Qing rule in Taiwan, the Plains Indigenous peoples rarelyrebelled against the government and the mountain Indigenous peoples were leftto their own devices until the last 20 years of Qing rule. Most of the morethan 100 rebellions during the Qing period, such as the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, were caused by Hansettlers.^[140][141] Theirfrequency was evoked by the common saying "every three years an uprising,every five years a rebellion" (三年一反、五年一亂), primarily in reference to theperiod between 1820 and 1850.^{[142][143][144]}

Manyofficials stationed in Taiwan called for an active colonization policy over the19th century. In 1788, Taiwan Prefect Yang Tingli supported the efforts of asettler named Wu Sha to claim land held by the Kavalanpeople. In 1797, Wu Sha was able to recruit settlers with financial supportfrom the local government but was unable to officially register the land. Inthe early 1800s, local officials convinced the emperor to officiallyincorporate the area by playing up the issue of piracy if the land was leftalone.^[145] In1814, some settlers attempted to colonize central Taiwan by fabricating rightsto lease aboriginal land. They were evicted by government troops two yearslater. Local officials continued to advocate for the colonization of the areabut were ignored.^[146]

The Qingtook on a more active colonization policy after 1874 when Japan invadedIndigenous territory in southern Taiwan and the Qing government wasforced to pay an indemnity for them to leave.^[147] Theadministration of Taiwan was expanded with new prefectures, sub-prefectures,and counties. Mountain roads were constructed to make inner Taiwan moreaccessible. Restrictions on entering Taiwan were ended in 1875 and agencies forrecruiting settlers were established on the mainland, but efforts to promotesettlement ended soon after.^[148] In1884, Keelung innorthern Taiwan was occupied during the Sino-FrenchWar but the French forces failed to advance any further inland whiletheir victory at Penghu in 1885 resulted in disease and retreat soon afterwardas the war ended. Colonization efforts were renewed under LiuMingchuan. In 1887, Taiwan's status was upgraded to a province. Taipei becamethe permanent capital in 1893. Liu's efforts to increase revenues on Taiwan'sproduce were hampered by foreign pressure not to increase levies. A land reformwas implemented, increasing revenue which still fell short of expectation.^{[149][150][151]} Moderntechnologies such as electric lighting, a railway, telegraph lines, steamshipservice, and industrial machinery were introduced under Liu's governance, butseveral of these projects had mixed results. A campaign to formally subjugatethe Indigenous peoples ended with the loss of a third of the army after fierceresistance from the Mkgogan and Msbtunux peoples. Liu resigned in 1891 due tocriticism of these costly projects.^{[152][153][129][154]}

By the endof the Qing period, the western plains were fully developed as farmland withabout 2.5 million Chinese settlers. The mountainous areas were still largelyautonomous under the control of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous land loss underthe Qing occurred at a relatively slow pace due to the absence ofstate-sponsored land deprivation for the majority of Qing rule.^[155][156]

Japaneserule (1895–1945)

Mainarticle: Taiwan under Japanese rule

Followingthe Qing defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895),Taiwan, its associated islands, and the Penghu archipelago were ceded to Japan bythe Treaty of Shimonoseki.^[157] Inhabitantswishing to remain Qing subjects had to move to mainland China within a two-yeargrace period, which few saw as feasible.^[158] Estimatessay around 4,000 to 6,000 departed before the expiration of the grace period,and 200,000 to 300,000 followed during the subsequent disorder.^{[159][135][160]} On25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed the Republic of Formosa to resist impendingJapanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at Tainan and quelled thisresistance on 21 October 1895.^[161] About6,000 inhabitants died in the initial fighting and some 14,000 died in thefirst year of Japanese rule. Another 12,000 "bandit-rebels" werekilled from 1898 to 1902.^{[162][163][164]} Subsequentrebellions against the Japanese (the Beipuuprising of 1907, the Tapaniincident of 1915, and the Mushaincident of 1930) were unsuccessful but demonstrated opposition toJapanese rule.

The colonialperiod was instrumental to the industrialization of the island, with itsexpansion of railways and other transport networks, the building of anextensive sanitation system, the establishment of a formal education system, and an end to the practiceof headhunting.^[165][166] Theresources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan. The productionof cashcrops such as sugar greatly increased, and large areas were thereforediverted from the production of rice.^[167] By1939, Taiwan was the seventh-greatest sugar producer in the world.^[168]

The Han andIndigenous populations were classified as second- and third-class citizens, andmany prestigious government and business positions were closed to them.^[169] Aftersuppressing Han guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japaneseauthorities engaged in bloody campaigns against the Indigenous people residingin mountainous regions, culminating in the Musha Incident of 1930.^[170] Intellectualsand laborers who participated in left-wing movements were also arrested andmassacred (e.g. Chiang Wei-shui and Masanosuke Watanabe).^[171] Around1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilationproject.^[172] Chinese-languagenewspapers and curriculums were abolished. Taiwanese music and theater wereoutlawed. A national Shinto religion was promoted in parallel with thesuppression of traditional Taiwanese beliefs. Starting from 1940, families werealso required to adopt Japanesesurnames, although only 2% had done so by 1943.^[172] By1938, 309,000 Japanese were residing in Taiwan.^[173]

During theSecond World War, the island was developed into a naval and air base while itsagriculture, industry, and commerce suffered.^[174][175] Airattacks and the subsequent invasion of the Philippines werelaunched from Taiwan. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavilyfrom Taiwanese ports, and its think tank "South Strike Group" was based at Taihoku Imperial University. Militarybases and industrial centers, such as Kaohsiung and Keelung, becametargets of heavy Allied bombings, which destroyed many of thefactories, dams, and transport facilities built by the Japanese.^[176][175] InOctober 1944, the Formosa Air Battle was fought betweenAmerican carriers and Japanese forces in Taiwan. Over 200,000 of Taiwanese served in the Japanesemilitary, with over 30,000 casualties.^[177] Over2,000 women, euphemistically called "comfortwomen", were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial Japanese troops.^[178]

After Japan's surrender, most Japanese residentswere expelled.^[179]

Republicof China (1945–present)

Mainarticles: Republic of China (1912–1949) and History of Taiwan (1945–present)

Seealso: History of the Republic of China and ChineseCivil War

While Taiwanwas under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was foundedon mainland China on 1 January 1912 followingthe Xinhai Revolution of 1911.^[180] Centralauthority waxed and waned in response to warlordism (1915–28), Japanese invasion (1937–45), andthe Chinese Civil War (1927–49), with centralauthority strongest during the Nanjingdecade (1927–37), when most of China came under the control ofthe Kuomintang (KMT).^[181] During WorldWar II, the 1943 Cairo Declaration specified thatFormosa and the Pescadores be returned by Japan to the ROC;^[182][183] theterms were later repeated in the 1945 Potsdam Declaration^[184] thatJapan agreed to carry out in its instrument of surrender.^[185][186] On 25October 1945, Japan surrendered Taiwan to the ROC, and in the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan formallyrenounced their claims to the islands, though without specifying to whom theywere surrendered.^{[187][188][189][190][q]} Inthe same year, Japan and the ROC signed apeace treaty.^[191]

Whileinitially enthusiastic about the return of Chinese administration and the Three Principles of the People,Formosans grew increasingly dissatisfied about being excluded from higherpositions, the postponement of local elections even after the enactment ofa constitution on the mainland, the smugglingof valuables off the island, the expropriation of businesses intogovernment-operated monopolies, and the hyperinflation of1945–1949.^{[192][193][194][195]} Theshooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, whichwas suppressed with military force in what is now called the February 28 Incident.^[196][197] Mainstreamestimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000.^{[198][199][200]} Chenwas later replaced by Wei Tao-ming, who made an effort to undo previousmismanagement by re-appointing a good proportion of islanders andre-privatizing businesses.^[201]

After theend of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed. A series of ChineseCommunist offensives in 1949 led to the capture of its capital Nanjing on23 April and the subsequent defeat of the Nationalists on the mainland. TheCommunists founded the People'sRepublic of China on 1 October.^[202] On7 December 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek evacuated his Nationalistgovernment to Taiwan and made Taipei the temporarycapital of the ROC.^[203] Some2 million people, mainly soldiers, members of the ruling Kuomintang andintellectual and business elites, were evacuated to Taiwan, adding to theearlier population of approximately six million. These people and theirdescendants became known in Taiwan as "waishengren" (外省人). The ROC government took to Taipeimany national treasures and much of China's gold andforeign currency reserves.^{[204][205][206]} Mostof the gold was used to pay soldiers' salaries,^[207] withsome used to issue the NewTaiwan dollar, part of a price stabilization program to slow inflation inTaiwan.^[208][209]

After losingcontrol of mainland China in 1949, the ROC retained control of Taiwan andPenghu (Taiwan, ROC), parts of Fujian (Fujian, ROC)—specificallyKinmen, Wuqiu (now part of Kinmen) and the Matsu Islandsand two major islands in the South China Sea. The ROCalso briefly retained control of the entirety of Hainan, partsof Zhejiang (Chekiang)—specificallythe Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands—and portions of Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Yunnan. TheCommunists captured Hainan in 1950, captured theDachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955and defeated the ROC revolts in Northwest China in1958. ROC forces entered Burma and Thailand in the 1950s and were defeated by Communistsin 1961. Since losing control of mainland China, the Kuomintang continuedto claim sovereignty over 'all of China', which it defined to include mainlandChina (including Tibet), Taiwan (including Penghu), OuterMongolia, and other minor territories.

Martiallaw era (1949–1987)

Seealso: Martial law in Taiwan and TaiwanMiracle

Martiallaw, declared on Taiwan in May 1949,^[210] continuedto be in effect until 1987,^[210][211] andwas used to suppress political opposition. During the White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT orpro-Communist.^[212] Manycitizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned or executed for their real orperceived link to the Chinese Communist Party. Since these people were mainlyfrom the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political andsocial leaders was destroyed.

Followingthe eruption of the Korean War, US President HarryS. Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet intothe Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between theROC and the PRC.^[213] TheUnited States also passed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty andthe Formosa Resolution of 1955, grantingsubstantial foreign aid to the KMT regimebetween 1951 and 1965.^[214] TheUS foreign aid stabilized prices in Taiwan by 1952.^[215] TheKMT government instituted many laws and land reforms that it had nevereffectively enacted on mainland China.^[216] Economicdevelopment was encouraged by American aid and programs such as the Joint Commissionon Rural Reconstruction, which turned the agricultural sector into thebasis for later growth. Under the combined stimulus of the land reform and theagricultural development programs, agricultural production increased at anaverage annual rate of 4 percent from 1952 to 1959.^[217] Thegovernment also implemented a policy of import substitutionindustrialization, attempting to produce imported goods domestically.^[218] Thepolicy promoted the development of textile, food, and other labor-intensiveindustries.^[219]

As theChinese Civil War continued, the government built up military fortificationsthroughout Taiwan. Veterans built the Central Cross-Island Highway throughthe Taroko Gorge in the 1950s. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in1958, Nike Hercules missiles were added to theformation of missile batteries throughout the island.^[220][221]

During the1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian, single-party governmentunder the Kuomintang's Dang Guo system while its economy becameindustrialized and technology-oriented.^[222] Thisrapid economic growth, known as the TaiwanMiracle, occurred following a strategy of prioritizing agriculture, lightindustries, and heavy industries, in that order.^[223] Export-oriented industrialization wasachieved by tax rebate for exports, removal of import restriction, moving frommultiple exchange rate to single exchange rate system, and depreciation of theNew Taiwan dollar.^[224] Infrastructure projects suchas the Sun Yat-sen Freeway, Taoyuan International Airport, TaichungHarbor, and Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant werelaunched, while the rise of steel, petrochemical, and shipbuilding industriesin southern Taiwan saw the transformation of Kaohsiung into a specialmunicipality on par with Taipei.^[225] Inthe 1970s, Taiwan became the second fastest growing economy in Asia.^[226] Realgrowth in GDP averaged over 10 percent.^[227] In1978, the combination of tax incentives and a cheap, well-trained labor forceattracted investments of over $1.9 billion from overseasChinese, the United States, and Japan.^[228] By1980, foreign trade reached $39 billion per year and generated a surplus of$46.5 million.^[223] Alongwith Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, Taiwan became known as one ofthe Four Asian Tigers.

Because ofthe Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC asthe sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s. Eventually, especiallyafter Taiwan's expulsion fromthe United Nations, most nations switched diplomatic recognition to the PRC.Until the 1970s, the ROC government was regarded by Western critics asundemocratic for upholding martial law, severely repressing any politicalopposition, and controlling the media. The KMT did not allow the creation ofnew parties and competitive democratic elections did not exist.^{[229][230][231][232][233]}

From thelate 1970s to the 1990s, Taiwan underwent political and social reforms thattransformed it into a democracy.^[234][235] ChiangChing-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son, served as premier from 1972 and rose tothe presidency in 1978. He sought to move more authority to "benshengren" (residents of Taiwan before Japan's surrender and theirdescendants).^[236] Pro-democracyactivists Tangwai emerged as the opposition. In1979, the Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung on HumanRights Day. Although the protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, itis considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition.^[237]

In 1984,Chiang Ching-kuo selected LeeTeng-hui as his vice-president. After the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)was (illegally) founded as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter theKMT in 1986, Chiang announced that he would allow the formation of new parties.^[238] On15 July 1987, Chiang lifted martial law on the main island of Taiwan.^[239][240]

Transitionto democracy

Seealso: Politics of the Republic of China

After ChiangChing-kuo's death in 1988, LeeTeng-hui became the first president of the ROC born in Taiwan.^[241] Lee'sadministration oversaw a period of democratization inwhich the TemporaryProvisions against the Communist Rebellion were abolished andthe AdditionalArticles of the Constitution were introduced.^[242][243] Congressionalrepresentation was allocated to only the Taiwan Area,^[244] andTaiwan underwent a process of localization in which Taiwanese cultureand history were promoted over a pan-China viewpoint^[245] while assimilationist policies were replacedwith support for multiculturalism.^[246] In1996, Lee was re-elected in the first direct presidentialelection.^[247] DuringLee's administration, both he and his party were involved in corruptioncontroversies that came to be known as "black gold" politics.^{[248][249][250]}

ChenShui-bian of the DPP was elected as the first non-KMTpresident in 2000.^[251] However,Chen lacked legislative majority. The opposition KMT developed the Pan-Blue Coalition with other parties,mustering a slim majority over the DPP-led Pan-Green Coalition.^[252] Polarizedpolitics emerged in Taiwan with the Pan-Blue preference for eventual Chinese unification, while the Pan-Greenprefers Taiwanese independence.

Chen'sreference to "One Country on Each Side" of theTaiwan Strait undercut cross-Strait relations in 2002.^[253] Hepushed for the first nationalreferendum on cross-Strait relations,^[254][255] andcalled for an end to the National Unification Council.^[256] State-runcompanies began dropping "China" references in their names andincluding "Taiwan".^[257] In2008, referendums askedwhether Taiwan should join the UN.^[258] Thisact alienated moderate constituents who supported the status quo, as well asthose with cross-strait economic ties. It also created tension with themainland and disagreements with the United States.^[259] Chen'sadministration was also dogged by public concerns over reduced economic growth,legislative gridlock, and corruption investigations.^{[260][261][259]}

The KMT'snominee Ma Ying-jeou won the 2008 presidential election ona platform of increased economic growth and better ties with the PRC under apolicy of "mutual non-denial".^[258] UnderMa, Taiwan and China opened up direct flights and cargo shipments.^[262] ThePRC government even made the atypical decision to not demand that Taiwan bebarred from the annual World Health Assembly.^[263] Maalso made an official apology for the White Terror.^[264][265] However,closer economic ties with China raised concerns about its politicalconsequences.^[266][267] In2014, university students occupied the Legislative Yuan and prevented theratification of the Cross-Strait Service TradeAgreement in what became known as the Sunflower Student Movement. The movementgave rise to youth-based third parties such as the NewPower Party, and is viewed to have contributed to the DPP's victories inthe 2016 presidential and legislative elections,^[268] thelatter of which resulted in the first DPP legislative majority in Taiwanesehistory.^[269] InJanuary 2024, William Lai Ching-te of the ruling DemocraticProgressive Party won Taiwan's presidential elections.^[270] However,no party won a majority in the simultaneous Taiwan's legislative election forthe first time since 2004, meaning 51 seats for the Democratic ProgressiveParty (DPP), 52 seats for the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) securedeight seats.^[271]

Geography

Mainarticle: Geography of Taiwan

The landcontrolled by the ROC consists of 168 islands^[n] witha combined area of 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 sq mi).^[17][39][i] Themain island, known historically as Formosa, makes up 99 percent ofthis area, measuring 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi) andlying some 180 kilometres (112 mi) across the TaiwanStrait from the southeastern coast of mainlandChina. The East China Sea lies to its north, the PhilippineSea to its east, the LuzonStrait directly to its south and the SouthChina Sea to its southwest. Smaller islands include the Penghu Islands inthe Taiwan Strait, the Kinmen, Matsu and Wuqiu islandsnear the Chinese coast, and some of the SouthChina Sea islands.

The mainisland is a tilted fault block, characterized by the contrast between theeastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of five rugged mountain ranges parallelto the east coast, and the flat to gently rolling plains of the western third,where the majority of Taiwan's population reside. There are several peaks over3,500 metres, the highest being Yu Shan at3,952 m (12,966 ft), making Taiwan the world's fourth-highest island. Thetectonic boundary that formed these ranges is still active, and the islandexperiences many earthquakes. There are also many active submarinevolcanoes in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwancontains four terrestrial ecoregions: Jian Nan subtropical evergreenforests, South China Sea Islands, South Taiwan monsoon rain forests,and Taiwan subtropical evergreenforests.^[272] Theeastern mountains are heavily forested and home to a diverse range of wildlife,while land use in the western and northern lowlands is intensive. The countryhad a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index meanscore of 6.38/10, ranking it 76th globally out of 172 countries.^[273]

Climate

Seealso: Climate change in Taiwan

Taiwan lieson the Tropic of Cancer, and its general climate ismarine tropical.^[14] Thenorthern and central regions are subtropical, whereas the south is tropical andthe mountainous regions are temperate.^[274] Theaverage rainfall is 2,600 millimetres (100 inches) per year for the islandproper; the rainy season is concurrent with theonset of the summer East Asian Monsoon in May and June.^[275] Theentire island experiences hot, humid weather from June through September. Typhoons are most common in July, Augustand September.^[275] Duringthe winter (November to March), the northeast experiences steady rain, whilethe central and southern parts of the island are mostly sunny.

Due to climate change, the average temperature inTaiwan has risen 1.4 °C (2.5 °F) in the last 100 years, twice theworldwide temperature rise.^[276] Thegoal of the Taiwanese government is to cut carbonemissions by 20 percent in 2030 and by 50 percent in 2050, compared to2005 levels. Carbon emissions increased by 0.92 percent between 2005 and 2016.^[277]

Geology

Mainarticle: Geology of Taiwan

The islandof Taiwan lies in a complex tectonic areabetween the Yangtze Plate to the west and north, the OkinawaPlate on the north-east, and the Philippine Mobile Belt on the east andsouth. The upper part of the crust on the island is primarily made up of aseries of terranes,mostly old island arcs which have been forced together by thecollision of the forerunners of the EurasianPlate and the Philippine Sea Plate. These have been furtheruplifted as a result of the detachment of a portion of the Eurasian Plate as itwas subducted beneathremnants of the Philippine Sea Plate, a process which left the crust underTaiwan more buoyant.^[278]

The east andsouth of Taiwan are a complex system of belts formed by, and part of the zoneof, active collision between the North Luzon Trough portion of the Luzon Volcanic Arc and South China, whereaccreted portions of the Luzon Arc and Luzon forearc form the easternCoastal Range and parallel inland LongitudinalValley of Taiwan, respectively.^[279]

The majorseismic faults in Taiwan correspond to the various suture zones between thevarious terranes. These have produced major quakes. On 21 September 1999, a 7.3quake known as the "921 earthquake" killed more than2,400 people. The seismic hazard map for Taiwan by the USGS shows 9/10 of the islandat the most hazardous rating.^[280]

Governmentand politics

Mainarticles: Government of the Republic of China and Politics of the Republic of China

Seealso: Elections in Taiwan, Human rights in Taiwan, and North–South divide in Taiwan

Government

Thegovernment of the Republic of China was founded on the 1947 Constitution of the ROC andits 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".^[281] Itunderwent significant revisions in the 1990s, known collectively as theAdditional Articles. The government is divided into five branches (Yuan):the Executive Yuan (cabinet), the LegislativeYuan (Congress or Parliament), the JudicialYuan, the Control Yuan (audit agency), and the ExaminationYuan (civil service examination agency).

The headof state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces isthe president, who is elected bypopular vote for a maximum of 2 four-year terms on the same ticket as thevice-president. The president appoints the members of the Executive Yuan astheir cabinet, including a premier, who is officially thePresident of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for policy andadministration.^[281]

Themain legislative body is the unicameral LegislativeYuan with 113 seats. Seventy-three are elected by popular vote fromsingle-member constituencies; thirty-four are elected based on the proportionof nationwide votes received by participating political parties in a separateparty list ballot; and six are elected from two three-member aboriginalconstituencies. Members serve four-year terms. Originally the unicameralNational Assembly, as a standing constitutional convention and electoralcollege, held some parliamentary functions, but the National Assembly wasabolished in 2005 with the power of constitutional amendments handed over tothe Legislative Yuan and all eligible voters of the Republic via referendums.^[281][282]

The premieris selected by the president without the need for approval from thelegislature, and neither the president nor the premier wields veto power.^[281] Historically,the ROC has been dominated by strongman single party politics. This legacy hasresulted in executive powers currently being concentrated in the office of thepresident rather than the premier.^[283]

The JudicialYuan is the highest judicial organ. It interprets the constitution andother laws and decrees, judges administrative suits, and disciplines publicfunctionaries. The president and vice-president of the Judicial Yuan andadditional thirteen justices form the Council of Grand Justices.^[284] Theyare nominated and appointed by the president, with the consent of theLegislative Yuan. The highest court, the Supreme Court, consists of anumber of civil and criminal divisions, each of which is formed by a presidingjudge and four associate judges, all appointed for life. In 1993, aseparate constitutional court wasestablished to resolve constitutional disputes, regulate the activities ofpolitical parties and accelerate the democratization process. There is no trial byjury but the right to a fair public trial is protected by law andrespected in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges.^[281]

The ControlYuan is a watchdog agency that monitors the actions of the executive. It can beconsidered a standing commission foradministrative inquiry, like the Courtof Auditors of the EuropeanUnion or the Government Accountability Office ofthe United States.^[281] Itis also responsible for the National Human RightsCommission.

TheExamination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of civilservants. It is based on the imperial examination system used indynastic China. It can be compared to the European Personnel Selection Office ofthe European Union or the Office of Personnel Management ofthe United States.^[281] Itwas downsized in 2019, and there have been calls for its abolition.^[285][286]

Constitution

Theconstitution was drafted by the KMT while the ROC still governed the Chinesemainland.^[287] Politicalreforms beginning in the late 1970s resulted in the end of martial law in 1987,and Taiwan transformed into a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s. Theconstitutional basis for this transition to democracy was gradually laid in the AdditionalArticles of the Constitution. These articles suspended portions of theConstitution designed for the governance of mainland China and replacing themwith articles adapted for the governance of and guaranteeing the politicalrights of residents of the Taiwan Area, as defined in the Cross-StraitAct.^[288]

Nationalboundaries were not explicitly prescribed by the 1947 Constitution, and theConstitutional Court declined to define these boundaries in a 1993interpretation, viewing the question as a political question to be resolved bythe Executive and Legislative Yuans.^[289] The1947 Constitution included articles regarding representatives from former Qingdynasty territories including Tibet and Mongol banners.^{[290][291][292]} TheROC recognized Mongolia as an independent country in 1946 aftersigning the 1945 Sino-Soviet Treaty ofFriendship and Alliance, but after retreating to Taiwan in 1949 it renegedto preserve its claim over mainland China.^[293] TheAdditional Articles of the 1990s did not alter national boundaries, butsuspended articles regarding Mongolian and Tibetan representatives. The ROCbegan to accept the Mongolian passport and removed clauses referring to OuterMongolia from the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Areaand the Mainland Area in 2002.^[294] In2012 the Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement clarifying that OuterMongolia was not part of the ROC's national territory in 1947.^[295] The Mongolian and Tibetan AffairsCommission in the Executive Yuan was abolished in 2017.

Majorcamps

Taiwan'spolitical scene is divided into two major camps in terms of cross-Straitrelations, i.e. how Taiwan should relate to China or the PRC. The Pan-Green Coalition (e.g. the Democratic Progressive Party) leanspro-independence, and the Pan-Blue Coalition (e.g. the Kuomintang)leans pro-unification.^[296] Moderatesin both camps regard the Republic of China as a sovereign independent state,but the Pan-Green Coalition regard the ROC as synonymous with Taiwan,^[297] whilemoderates in the Pan-Blue Coalition view it as synonymouswith China.^[298] Thesepositions formed against the backdrop of the PRC's Anti-Secession Law, which threatens the use of"non-peaceful means" to respond to formal Taiwanese independence.^[299] TheROC government has understood this to mean a military invasion of Taiwan.^[300]

The Pan-Green Coalition is mainly led by thepro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP)and Green Party (GPT). They oppose the ideathat Taiwan is part of China, and seek wide diplomatic recognition and aneventual declaration of formal Taiwan independence.^[301] InSeptember 2007, the then ruling DPP approved a resolution asserting separateidentity 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 "Republicof China".^[302] Thename "Taiwan" has been used increasingly often after the emergence ofthe Taiwanese independence movement.^[259] Somemembers of the coalition, such as former President Chen Shui-bian, argue thatit is unnecessary to proclaim independence because "Taiwan is already anindependent, sovereign country" and the Republic of China is the same asTaiwan.^[303] Despitebeing a member of KMT prior to and during his presidency, Lee Teng-hui alsoheld a similar view and was a supporter of the Taiwanization movement.^[304] TSPand GPT^[305] haveadopted a line that aggressive route more than the DPP, in order to win overpro-independence voters who are dissatisfied with the DPP's conservativestance.

The Pan-Blue Coalition, composed of thepro-unification Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP)and New Party generally support thespirit of the 1992 Consensus, where the KMT claimed that there isone China, but that the ROC and PRC have different interpretations of what"China" means. They favor eventual unification with China.^[306] Regardingindependence, the mainstream Pan-Blue position is to maintain the status quo,while refusing immediate unification.^[307][308] PresidentMa Ying-jeou stated that there will be no unification nor declaration ofindependence during his presidency.^[309][310] SomePan-Blue members seek to improve relationships with PRC, with a focus onimproving economic ties.^[311]

Nationalidentity

Mainarticle: Taiwanese people § The current state of Taiwaneseidentity

Seealso: Opinion polling on Taiwaneseidentity

Results froman identity survey conducted each year from 1992 to 2020 by the Election StudyCenter, National Chengchi University.^[312] Responsesare Taiwanese (green), Chinese (red) or Both Taiwanese and Chinese (hatched).No response is shown as gray.

Roughly 84percent of Taiwan's population are descendants of Han Chinese immigrantsbetween 1683 and 1895. Another significant fraction descends from Han Chinesewho immigrated from mainland China in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Theshared cultural origin as well as hostility between the rival ROC and PRC haveresulted in national identity being a contentious issue with politicalovertones.

Sincedemocratic reforms and the lifting of martial law, a distinct Taiwaneseidentity is often at the heart of political debates. Its acceptance makes theisland distinct from mainland China, and therefore may be seen as a steptowards forming a consensus for de jure Taiwan independence.^[313] ThePan-Green camp supports a predominantly Taiwanese identity (although"Chinese" may be viewed as cultural heritage), while the Pan-Bluecamp supports a predominantly Chinese identity (with "Taiwanese" as aregional/diasporic Chinese identity).^[306] TheKMT has downplayed this stance in the recent years and now supports a Taiwaneseidentity as part of a Chinese identity.^[314][315]

Taiwaneseidentification has increased substantially since the early 1990s, while Chineseidentification has fallen to a low level, and identification as both has alsoseen a reduction. In 1992, 17.6 percent of respondents identified as Taiwanese,25.5 percent as Chinese, 46.4 percent as both, and 10.5 percent non-response.In June 2021, 63.3 percent identified as Taiwanese, 2.6 percent as Chinese,31.4 percent as both, and 2.7 percent non-response.^[312] Asurvey conducted in Taiwan by Global Views Survey Research Center in July 2009showed that 82.8 percent of respondents consider the ROC and the PRC twoseparate countries with each developing on its own but 80.2 percent think theyare members of the Chinese.^[316]

Publicopinion

Seealso: Taiwan independence movement and Chinese unification

Domesticpublic opinion has preferred maintaining the status quo, thoughpro-independence sentiment has steadily risen since 1994. In June 2021, anannual poll found that 28.2 percent supported the status quo and postponing adecision, 27.5 percent supported maintaining the status quo indefinitely, 25.8percent supported the status quo with a move toward independence, 5.9 percentsupported the status quo with a move toward unification, 5.7 percent gave noresponse, 5.6 percent supported independence as soon as possible, and 1.5percent supported unification as soon as possible.^[317] A referendum question in 2018 asked ifTaiwan's athletes should compete under "Taiwan" in the 2020 Summer Olympics but did not pass;the New York Times attributed the failure to a campaigncautioning that a name change might lead to Taiwan being banned "underChinese pressure".^[318]

The KMT, thelargest Pan-Blue party, supports the status quo forthe indefinite future with a stated ultimate goal of unification. However, itdoes not support unification in the short term with the PRC as such a prospectwould be unacceptable to most of its members and the public.^[319] MaYing-jeou, chairman of the KMT and former president of the ROC, has set outdemocracy, economic development to a level near that of Taiwan, and equitablewealth distribution as the conditions that the PRC must fulfill for unificationto occur.^[320] Mastated that the cross-Strait relations are neither between two Chinas nor twostates. It is a special relationship. Further, he stated that the sovereigntyissues between the two cannot be resolved at present.^[321]

TheDemocratic Progressive Party, the largest Pan-Green party, officially seeksindependence, but in practice also supports the status quo because neitherindependence nor unification seems likely in the short or even medium term.^[322] In2017, Taiwanese premier William Lai said that he was a "politicalworker who advocates Taiwan independence", but that as Taiwan was alreadyan independent country called the Republic of China,^{[323][324][325][326][327]} ithad no need to declare independence.^[328]

Foreignrelations and international status

Mainarticles: Foreign relations of Taiwan and Political status of Taiwan

Seealso: List of states with limitedrecognition; Foreign relations of China§ International territorial disputes; and Taiwan,China

  Countriesthat have formal relations with Taiwan

  Countriesthat have formal relations with the PRC and informal relations with Taiwan

Thepolitical and legal statuses of Taiwan are contentious issues. The People'sRepublic of China (PRC) claims that Taiwan is Chinese territory and that thePRC replaced the ROC government in 1949, becoming the sole legal government ofChina.^[81] TheROC, however, has its owncurrency, widely accepted passport, postage stamps,internet TLD, armed forces and constitution with anindependently elected president.^[329] Ithas not formally renounced its claim to the mainland, but ROC governmentpublications have increasingly downplayed this historical claim.^[330]

Until 1928,the foreign policy of Republican China wascomplicated by a lack of internal unity—competing centers of power all claimedlegitimacy. This situation changed after the defeat of the Peiyang Government by the Kuomintang (KMT),which led to widespread diplomatic recognition of the Republic of China.^[331] Afterthe KMT retreated to Taiwan, most countries, especially those of the WesternBloc – save the United Kingdom, which recognized the PRC in 1950^[332] –continued to maintain formal relations with the ROC; but recognition graduallyeroded and many countries switched recognition to the People's Republic ofChina in the 1970s. On 25 October 1971, UN Resolution 2758 was adopted by 76votes to 35 with 17 abstentions, recognizing the PRC as China's solerepresentative in the United Nations.^[333][334]

The PRCrefuses to have diplomatic relations with any nation that hasdiplomatic relations with the ROC, and requires all nations with which it hasdiplomatic relations to make a statement on its claims to Taiwan.^[335][336] Asa result, only 11 UN memberstates and the Holy See maintain official diplomatic relations withthe Republic of China.^[52] TheROC maintains unofficial relations with other countries via de facto embassies and consulates mostly called Taipei Economic andCultural Representative Offices (TECRO), with branch offices called"Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices" (TECO). Both TECRO and TECOare "unofficial commercial entities" of the ROC in charge ofmaintaining diplomatic relations, providing consular services, and serving thenational interests of the ROC.^[337]

From 1954 to1979, the United States was a partner with Taiwan in a mutual defense treaty.The United States remains one of the main supporters ofTaiwan and, through the Taiwan Relations Act passed in 1979, hascontinued selling arms and providing military training to the Republic of China Armed Forces.^[338] ThePRC considers US involvement disruptive to the stability of the region.^[339][340] Theofficial position of the United States is that the PRC is expected to "useno 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 torefrain from performing actions or espousing statements "that wouldunilaterally alter Taiwan's status".^[341] Whilenot officially classified as a major non-NATO ally, it has been defacto treated this way by the UnitedStates since at least 2003.^[342]

Taiwan,since 2016 under the Tsai administration's New Southbound Policy, has pursued closereconomic relations with South and SoutheastAsian countries, increasing cooperation on investments andpeople-to-people exchanges despite the region's general lack of officialdiplomatic ties with Taipei.^[343][344] Thepolicy has led to Taiwan receiving an increased number of migrants and studentsfrom the region.^[345] However,a few scandals of Southeast Asians, particularly Indonesians, experiencingexploitation in scholarship programs^[346] andin some labor industries have emerged as setbacks for the policy^[347][348] aswell as for Indonesia-Taiwan relations.^[349][350]

Relationswith the PRC

Mainarticle: Cross-Strait relations

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) ofTaiwan is responsible for relations with the PRC, while the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the PRCis responsible for relations with Taiwan. Exchanges are conducted throughprivate organizations both founded in 1991: the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)of Taiwan and the Association forRelations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) of the PRC.

ThePRC's OneChina principle states that Taiwan and mainland China are both part ofChina, and that the PRC is the only legitimate government of China.^[50] Itseeks to prevent or reduce any formal recognition of the ROC as an independentsovereign state,^[351][352] meaningthat Taiwan participates in many international forums as a non-state memberunder names such as "Chinese Taipei". The PRC suggested the "one country, two systems" employedin HongKong as a model for peaceful unification with Taiwan.^[353][354] Whileit aims for peaceful reunification, the PRC does not rule out the use of force.^[355][324] Thepolitical environment is complicated by the potential for military conflict^{[356][357][358]} shouldevents outlined in the PRC's Anti-Secession Law occur, such as Taiwandeclaring de jure independence. There is a substantialmilitary presence on the Fujian coast as well as PRC sorties intoTaiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).^{[359][360][325]}

In November1992, the ARATS and SEF held a meeting which would later become known asthe 1992 Consensus. The SEF announced that both sidesagreed that there was only one China, but disagreed on the definition of China(i.e. the ROC vs. PRC), while the ARATS announced that the two agreed on theOne China principle, but did not mention differences regarding its definitionmade in the SEF statement.^[361] In2019, Tsai Ing-wen rejected the 1992 Consensus.^[362] Shestated that there is no need to talk about the 1992 Consensus anymore, becausethis term has already been defined by Beijing as "one country, twosystems."^[363]

Participationin international events and organizations

Seealso: Foreign relations of Taiwan § Relationwith International organizations, and ChineseTaipei

The ROC wasa founding member of United Nations,and held the seat of China on the Security Council and other UNbodies until 1971, when it was expelled by Resolution 2758 and replaced withthe PRC as the ROC now has neither official membership nor observer status inthe organization. Since 1993, the ROC has petitioned the UN for entry, but itsapplications have not made it past committee stage.^[364][365] Dueto the OneChina policy, most UN member states, including theUnited States, do not wish to discuss the issue of the ROC's political statusfor fear of souring diplomatic ties with the PRC.^[366]

The ROCgovernment shifted its focus to organizations affiliated with the UN, as wellas organizations outside the UN system.^[367] Thegovernment sought to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO)since 1997,^[368][369] theirefforts were rejected until 2009, when they participated as an observer underthe name "Chinese Taipei" after reaching an agreement with Beijing.^[370][371] In2017, Taiwan again began to be excluded from the WHO even in an observercapacity.^[372] Thisexclusion caused a number of scandals during the COVID-19 outbreak.^[373][374]

The Nagoya Resolution in 1979approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)provided a compromise for the ROC to use the name "Chinese Taipei" ininternational events where the PRC is also a party, such as the OlympicGames.^{[375][376][377]} Underthe IOC charter, ROC flags cannot be flown at anyofficial Olympic venue or gathering.^[378] TheROC also participates in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum(since 1991) and the World Trade Organization (since 2002)under the names "Chinese Taipei" and "Separate Customs Territoryof Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu", respectively.^[379][380] Itwas a founding member of the Asian Development Bank, but since China'sascension in 1986 has participated under the name "Taipei, China".The ROC is able to participate as "China" in organizations in whichthe PRC does not participate, such as the World Organization of theScout Movement.

Due to itslimited international recognition, the Republic of China has been a member ofthe Unrepresented Nationsand Peoples Organization (UNPO) since the foundation of theorganization in 1991, represented by a government-funded organization,the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD),under the name "Taiwan".^[381][382]

Military

Mainarticle: Republic of China Armed Forces

Seealso: Military history of Taiwan and Republic of China Military Academy

The Republic of China Armed Forces takesits roots in the National Revolutionary Army, which wasestablished by Sun Yat-sen in 1924 in Guangdong witha goal of reunifying China under the Kuomintang. When the People's Liberation Army won theChinese Civil War, much of the National Revolutionary Army retreated to Taiwanalong with the government. The 1947 Constitution of the ROC reformed it intothe Republic of China Armed Forces, making it the national army rather than thearmy of a political party. Units which surrendered and remained in mainlandChina were either disbanded or incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.

From 1949 tothe 1970s, the primary mission of the Taiwanese military was to "retakemainland China" through Project National Glory. As this mission hastransitioned away from attack because the relative strength of the PRC hasmassively increased, the ROC military has begun to shift emphasis from thetraditionally dominant Army to the air force and navy. Control of the armed forces has alsopassed into the hands of the civilian government.^[383][384]

The ROCbegan a series of force reduction plans since the 1990s to scale down itsmilitary from a level of 450,000 in 1997 to 380,000 in 2001.^[385] Asof 2021, the total strength of the Armed Forces is capped at 215,000 with 90percent manning ratio for volunteer military.^[386] Conscriptionremains universal for qualified males reaching age eighteen, but as a part ofthe reduction effort many are given the opportunity to fulfill their draftrequirement through alternative service.^[387] Taiwancut compulsory military service to four months in 2013 but will extend militaryservice to one year in 2024.^[388][389] Themilitary's reservists is around 2.5 million including first-wavereservists numbered at 300,000 as of 2022.^[390] Taiwan's defensespending as a percentage of its GDP fell below three percent in 1999and had been trending downwards over the first two decades of the twenty-firstcentury.^[391][392] TheROC government spent approximately two percent of GDP on defense and failed toraise the spending as high as proposed three percent of GDP.^{[393][394][395]} In2022, Taiwan proposed 2.4 percent of projected GDP in defense spending for thefollowing year, continued to remain below three percent.^[396]

The ROC andthe United States signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954, andestablished the United States Taiwan DefenseCommand. About 30,000 US troops were stationed in Taiwan, until the UnitedStates established diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1979.^[397] Asignificant amount of military hardware has been bought from the United States,and continues to be legally guaranteed by the Taiwan Relations Act.^[338] Franceand 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.^[398][399]

There is noguarantee in the Taiwan Relations Act or any other treaty that the UnitedStates will defend Taiwan, even in the event of invasion.^[400] Onseveral occasions in 2021 and 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden statedthat the United States will intervene if the PRC attempts to invade Taiwan.^{[401][402][403][404]} However,White House officials insisted that US policy on Taiwan has not changed.^[405][406] Thejoint declaration on security between the US and Japan signed in 1996 may implythat Japan would be involved in any response. However, Japan has refused tostipulate whether the "area surrounding Japan" mentioned in the pactincludes Taiwan.^[407] The Australia, NewZealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS Treaty) may mean thatother US allies, such as Australia, could be involved.^[408][409] Whilethis would risk damaging economic ties with China,^[410] aconflict over Taiwan could lead to an economic blockade of China by a greatercoalition.^{[411][412][413][414][415]}

LGBTrights

Mainarticles: LGBT rights in Taiwan and Same-sex marriage in Taiwan

On 24 May2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that then-currentmarriage laws had been violating the Constitution by denying same-sex couplesthe right to marry. The Court ruled that if the Legislative Yuan did not passadequate amendments to Taiwanese marriage laws within two years, same-sexmarriages would automatically become lawful in Taiwan.^[416] Ina referendum question in 2018, however,voters expressed overwhelming opposition to same-sex marriage and supported theremoval of content about homosexuality from primary school textbooks. Accordingto the New York Times, the referendum questions were subject to a"well-funded and highly organized campaign led by conservative Christiansand other groups" involving the use of misinformation.^[318] Nevertheless,the vote against same-sex marriage does not affect the court ruling, and on 17May 2019, Taiwan's parliament approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage,making it the first country in Asia to do so.^{[417][418][419]}

Taiwan hasan annual pride event, Taiwan Pride. It currently holds the record for thelargest LGBT gatheringin EastAsia, rivaling Tel Aviv Pride in Israel.^[420] Theevent draws more than 200,000 people.^[421]

Administrativedivisions

Mainarticle: Administrative divisions of Taiwan

Seealso: History ofthe administrative divisions of China (1912–1949)

According tothe 1947 constitution, the territory of the ROC is according to its"existing national boundaries".^[422] TheROC is, de jure constitutionally, divided into provinces [zh], special municipalities (whichare further divided into districts for local administration), and theprovince-level Tibet Area. Each province issubdivided into cities and counties,which are further divided into townships and county-administered cities, eachhaving elected mayors and city councilors who share duties with the county.Some divisions are indigenous divisions which have different degrees ofautonomy to standard ones. In addition, districts, cities and townships arefurther divided into villages and neighborhoods. The provinces have been"streamlined" and are no longer functional.^[423] Similarly, Mongol banners for China's InnerMongolia also existed,^[292] butthey were abolished in 2006 and the ROC reaffirmed its recognition of Mongolia(formerly known as Outer Mongolia in Taiwan) in 2002, asstipulated in the 1946 constitution.^{[424][425][426]}

Withprovinces non-functional, Taiwan is in practice divided into 22 subnationaldivisions, each with a self-governing body led by an elected leader and alegislative body with elected members. Duties of local governments includesocial services, education, urban planning, public construction, watermanagement, environmental protection, transport, public safety, and more.

When the ROCretreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed territory consisted of 35 provinces,12 special municipalities, 1 special administrative region and 2 autonomousregions. However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled only TaiwanProvince and some islands of Fujian Province. The ROC alsocontrols the Pratas Islands and TaipingIsland in the SpratlyIslands, which are part of the disputed South China Sea Islands. They were placedunder Kaohsiung administrationafter the retreat to Taiwan.^[427]

Notes

1.         ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Hasan elected executive and an elected legislative council.

2.         ^ Jump up to:^a b c Hasan appointed district administrator for managing local affairs and carrying outtasks commissioned by superior agency.

3.         ^ Hasan elected village administrator for managing local affairs and carrying outtasks commissioned by superior agency.

Economy

Mainarticles: Economy of Taiwan and Economic history of Taiwan

The quickindustrialization and rapid growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the 20thcentury has been called the "TaiwanMiracle". Taiwan is one of the "FourAsian Tigers" alongside Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. As ofOctober 2022, Taiwan is the 21st largest economy in the world by nominal GDP.^[428]

Since 2001,agriculture constituted less than 2 percent of GDP, down from 32 percent in1951.^[429] Unlikeits neighbors, South Korea and Japan, the Taiwanese economy is dominatedby small and medium-sized enterprises,rather than the large business groups.^[430] Traditionallabor-intensive industries are steadily being moved offshore and with morecapital and technology-intensive industries replacing them. High-technology science parks have sprung upin Taiwan.

Today Taiwanhas a dynamic, capitalist, export-driven economy with graduallydecreasing state involvement in investment and foreign trade. In keeping withthis trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms arebeing privatized.^[431] Exportshave provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus issubstantial, and Taiwan remained one of the world's largest forexreserve holders.^[432] Taiwan'stotal trade in 2022 reached US$907 billion. Both exports and imports forthe year reached record levels, totaling US$479.52 billion andUS$427.60 billion, respectively.^[433] China,United States and Japan are Taiwan's three largest trading partners, accountingfor over 40 percent of total trade.^[434]

Since thebeginning of the 1990s, economic ties between Taiwan and China have beenextensive. In 2002, China surpassed the United States to become Taiwan'slargest export market for the first time.^[435] Chinais also the most important target of outward foreign direct investment.^[436] From1991 to 2022, more than US$200 billion have been invested in China byTaiwanese companies.^[437] Chinahosts around 4,200 Taiwanese enterprises and over 240,000 Taiwanese work inChina.^[438][439] Althoughthe economy of Taiwan benefits from this situation, some have expressed theview that the island has become increasingly dependent on the mainland Chineseeconomy.^[440] Othersargue that close economic ties between Taiwan and mainland China would make anymilitary intervention by the PLA against Taiwan very costly, andtherefore less probable.^[441]

Since the1980s, a number of Taiwan-based technology firms have expanded their reacharound the world.^[442] Taiwanis a key player in the supply chain for advanced chips. Taiwan's rise in the key semiconductorindustry was largely attributed to Taiwan SemiconductorManufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronic Corporation (UMC).^[443] TSMCwas founded 21 February 1987 and as of December 2021 its market capitalization equated to roughly90% of Taiwan's GDP.^[444] Thecompany is the 9th largest in the world by market capitalization^[445] aswell as the world's biggest semiconductor manufacturing company,surpassing Intel and Samsung.^[446] UMC,another major company in Taiwan's high-tech exports and global semiconductors,competes with the American GlobalFoundries,and others, for less advanced semiconductor processes and for silicon wafers.^[447] Otherwell-known international technology companies headquartered in Taiwan includepersonal computer manufacturers Acer Inc. and Asus, as well aselectronics manufacturing giant Foxconn.^[448]

Transport

Mainarticle: Transportation in Taiwan

The Ministry ofTransportation and Communications of Taiwan is the cabinet-levelgoverning body of the transport network in Taiwan. Civilian transport in Taiwanis characterized by extensive use of scooters. In March 2019, 13.86 millionwere registered, twice that of cars.^[449] Bothhighways and railways are concentrated near the coasts, where the majority ofthe population resides, with 1,619 km (1,006 mi) of motorway. Railways in Taiwan areprimarily used for passenger services, with Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA)operating a circular route around the island and Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) runninghigh speed services on the west coast. Urban transit systems include TaipeiMetro, Kaohsiung Metro, TaoyuanMetro, New Taipei Metro, and TaichungMetro.

Majorairports include Taiwan Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Taipei Songshan and Taichung.There are currently seven Taiwanese passenger airlines, with the largest twobeing China Airlines and EVA Air. Thereare seven international seaports: Keelung, Taipei,Suao, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Anping,and Hualien.^[450] ThePort of Kaohsiung handled the largest volume of cargo in Taiwan, with about 440million shipping tonnes, which accounted for 58.6% of Taiwan's total throughputin 2021.^[451] Theshipping tonnage followed by Taichung (18.6%), Taipei (12%) and Keelung (8.7%).

Demographics

Mainarticle: Demographics of Taiwan

Taiwan has apopulation of about 23.4 million,^[452] mostof whom are on the island of Taiwan. The remainder live on the outlying islandsof Penghu (101,758), Kinmen (127,723), and Matsu (12,506).^[453]

Largestcities and counties

Mainarticle: List of cities in Taiwan

The figuresbelow are the March 2019 estimates for the twenty most populous administrativedivisions; a different ranking exists when considering the total metropolitan area populations (insuch rankings the Taipei-Keelung metro area isby far the largest agglomeration). The figures reflect the number of householdregistrations in each city, which may differ from the number of actualresidents.

Ethnicgroups

Mainarticles: Taiwanese people, HanTaiwanese, Han Chinese, Taiwanese indigenous peoples,and Plains indigenous peoples

The ROCgovernment reports that 95 percent of the population is ethnically HanChinese.^[454] Thereare also 2.4 percent indigenous Austronesian peoples and 2.6 percentnew immigrants primarily from China and Southeast Asia.^[455]

Most HanTaiwanese are descended from the Hoklopeople, native to the coastal regions of southern Fujian, andthe Hakka people, native to eastern Guangdong.Hoklo and Hakka migrants arrived in large numbers during the 17th and 18thcentury. Descendants of Hoklo now compose approximately 70 percent of Taiwan'spopulation.^[14] Descendantsof Hakka make up about 15 percent of the population. Another minority group,called waishengren, comprises those who arrived from Chinaduring the 1940s or are descended from them.^[456] Geneticstudies indicate that the Hoklo and Hakka people are a mixture betweenAustronesians and Han people.^[457]

Taiwanese Indigenous peoples numberabout 584,000, and the government recognises 16 groups.^[458] The Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Kanakanavu, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Saaroa, Sakizaya, Sediq, Thao, Truku and Tsou livemostly in the eastern half of the island, while the Yami inhabit OrchidIsland.^[459][460]

Languages

Mainarticle: Languages of Taiwan

  MandarinChinese

  Hokkien orMin Nan

  HakkaChinese

  Austronesian languages

The Republicof China does not have any legally designated officiallanguage. Mandarin is the primary language used inbusiness and education, and is spoken by the vast majority of thepopulation. Traditional Chinese is used as the writingsystem.^[461]

Around 70%of Taiwan's population belong to the Hoklo ethnicgroup and are native speakers of TaiwaneseHokkien.^[462] The Hakka group,comprising some 14–18 percent of the population, speak Hakka.Although Mandarin is the language of instruction in schools and dominatestelevision and radio, non-Mandarin Chinese varieties have undergone arevival in public life in Taiwan, particularly since restrictions on their usewere lifted in the 1990s.^[461]

Formosan languages are spoken primarily bythe indigenous peoples of Taiwan. They do not belong to the Chinese orSino-Tibetan language family, but to the Austronesian language family, and arewritten in the Latin alphabet.^[463] Theiruse among aboriginal minority groups has been in decline as usage of Mandarinhas risen.^[461] Ofthe 14 extant languages, five are considered moribund.^[464]

Sincethe May Fourth Movement, written vernacular Chinese hadreplaced Classical Chinese and emerged as themainstream written Chinese in the Republic ofChina. Classical Chinese continued to be widely used in government documentsuntil reforms in the 1970s to shift the written style to a more integratedvernacular Chinese and Classical Chinese style (文白合一行文).^[465][466] On1 January 2005, the Executive Yuan also changed its long-standingconvention on the direction ofwriting in official documents from vertical to horizontal. StandaloneClassical Chinese is occasionally used in formal or ceremonial occasions, suchas religious or cultural rites. The National Anthem of theRepublic of China (中華民國國歌), for example, is in ClassicalChinese. Most official government, legal,and judiciary documents, as wellas courts rulings use acombined vernacular Chinese and Classical Chinese style.^[467] Asmany legal documents are still written in Classical Chinese, which is noteasily understood by the general public, a group of Taiwanese have launched theLegal Vernacular Movement, hoping to bring more vernacular Chinese into thelegal writings of the Republicof China.^[468]

Taiwan isofficially multilingual. A national language in Taiwan is legally defined as"a natural language used by an original people group of Taiwan andthe Taiwan Sign Language".^[9]

Religion

Mainarticle: Religion in Taiwan

Estimatedreligious composition in 2020:^[13]

  Chinese folk religion (including Confucianism)(43.8%)

  Buddhists (21.2%)

  Others(including Taoists)(15.5%)

  Unaffiliated(13.7%)

  Christians(5.8%)

  Muslims (1%)

TheConstitution of the Republic of China protects people's freedom of religion and the practices ofbelief.^[469][470] The government respects freedom ofreligion, and Taiwan scores highly on the InternationalIDEA's Global State of Democracy Indices for religious freedom.^[471]

In 2005, thecensus reported that the five largest religions were: Buddhism, Taoism, Yiguandao, Protestantism,and Roman Catholicism.^[472] Accordingto Pew Research, the religious composition ofTaiwan in 2020^[473] isestimated to be 43.8 percent Folk religions, 21.2 percent Buddhist, 15.5 Others (including Taoism), 13.7percent Unaffiliated, 5.8 percent Christian and 1% Muslim. Taiwanese aboriginescomprise a notable subgroup among professing Christians.^[474] Therehas been a small Muslim community of Hui people inTaiwan since the 17th century.^[475]

Confucianism servesas the foundation of both Chinese and Taiwaneseculture. The majority of Taiwanesepeople usually combine the secular moral teachings of Confucianismwith whatever religions they are affiliated with.

As of 2019,there were 15,175 religious buildings in Taiwan, approximatelyone place of worship per 1,572 residents. 12,279temples were dedicated to Taoism and Buddhism. There were 9,684 Taoist Templesand 2,317 Buddhist Temples.^[476] For Christianity,there are 2,845 Churches.^[476] Onaverage, there is one temple or church (church) or religious building for everysquare kilometer. The density of religions and religious buildings in Taiwan isamong the highest in the world.^[477][478]

Asignificant percentage of the population is non-religious. Taiwan's lack ofstate-sanctioned discrimination, and generally high regard for freedom ofreligion or belief earned it a joint #1 ranking in the 2018 Freedom of Thought Report.^[479][480] Onthe other hand, the Indonesian migrant worker communityin Taiwan (estimated to total 258,084 people) has experienced religiousrestrictions by local employers or the government.^[481][482]

Education

Mainarticles: Education in Taiwan, AcademiaSinica, and History of education in Taiwan

Seealso: Scholarships in Taiwan and Economy of Taiwan § Science

Taiwan iswell known for adhering to the Confucian paradigm of valuing education as ameans to improve one's socioeconomic position in society.^[484][485] Heavyinvestment and a cultural valuing of education has made the resource-poornation to be consistently ranked to the top of global education rankings.Taiwan is one of the top-performing countries in reading literacy, mathematicsand sciences. In 2015, Taiwanese students achieved one of the world's bestresults in mathematics, science and literacy, as tested by the Programme forInternational Student Assessment (PISA), with the average studentscoring 519, compared with the OECD average of 493, placing it seventh in theworld.^{[486][487][488]}

TheTaiwanese education system has been praised for its comparatively high testresults and its major role in promoting Taiwan's economic development whilecreating one of the world's most highly educated workforces.^[489][490] Taiwanhas also been praised for its high university entrance rate where theuniversity acceptance rate has increased from around 20 percent before the1980s to 49 percent in 1996 and over 95 percent since 2008, among the highestin Asia.^{[491][492][493]} Thenation's high university entrance rate has created a highly skilled workforcemaking Taiwan one of the most highly educated countries in the world with 68.5percent of Taiwanese high school students going on to attend university.^[494] Taiwanhas a high percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree where45 percent of Taiwanese aged 25–64 hold a bachelor's degree or higher comparedwith the average of 33 percent among member countries of the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD).^[493][495]

On the otherhand, the education system has been criticized for placing excessive pressureon students while eschewing creativity and producing an excess supply ofovereducated university graduates. Many graduates consequently faceunemployment or underemployment due to a lack of graduate-leveljobs.^[496][485] Taiwan'suniversities have also been under criticism for not being able to fully meetthe requirements and demands of Taiwan's 21st-century fast-moving labor market,citing a skills mismatch among a large number of self-assessed, overeducatedgraduates who do not fit the demands of the modern Taiwanese labor market.^[497] TheTaiwanese government has been criticized for failing to adequately address thisdiscrepancy in labor supply and demand.^[491][498]

As theTaiwanese economy is largely science and technology based, the labor marketdemands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularlyrelated to science and engineering to gain a competitive edge when searchingfor employment. Although current Taiwanese law mandates only nine years ofschooling, 95 percent of junior high graduates go on to attend a seniorvocational high school, university, junior college, trade school, or otherhigher education institution.^[494][499] ManyTaiwanese students attend cramschools, or buxiban, to improve skills and knowledge on problemsolving against exams.^[500][501]

Since Made in China 2025 was announced in 2015,aggressive campaigns to recruit Taiwanese chip industry talent to support itsmandates resulted in the loss of more than 3,000 chip engineers to mainlandChina,^[502] andraised concerns of a "brain drain" in Taiwan.^[503][504]

As of 2020,the literacy rate in Taiwan was 99.03 percent.^[505]

Health

Mainarticle: Healthcare in Taiwan

Thecurrent healthcare system, known as National HealthInsurance (NHI), was instituted in 1995. NHI is a single-payer compulsory socialinsurance plan that centralizes the disbursement of healthcare funds. Thesystem promises equal access to healthcare for all citizens, and the populationcoverage had reached 99 percent by the end of 2004.^[506] NHIis mainly financed through premiums, which are based on the payroll tax, and issupplemented with out-of-pocket co-payments and direct government funding.^{[507][508][509]} Low-incomefamilies, veterans, centenarians, children under three, and catastrophicdiseases are exempt from co-payments. Co-pays are reduced for disabled andlow-income households maintain 100 percent premium coverage.

Early in theprogram, the payment system was predominantly fee-for-service.Most health providers operate in the private sector and form a competitivemarket on the health delivery side. However, many healthcare providers tookadvantage of the system by offering unnecessary services. In the face ofincreasing loss and the need for cost containment, NHI changed the paymentsystem from fee-for-service to a global budget, a kind of prospective payment system, in 2002.

Theimplementation of universal healthcare created fewer health disparities for lower-incomecitizens in Taiwan. According to a recently published survey, out of3,360 patients surveyed at a randomly chosen hospital, 75.1 percent of thepatients said they are "very satisfied" with the hospital service;20.5 percent said they are "okay" with the service. Only 4.4 percentof the patients said they are either "not satisfied" or "verynot satisfied" with the service or care provided.^[510]

TheTaiwanese disease control authority is the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC).During the SARS outbreak in March 2003there were 347 confirmed cases. During the outbreak the CDC and localgovernments set up monitoring 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.^[511] Owingto the lessons from SARS, a National HealthCommand Center [fr] wasestablished in 2004, which includes the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).The CECC has played a central role in Taiwan's approach to epidemics,including COVID-19.

In 2019, theinfant mortality rate was 4.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, with20 physicians and 71 hospital beds per 10,000 people.^[512][513] Lifeexpectancy at birth in 2020 is 77.5 years and 83.9 years for malesand females, respectively.^[514]

Culture

Mainarticles: Culture of Taiwan, Cultural history of Taiwan, and Chinese Cultural Renaissance

Seealso: Taiwanese wave

The culturesof Taiwan are a hybrid blend from various sources, incorporating elements ofthe majority traditional Chinese culture, aboriginalcultures, Japanese cultural influence, traditionalConfucianist beliefs, and increasingly, Westernvalues.

Duringthe martial law period, the Kuomintang promotedan official traditional Chinese culture over Taiwan inorder to emphasize that the Republic of China represents the true orthodoxyto Chinese Culture as opposed to Communist China.^[515] Thegovernment launched what's known as the Chinese Cultural Renaissance movementin Taiwan in opposition to the cultural destructions caused by the Chinese Communist Party duringthe Cultural Revolution. The General Assembly ofChinese Culture was established to help promote Chinese culture in Taiwan andoverseas. It was Kuomintang's first structured plan for culturaldevelopment on Taiwan. The Chinese Cultural Renaissance movementin Taiwan had led to some aspects of ChineseCulture being better preserved there than in mainlandChina, for example the continued use of Traditional Chinese. The influence of Confucianism canbe found in the behavior of Taiwanesepeople, known for their friendliness and politeness.^[516]

The liftingof martial law ushered a period of democratization whereby Freedomof Speech and Expression led to a flourishing Taiwanese literature and mass media in Taiwan. The TaiwaneseConstitution protects "speech, teaching, writing and publication."^[517] In2022, the Economist Intelligence Unit's DemocracyIndex ranked Taiwan as having the second highest democracyscore in Asia and Australasia.^[518] FreedomHouse has ranked Taiwan the second freest place in Asia^[519][520] while CIVICUS ratedTaiwan and New Zealand as the only "open" countries in theAsia-Pacific.^[521][522] Inthe aftermath of China gaining control of Hong Kong and restricting freedom ofspeech and protest, 36,789 Hong Kong residents moved to Taiwan from 2019 to2022, an average of about 9,000 immigrants per year. In 2018, Taiwan only had4,000 Hong Kong immigrants.^[523]

Reflectingthe continuing controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan, politicscontinues to play a role in the conception and development of a Taiwanesecultural identity, especially in its relationship to Chinese culture.^[524] Inrecent years, the concept of Taiwanese multiculturalism hasbeen proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which has allowedfor the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups into the continuingre-definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively held systems of meaning andcustomary patterns of thought and behavior shared by the people of Taiwan.^[525] Identitypolitics, along with the over one hundred years of political separationfrom mainland China, has led to distinct traditions in many areas,including cuisine and music.

Arts

Mainarticles: Music of Taiwan and Taiwaneseart

Acclaimedclassical musicians include violinist Cho-LiangLin, pianist Ching-Yun Hu, and the Lincoln Center Chamber MusicSociety artist director WuHan. Other musicians include TeresaTeng, JayChou and groups such as Mayday and heavymetal band Chthonic, led by singer Freddy Lim,which has been referred to as the "BlackSabbath of Asia".^[526][527]

Taiwanesefilms have won various international awards at film festivals aroundthe world. AngLee, a Taiwanese director, has directed critically acclaimed films suchas: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Eat Drink Man Woman; Sense and Sensibility; Brokeback Mountain; Lifeof Pi; and Lust, Caution. Other famous Taiwanese directorsinclude Tsai Ming-liang, EdwardYang, and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Taiwan has hosted the Golden Horse Film Festival andAwards since 1962.

The National Palace Museum houses more than650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting, and porcelainand is considered one of the greatest collections of Chinese art and objects inthe world.^[528]

Popularculture

Karaoke isextremely popular in Taiwan, where it is known as KTV.^[529] KTVbusinesses operate in a hotel-like style, renting out small rooms and ballroomsaccording to the number of guests. Many KTV establishments partner withrestaurants and buffets to form all-encompassing and elaborate evening affairs.Tour busses that travel around Taiwan have several TVs, primarily for singingkaraoke.

Taiwan has ahigh density of 24-hour convenience stores, which provide services on behalf offinancial institutions or government agencies, such as collection of parkingfees, utility bills, traffic fines, and credit card payments.^[530] Chainssuch as FamilyMart provide clothing laundry services inselect stores,^[531] andtickets for TRA and THSR are availableat 7-Eleven,FamilyMart, Hi-Life [zh] and OK [zh].^[532][533]

Cuisine

Mainarticle: Taiwanese cuisine

Taiwaneseculinary history is murky and is intricately tied to patterns of migration andcolonization. Local and international Taiwanese cuisine, including its history,is a politically contentious topic. Famous Taiwanese dishes include Taiwanese beef noodle soup, Gua bao, Zongzi, Khongbah png, Taiwanese fried chicken, oystervermicelli, Sanbeiji, and Aiyu jelly.^[534] Bubble tea,created in Taiwan in the 1980s, has now become popular globally.^[535] In2014, The Guardian called Taiwanese night markets the "beststreet food markets in the world".^[536] The MichelinGuide began reviewing restaurants in Taiwan in 2018.^[537]

Sports

Mainarticle: Sport in Taiwan

Seealso: List of sporting events in Taiwan

Baseball iscommonly considered Taiwan's nationalsport and is a popular spectator sport.^[538] Themen's team won medals across all levels of baseball in 2022, includingthe U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23, and Baseball5 competitions, the only teamto do so in baseball history.^[539] Theresults made Taiwan's national baseball team oneof the top-ranked teams in the WBSC World Rankings. Professional baseball in Taiwan startedwith the founding of the Chinese Professional BaseballLeague (CPBL) in 1989.^[540] Asof 2024, the CPBL has six teams, with an average attendance of over 7,000 pergame.^[541][542] Someelite players signed with overseas professional teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) or the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).There have been seventeen Taiwanese MLB players asof the 2024 MLB season, including former pitchers Chien-MingWang and Wei-Yin Chen. As for variations of baseball, Taiwanalso has a strong women's softball team. The Chinese Taipei women'snational softball team won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Games.^[543]

Basketball isTaiwan's other major sport.^[544] The P. League+ and Taiwan Professional BasketballLeague are the country's two professional basketball leagues.^[545] A semi-professional Super Basketball League (SBL) has alsobeen in play since 2003.^[546] Otherteam sports include volleyball and football. Taiwan is also a major competitorin korfball.^[547]

Taiwanparticipates in international sporting organizations and events under the nameof "Chinese Taipei". Taiwan has hosted several multi-sportevents in the past, including the 2009World Games in Kaohsiung and the 2009 Summer Deaflympics and 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei.^[548] Taipeiand New Taipei City will host the 2025 Summer World Masters Games.^[549] Hualienwill host the 2026 International Children's Games.^[550] Othermajor recurring events held by Taiwan include:

• Taipei Marathon (marathon)
• New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon (marathon)
• Taipei Open (badminton)
• U-12 Baseball World Cup (baseball)
• William Jones Cup (basketball)
• Tour de Taiwan (road bicycle racing)

Taekwondo wasintroduced to Taiwan in 1966 for military training and has become a mature andsuccessful combat sport in Taiwan.^[551] Thefirst two Olympic gold medals won by Taiwanese athletes belong to the sport. Inthe 2004 Olympics, ChenShih-hsin and Chu Mu-yen won gold medals in the women's flyweightevent and the men's flyweight event, respectively. Subsequent taekwondocompetitors have strengthened Taiwan's taekwondo culture.

There aremany outstanding Taiwanese players at other individual sports, such as badminton, tennis, tabletennis, and golf.Taiwan's strength in badminton is demonstrated by TaiTzu-ying, who spent most weeks as world No. 1 women's singles playerin BWF World Ranking, and her compatriots inthe BWF World Tour.^[552][553] Taiwanalso has a long history of strong international presence in table tennis.Six-time Olympian Chuang Chih-yuan made the most appearances atthe Olympic Games among Taiwanese athletes.^[554] Yani Tseng isthe youngest golf player ever, male or female, to win five major championships and wasranked number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013.^{[555][556][557]} Intennis, Hsieh Su-wei is the country's most successfulfemale tennis player.^[558][559]

Calendar

Mainarticle: Republic of China calendar

Seealso: Chinese calendar and Public holidays in Taiwan

Thestandard Gregorian calendar is used for mostpurposes. The year is often denoted by the Minguo erasystem which starts in 1912, the year the ROC was founded. 2024 isyear 113 Minguo (民國113年). The East Asian date format is used in Chinese.^[560] Priorto standardization in 1929, the Chinesecalendar was officially used. It is a Lunisolar calendar system which remains inuse for traditional festivals such as the LunarNew Year, the Lantern Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival.^[561]