Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a country in East Asia. Not to be confused with the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of China (Taiwan) once governed all of China (from 1911 - 1949), but relocated to the island of Taiwan following a Chinese civil war. In the years since, the PRC has become the recognized government of China (replacing the ROC at the United Nations in 1971), and the status of the ROC has been left unclear.

The region of China of Taiwan comprises the island of Taiwan plus nearby islands (Pescadores islands and parts of Fujian). Taiwan is located southeast of the People's Republic of China's mainland, south of Japan, and north of the Philippines. The capital is Taipei.

Taiwan has also been called Formosa, a Portuguese name which means "beautiful" in Portuguese.

Most people living in Taiwan (called Taiwanese) are Han. Taiwan has three large Han groups. They speak different dialects of Chinese and their ancestors came from different places: the Southern Fujianese (from China's Fujian Province), the Hakka (from China), and Mainlanders (from Mainland China after 1948).

There are also Taiwanese Aborigines who have lived in Taiwan before the Han came to live there.

History 

 In 1517, A discovery ship of Portuguese saw this island and names it "Ilha Formosa", or "Beautiful Island" in Portuguese.
 17th century: From 1624 until 1661 Dutch colonize the southern part of Formosa and established a colonial administration in Fort Zeelandia, and the Spanish colonize the north and established a colonial administration in Fuerte Santo Domingo or Fort Santo Domingo.  The Dutch eventually defeated the Spaniards and took full control of Formosa. A Chinese general named Koxinga, defeated the Dutch at the Siege of Fort Zeelandia.
 1860: Taiwan becomes a treaty port following the Treaty of Tientsin, opening the island to contact with the world.
 1874: Japan invaded southern Taiwan, seemingly to "punish" the aborigines there for the murder of ship-wrecked Okinawan fishermen in 1871, but actually to establish a colony. Japanese forces withdraw later in the year after the Meiji and Qing empires nearly went to war.
 1884-1885: Taiwan is blockaded by French navy during the Sino-Franco War.
 1895: Qing China lost the First Sino-Japanese War and gave Taiwan to Japan permanently.
1911: The Xinhai Revolution ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China.
1927: Start of the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) party and the Communist Party of China (CCP). The war would later be put on hold, so the two sides could fight Japan together during World War II.
 1945: Japan lost in World War II to U.S. and gave up Taiwan permanently.
 1947: Taiwanese widely protest governmental corruption under the Nationalists. Chiang Kai-shek sends in the army to restore order, killing tens of thousands. Some Taiwanese began the Taiwan independence movement.
 1949:
 The Nationalists (KMT) lose the civil war, which resumed after World War II, and escape to the island of Taiwan. They set up Taipei as the temporary capital of Republic of China (ROC).
 The Communist Party of China (CCP) establishes Beijing as the capital of The People's Republic of China (PRC).  
1951: Japan signs the Treaty of San Francisco (1951) with U.S.
1971: Taiwan is expelled from the United Nations and replaced with the PRC
 1979: The KMT government jails many democracy activists who opposed it (Kaohsiung Incident).
 1986: The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is formed; it is the first party to form in the ROC other than the KMT. It remains illegal for the first year, but the KMT government does not try to ban it.
 1987: The KMT government lifts the martial law after almost 40 years.
 1988: Lee Teng-hui (KMT) became president after Chiang Ching-kuo is dead.
 1995: Lee Teng-hui (KMT) became the first president elected by people. 
 2000: Li Shui-bian (DPP) became president.
 2000: Chen Shui-bian (DPP) became president.
 2004: Chen Shui-bian is re-elected after a controversial assassination attempt, in which many KMT-supporters believed, was staged by Chen. However, after unwillingness to cooperate about his medical records the investigation was inconclusive.
 2008: Former president Chen Sui-bian and his wife are arrested for corruption and money laundering.
 2008: Ma Ying-jeou (KMT) was elected as the president of the Republic of China and thus creating a change of political parties for the second time.
 2009: Kaohsiung hosts the 2009 World Games.
 2016: Tsai Ing-wen (DPP) was elected as the first female president of Taiwan.
 2019: same sex marriage was legalized

Status of Taiwan 
There are two Chinese governments in the world: The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). Today, in reality, the PRC government controls mainland China, and the ROC government governs Taiwan. The ROC government governed most of China mainland from 1911 to 1949, before losing control of China mainland to the PRC. The ROC constitution still claims ownership of all of China, however in recent years this is rarely mentioned.

Although Taiwan's status prevents it from participating in some international organizations, polls show that most Taiwanese prefer to keep things as they are (referred to as the status quo), rather than declare formal independence (and risk inviting an attack by communist China), or to be "reunified" with China.

Most countries of the world recognize the People's Republic of China as China. Although Taiwan is not recognized by the UN as a sovereign nation, most countries still have close economic and cultural relations with Taiwan. Countries often set up de-facto embassies in Taiwan—officially non-government organizations—that perform the same functions as an embassy.

In 1992, the ROC and PRC agreed to a Consensus that there was only "one China" but that both sides could continue to disagree on what that meant.

In March 2004, China's government passed a law called the Anti-Secession Law. The law requires the Chinese military to invade Taiwan immediately if they declare independence. Tsai Ing-wen, the elected President of Taiwan, says Taiwan is already an independent country and does not need to declare independence.

President of communist China, President Xi Jinping, has vowed "reunification" with Taiwan by any means, including through military force. Joe Biden, President of The United States, has said that the US will defend Taiwan from Chinese attack. Australia has said they would join the USA, and Japan has indicated they may as well.

Geography

The island of Taiwan is about 180 kilometers off the southeastern coast of China. It is across the Taiwan Strait. It has an area of .

The East China Sea is to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest.

Taiwan's highest point is Yu Shan (Jade Mountain). It is 3,952 meters high (12,966 ft).  There are five other peaks over 3,500 meters.

The Penghu Islands are  west of the main island. They have an area of . More distant islands controlled by the Republic of China are the Kinmen, Wuchiu and Matsu Islands off the coast of Fujian. They have a total area of . The Pratas Islands and Taiping Island in the South China Sea have a total area of . They have no permanent inhabitants.

Cities

The largest cities in Taiwan are:

Related pages
 Political status of Taiwan

Notes

References