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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles). The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han Chinese immigration began under a Dutch colony and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1912 under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, took control following the surrender of Japan in 1945. The immediate resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the loss of the Chinese mainland to Communist forces, who established the People's Republic of China, and the flight of the ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effective jurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan, Penghu, and smaller islands.

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

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

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Eat Drink Man Woman (Chinese: 飲食男女) is a 1994 comedy-drama film directed by Ang Lee, from a script co-written with James Schamus and Hui-Ling Wang. It stars Sihung Lung, Wang Yu-wen, Wu Chien-lien, and Yang Kuei-mei as members of the Zhu family navigating the challenges of love, life, tradition and family. Part of Lee's "Father Knows Best" trilogy and similar to Lee's other works, this film deals with the transition from tradition to modernity. It is Lee's only film, to date, to be shot entirely in his native Taiwan.

The film premiered in Taiwan on July 2, 1994, and it was both a critical and box office success. It won several accolades including an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for both a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award, as well as three Golden Horse Awards and six Independent Spirit Awards. It would inspire films like Tortilla Soup and Joyful Reunion and has an eponymous musical rendition. A BBC Culture poll of film critics ranked the film at number 54 of the 100 Greatest Non-English Language Films. (Full article...)

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Chen Yi as pictured in The Most Recent Biographies of Chinese Dignitaries

Chen Yi (Chinese: 陳儀; pinyin: Chén Yí; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June 18, 1950) was a Chinese military officer and politician who served as the chief executive and garrison commander of Taiwan Province after the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Republic of China. He acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on October 25, 1945. He is considered to have mismanaged the tension between the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese which resulted in the February 28 Incident in 1947, resulting in the deaths of 18,000 to 28,000 people, and was dismissed. In June 1948, he was appointed Chairman of Zhejiang Province, but was dismissed and arrested when his plan to surrender to the Chinese Communist Party was discovered. He was sentenced to death and executed by shooting in Taipei in 1950. (Full article...)

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

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Yehliu in Wanli, New Taipei is a Miocene formation stretching 1,700 meters into the Ocean resulting from geological forces pushing the Datun Mountains out of the sea.

Photo credit: User:Chensiyuan

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Official portrait, 2019

Chen Chi-mai (Chinese: 陳其邁; pinyin: Chén Qímài; Wade–Giles: Ch'ên² Ch'i²-mai⁴; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Kî-māi; born December 23, 1964), also known as Comay Chen, is a Taiwanese politician and the current mayor of Kaohsiung since August 24, 2020. He has served as spokesperson of the Democratic Progressive Party and the chief executive officer of its Policy Research and Coordinating Committee. A physician from Keelung, Chen started his political career by becoming member of the Legislative Yuan in 1996 and served as legislator for almost eight years before becoming the spokesperson of the Executive Yuan.

In 2005, Chen succeeded to the mayoralty of Kaohsiung after Frank Hsieh's appointment as premier. Chen became the deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office in 2007 and served until the inauguration of President Ma Ying-jeou. Following his December 2018 loss in the Kaohsiung mayoral election, Chen was appointed Vice Premier of the Republic of China by President Tsai Ing-wen. Chen yielded the vice premiership to Shen Jong-chin in June 2020, and won the Kaohsiung mayoralty in a by-election on August 15, 2020 after previous mayor Han Kuo-yu was recalled. (Full article...)

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Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa EVA Air Chai Trong-rong Taiwan High Speed Rail Pe̍h-ōe-jī Mei-Ann Chen Hsu Tain-tsair You Are the Apple of My Eye

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... that the Democratic Progressive Party nominated Hsu Tain-tsair (pictured) as the party's candidate for the 2001 Tainan mayoral race instead of George Chang, then-incumbent mayor of Tainan?

... that the National Taiwan Museum is the oldest museum in Taiwan and was established during the Japanese rule era?

...that professional baseball in Taiwan began in 1989, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League and Taiwan Major League merged in 2003?

General images

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

Image 1Entrance hall of a K-TV in Taipei (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 2Map showing the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673–1681) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 3Section of a painting depicting daily life of the Taokas people, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 4Yin and Yang symbol of Taoism (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 5Mid-17th century portrait of Koxinga (Guoxingye or "Kok seng ia" in southern Fujianese), "Lord of the Imperial Surname" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 6The Imperial Guard Defeats the Enemy in Hard Fighting at Keelung on the Island of Taiwan, 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 7Original geographic distributions of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples (from History of Taiwan)
Image 8Territory controlled by Koxinga, founder of the Kingdom of Tungning (from History of Taiwan)
Image 9Portrait of Zheng Jing (1642–1681), possibly 17th c. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 10Depiction of a Chinese man, woman, and soldier, by Georg Franz Müller (1646–1723) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 11Conquest of Douliumen (Zhuluo) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 12Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1734 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 13Shi Lang (1621–1696) in an 18th-century painting (from History of Taiwan)
Image 141901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 15Photo from Savages of Formosa, a 1926 government report on tribal life in Taiwan (from History of Taiwan)
Image 16Taiwan in the 17th century, showing Dutch (magenta) and Spanish (green) possessions, and the Kingdom of Middag (orange) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 17Woodcut of the mass killings which took place during the February 28 Incident (from History of Taiwan)
Image 18The Capture of Lin Shuangwen (from History of Taiwan)
Image 19The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path. (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 20Departure of a Ryukyuan ship bearing tribute to Beijing, 1831 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 21Bird's eye view of Fort Zeelandia in Dutch Formosa in the 17th-century (from History of Taiwan)
Image 22Pearl milk tea (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 23Severed heads of Seediq rebels (from History of Taiwan)
Image 24Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1685 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 25Taichung Middle School in 1919 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 26Chinese depiction of Chikan (Fort Provintia), 1752 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 27Population density map of Taiwan in 2019 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 28Map of Asia showing the "Chinese Empire" (1892) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 29Evacuation of Keelung by the French forces, image created 1887 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 30Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty by 1894 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 31Sky Lantern festival in Pingxi, Taiwan (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 32Kagi Shrine, one of many Shinto shrines built in Taiwan. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 33Siege of Fort Zeelandia (from History of Taiwan)
Image 34Map of Taiwan with the western coast pointed downwards, c. 1640 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 35Teresa Teng (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 36Section of Kangxi period painting of Taiwan, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 37Bunun dancer in traditional aboriginal dress (1989) (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 38Depiction of Qing ships crossing the ocean to suppress the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, 1787–1788 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 39Apo Hsu and the NTNU Symphony Orchestra on stage in the National Concert Hall in Taipei and Play Saint-Saens's Organ Symphony No. 3 (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 40The Qing Empire in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 41A map of the Empire of Japan including Taiwan ("barbarian land" in red) in 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 42Zheng Keshuang (from History of Taiwan)
Image 43Takasago Volunteers in October 1944 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 44Statue of Chen Di in Lianjiang County (from History of Taiwan)
Image 45Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 46Japanese painting of the expedition forces attacking the Mudan tribe, 1874 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 47The original flag of the Taiwanese People's Party, 2 January 1929 – 6 October 1929 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 48Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at the Cairo Conference in Cairo, 25 November 1943. (from History of Taiwan)

On this day...

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In the news

2 February 2025 – South Africa–Taiwan relations: South Africa orders Taiwan to relocate its liaison office from Pretoria by the end of March, citing diplomatic policies favoring China. (Reuters)
16 January 2025 – Capital punishment in Taiwan: Taiwan carries out its first execution in five years on a man who was convicted of the 2013 murder of his former girlfriend and her mother. (Yahoo! News)
4 January 2025 –: The Taiwanese Coast Guard intercepts the Cameroon-registered container ship Shunxin39 after it was suspected of damaging an undersea cable north of Taiwan yesterday. (Taiwan News)

Topics

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Administrative divisions

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


Chiayi City	Chiayi County	Changhua County	Hsinchu City	Hsinchu County

Hualian County	Kaohsiung City	Keelung City	Kinmen Country	Lienchang County

Miaoli County	Nantou County	New Taipei City	Penghu County	Pingtung County

Taichung City	Tainan City	Taipei City	Taitung County	Taoyuan City

Yilan County	Yunlin County

Related portals

East Asia

Southeast Asia

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

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