Taiwan

The Republic of China (Chinese 中華民國, pinyin Zhōnghuá Mínguó, IPA (High Chinese) [ʈ͡ʂʊ́ŋxu̯ɑ̌ mǐnku̯ɔ̌]), widely known as Taiwan, in Switzerland and Austria officially called Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), or Republic of China on Taiwan, is a democratic island state in East Asia. Its territory consists of the main island of Taiwan (99%) and other smaller islands. The state has a population of about 23.5 million people.

The Republic of China was proclaimed in Nanking on January 1, 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution in mainland China. The island of Taiwan, under the rule of the Japanese Empire from 1895 to 1945, fell to the Republic of China only after the Second World War. In 1949 - after the defeat in the civil war against the Communist Party and the establishment of the People's Republic of China on the mainland - the government, elites and armed forces of the Republic of China withdrew to the island of Taiwan. There, the Kuomintang state party, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, established one-party rule that lasted for several decades while maintaining a state of emergency. The second half of the 20th century was characterized by high economic growth, and towards the end of the 1980s the Kuomintang initiated a gradual democratization. Today, the Republic of China on Taiwan is a technically highly developed, democratically constituted industrial state.

Even after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan initially represented the Chinese state at the United Nations and was a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As a result of the People's Republic's One-China policy, however, more and more states broke off their diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, which also had to relinquish its UN membership to the People's Republic in 1971. Finally, in 1979, the United States also broke off diplomatic contacts after establishing official relations with the People's Republic (Taiwan Relations Act). Today, only a minority of the international community maintains formal diplomatic relations with the government in Taipei. The position of the Republic of China on Taiwan under international law is still disputed today and the subject of the Taiwan conflict.

Country name

The official name is still the Republic of China, but the name Taiwan is commonly used both inside and outside the country, with increasing emphasis on Taiwanese autonomy. Government agencies now also use the name Taiwan in texts addressed to international audiences, along with auxiliary constructions such as Republic of China on Taiwan or Republic of China (Taiwan), to reflect this development. Manufactured items also bear designations such as "Made in Taiwan, R.O.C." (R.O.C.: Republic of China) or "Made in Taiwan".

The unresolved Taiwan conflict makes it difficult for the Republic of China on Taiwan to join international organizations and participate in international events, regardless of whether Republic of China or Taiwan is used as the country name. In recent decades, therefore, other terms have emerged to circumvent this problem. In particular, Chinese Taipei became widespread, under which the Republic of China joined the International Olympic Committee in 1979 and participates in Olympic Games. Other international organizations, especially - but not only - in the field of sports, have adopted this arrangement.

Citizens of Taiwan are Taiwanese. Equally established is the term Taiwanese. Accordingly, matters concerning Taiwan are referred to as Taiwanese or Taiwanese.

Geography

Since 1949, the administrative territory of the Republic of China has covered a total area of 36,179 km², which is roughly the size of Baden-Württemberg.

The main part is the island of Taiwan in the western Pacific Ocean with an area of 35,801 km². Other areas are:

• the archipelago of the Pescadores (Penghu),
• the Matsu Islands
• the island of Quemoy (Kinmen) with the islands of Großqiu and Kleinqiu,
• as well as some other small islands.

Adjacent or touched territories are Japan (Ryūkyū Islands) to the north and east, the People's Republic of China to the west, and the Philippines to the south.

The island of Taiwan is divided into two major landscapes:

The western part along the coast (about a quarter of the country) is lowland. This coastal plain is between 8 and 40 km wide.

Three quarters of the country's surface area is occupied in the centre and east by three almost parallel, forested high mountain ranges of volcanic origin with heights of up to almost 4,000 metres (62 peaks are over 3,000 metres high); in the southwest, mountain foothills reach as far as the South China Sea.