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Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China (claimed)
Chinese : 台湾省 Táiwān shěng Min Nan Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân-séng Hakka Romanization: Thòi-vàn-sén
Abbreviations: 台  (pinyin: Tái)
Origin of name	See Taiwan
Administration type	Province
Capital (and largest city)	Taipei
CPC Ctte Secretary	See Representation
Governor	See Representation
Area	35,581 km2 (13,738 sq mi) (n/a)
- Latitude	21° 54'–25° 17' N
- Longitude	119° 19'–122° 00' E
Population (2010)  - Density	23,140,000[1] (n/a) 668 /km2 (1,730 /sq mi) (n/a)
GDP (2009)  - per capita	CNY — US$735.997 billion[citation needed] (n/a) CNY — US$16,391[citation needed] (n/a)
HDI (n/a)	n/a (n/a) (—)
Ethnic composition	Han - 98% Gaoshan (Taiwanese aborigines) - 2%
Languages and dialects	{{{Dialects}}}
Prefectural level	2 divisions
County level	21 divisions
Township level*	— divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-71
Official website http://www.gwytb.gov.cn
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 *As at December 31, 2004
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"Taiwan Province" (simplified Chinese: 台湾省; traditional Chinese: 臺灣省 or 台灣省; pinyin: Táiwān shěng) is a term and political designation used^{[citation needed]} by the Communist government of People's Republic of China (PRC) for its claim of Taiwan and associated islets as its own province and part of its national territory.

In contrast with the Taiwan Province of the Republic of China, which excludes several direct-controlled municipalities on the island of Taiwan, the area claimed by the PRC as its Taiwan Province includes the entire island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including the Penghu islands, under administration of the Republic of China (ROC).^{[citation needed]} Therefore, the PRC has no actual control of the territory and the term is a purely hypothetical province which does not exist in reality but only under official PRC government administrative structure. It is often referred to as "Taiwan, China" by PRC media for short but also as a means to portray Taiwan as being under its sovereignty.

The claimed Taiwan Province of the PRC does not include all the landmasses under ROC's administration. These islands, namely, Kinmen, the Matsu Islands and Wuciou, as well the Pratas Islands, and Itu Aba, are claimed by the PRC as part of its Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan provinces, respectively.^{[citation needed]}

The political status of Taiwan is complex and the area has never been controlled by the PRC. Taiwan has been controlled by the ROC since 1945. The PRC considers itself as the successor state and the sole legitimate authority of China against the ROC upon its founding in 1949, and regards Taiwan as a part of an "indivisible China".

Representation[link]

History of Taiwan
This article is part of a series
Chronological
Prehistory 50,000 BC–1624 AD
Dutch Formosa 1624–1662
Spanish Formosa 1626–1642
Kingdom of Tungning 1662–1683
Qing Dynasty rule 1683–1895
Republic of Formosa 1895
Japanese rule 1895–1945
Republic of China rule 1945–present
Topical
Cultural Diplomatic Economic Educational Military Political
Local
Kaohsiung Taipei
Lists
Timeline Rulers
Archaeological sites
Taiwan Portal v t e

Thirteen delegates are elected to the National People's Congress to represent Taiwan Province. These delegates have Hokkien and Holo ancestry whose ancestors were in Taiwan at some point, and are elected by a constituency comprising people with Taiwanese ancestry,^{[citation needed]} not by present residents of Taiwan. As the older members retire or die, newer members tend to be born in mainland China.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	China portal
	Taiwan portal

• "Taiwan, China"
• Free Area of the Republic of China
• Taiwan Affairs Office
• Political status of Taiwan
• Legal status of Taiwan
• Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China#Offer to Taiwan and other ROC-controlled areas
• Greater China

Further reading[link]

• Bush, R. & O'Hanlon, M. (2007). A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-98677-1
• Bush, R. (2006). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-1290-1
• Carpenter, T. (2006). America's Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6841-1
• Cole, B. (2006). Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-36581-3
• Copper, J. (2006). Playing with Fire: The Looming War with China over Taiwan. Praeger Security International General Interest. ISBN 0-275-98888-0
• Federation of American Scientists et al. (2006). Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning
• Gill, B. (2007). Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-3146-9
• Shirk, S. (2007). China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-530609-0
• Tsang, S. (2006). If China Attacks Taiwan: Military Strategy, Politics and Economics. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40785-0
• Tucker, N.B. (2005). Dangerous Strait: the U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13564-5

References[link]

External links[link]

• Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

Coordinates: 23°42′N 121°00′E / 23.7°N 121.0°E / 23.7; 121.0

v t e Provincial level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Ningxia Tibet (Xizang) Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special administrative regions Hong Kong Macau Territorial disputes Paracel, Spratly, Zhongsha Islands (see Paracels, Spratlys, & Zhongsha Iss. Authority) Pratas Islands Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) South Tibet Taiwan, Quemoy & Matsu (see Legal status of Taiwan)

v t e Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China Prefecture level Prefecture-level cities Taibei (no administrative subdivisions) Gaoxiong (no administrative subdivisions) County level Below are the county-level divisions directly under the province, with no intermediate prefecture level Counties Gaoxiong • Hualian • Jiayi • Miaoli • Nantou • Penghu • Pingdong • Taibei • Taidong • Tainan • Taizhong • Taoyuan • Xinzhu • Yilan • Yunlin • Zhanghua County-level cities Jiayi • Jilong • Tainan • Taizhong • Xinzhu   Note: PRC-claimed official borders and divisions of the Taiwan Province of People's Republic of China mirror those of the ROC Taiwan Province before 1949

Taiwan Province
臺灣省
Taiwan Province of the Republic of China (in dark grey). The Tiaoyutai Islands to the northeast of the main island of Taiwan, claimed by the ROC are excluded from this map.
Capital	Zhongxing New Village
Official languages	Guoyu
Demonym	Taiwanese
Area	26,328.996 km² (1st)
Population (Feb 2006)	9,265,538 (1st)
Population density	351.9 /km2 (911 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Han Chinese - 97.5% Other - 2.5%
County-level divisions	16
Township-level divisions	287
Currency	New Taiwan dollar (NT$)
Currency code	TWD
GDP (PPP)	NT$ to be added billion

Taiwan Province (traditional Chinese: 臺灣省 or 台灣省; simplified Chinese: 台湾省; pinyin: Táiwān Shěng) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Republic of China (ROC) that are officially referred to as "provinces". The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the ROC, with around 40% of the total population.

Geographically it covers the majority of the island of Taiwan as well as almost all of its surrounding islands, the largest of which are the Penghu archipelago, Green Island and Orchid Island. Taiwan Province does not cover territories in the direct-controlled special municipalities of Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, and New Taipei, all of which located geographically within main island of Taiwan. It also does not include the counties of Kinmen and Lienchiang, which are located alongside the southeast coast of Mainland China and administered as a separate Fujian Province.

Historically Taiwan Province covers the entire island of Taiwan and all its associated islands. All the special municipalities were split off from the province between 1967 and 2010. Since 1997 most of the Taiwan provincial government's functions have been transferred to the central government of the Republic of China following a constitutional amendment. The Taiwan provincial government has effectively become a nominal institution under the Executive Yuan's administration.^[1][2]

The People's Republic of China (PRC) regards itself as the "successor state" of the Republic of China (ROC)^{[citation needed]}, which the PRC claims no longer legitimately exists, following the defeat of ROC forces in mainland China. The PRC claims it has sovereignty over all of China, which includes Taiwan island, even though the PRC itself has never had control of Taiwan or other ROC-held territories. The ROC disputes this position, maintaining that it still legitimately exists and that the PRC has not succeeded it to sovereignty.

History[link]

In 1683, following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang, Koxinga's (Cheng Ch'eng Kung) grandson Zheng Keshuang and ruler of Taiwan submitted to the Qing Dynasty (then romanised as Ch'ing Dynasty). Then the Qing Dynasty ruled the Taiwanese archipelago (including Penghu) as Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian Province. In 1875, Taipei Prefecture was separated from Taiwan Prefecture. In 1885, the Taiwanese archipelago was made a separate province.

In 1895, the Taiwanese Archipelago, including Penghu, was ceded to Japan following the First Sino-Japanese War. Under Japanese rule, the province was abolished in favour of Japanese-style divisions. After Japan surrendered in 1945 Republic of China obtained control of Taiwan.

The ROC government immediately established Taiwan Provincial Government under first Chief Executive Chen Yi in September 1945.^[3][4] Chen was extremely unpopular and his rule led to an uprising - the 228 incident. Chen was recalled in May 1947 and the government-general was abolished.

When the Republic of China government was relocated to Taipei in 1949 as a result of the Kuomintang's (KMT) defeat by the Chinese Communist Party forces in the Chinese Civil War, the provincial administration remained in place under the claim that the ROC was still the government of all of China even though the opposition argued that it overlapped inefficiently with the national government.

The building of the Provincial Government of the Taiwan Province at Zhongxing New Village

The seat of the provincial government was moved from Taipei to Zhongxing New Village (Chunghsing Village) in 1956. Historically Taiwan Province covers the entire island of Taiwan and all its associated islands. The city of Taipei was split off to become a province-level municipality in 1967, and the city of Kaohsiung was split off in 1979 to become another province-level municipality. In December 2010, Kaohsiung County left the province and merged with the original Kaohsiung City to become an expanded Kaohsiung City, Taipei County became the province-level municipality "New Taipei". The cities and counties of Taichung and Tainan were also merged, respectively, and elevated to province level.

Until 1992, the governor of Taiwan province was appointed by the ROC central government. The office was often a stepping stone to higher office.

In 1992, the post of the governor of the province was opened to election. The then-opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to retain the province with an elected governor in the hopes of creating a "Yeltsin effect" in which a popular local leader could overwhelm the national government. These hopes proved unfulfilled as then-Kuomintang member James Soong was elected governor of the Taiwan province by a wide margin defeating the DPP candidate Chen Ding-nan.

In 1997, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the administration of the province was streamlined in curtailed constitutional changes. For example, the post of provincial governor and the provincial assembly were both abolished and replaced with a nine-member special council. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, Soong and his supporters claim that it was actually intended to destroy James Soong's power base and eliminate him from political life, though it did not have this effect. In addition, the provincial legislature was abolished while the Legislative Yuan was expanded to include some of the former provincial legislators.

Prior to January 1, 2007 all vehicles registered in Taiwan Province carried the label "Taiwan Province" (台灣省) on their license plates.

The provincial administration has been greatly streamlined in 1998, leaving counties and provincial cities the primary divisions in Taiwan Province. In contrast to the past where the head of Taiwan province was considered a major official, the Governor of the Taiwan Provincial Government after 1999 has been considered a very minor position.

Government[link]

Since the streamlining of the Taiwan Provincial Government in 1998, the government has been headed by a provincial council of nine members, led by the provincial governor. The members of the Provincial Council are all appointed by the President of the Republic of China. The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing provincial highways and the Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan.

Divisions[link]

Taiwan Province is divided into 12 counties (縣 xiàn) and 3 provincial cities (市 shì):

No.	Romanization	Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population	Area (km2)	Province/City/County Seat		Map
Provincial cities (市 shì)								1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15      = Special Municipality (直轄市)      = Provincial City (省轄市 or 市)      = County (縣)
1	Chiayi City	嘉義市	Jiāyì Shì	272,390	60.0256	East District	東區
2	Hsinchu City	新竹市	Xīnzhú Shì	415,344	104.1526	North District	北區
3	Keelung City	基隆市	Jīlóng Shì	384,134	132.7589	Zhongzheng District	中正區
Counties (縣 xiàn)
4	Changhua County	彰化縣	Zhānghuà Xiàn	1,307,286	1,074.3960	Changhua City	彰化市
5	Chiayi County	嘉義縣	Jiāyì Xiàn	543,248	1,903.6367	Taibao City	太保市
6	Hsinchu County	新竹縣	Xīnzhú Xiàn	513,015	1,427.5369	Zhubei City	竹北市
7	Hualien County	花蓮縣	Huālián Xiàn	338,805	4,628.5714	Hualien City	花蓮市
8	Miaoli County	苗栗縣	Miáolì Xiàn	560,968	1,820.3149	Miaoli City	苗栗市
9	Nantou County	南投縣	Nántóu Xiàn	526,491	4,106.4360	Nantou City	南投市
10	Penghu County	澎湖縣	Pénghú Xiàn	96,918	126.8641	Magong City	馬公市
11	Pingtung County	屏東縣	Píngdōng Xiàn	873,509	2,775.6003	Pingtung City	屏東市
12	Taitung County	臺東縣，台東縣	Táidōng Xiàn	230,673	3,515.2526	Taitung City	臺東市
13	Taoyuan County	桃園縣	Táoyuán Xiàn	2,002,060	1,220.9540	Taoyuan City	桃園市
14	Yilan County	宜蘭縣	Yílán Xiàn	460,486	2,143.6251	Yilan City	宜蘭市
15	Yunlin County	雲林縣	Yúnlín Xiàn	717,653	1,290.8326	Douliu City	斗六市