TAIWAN

Chinese (Wade-Giles) T'ai-wan, or (Pinyin) Taiwan, Portuguese Formosa, island situated 100 miles (160 km) off the southeast coast of the China mainland. It is governed by the Republic of China, or National Chinese, who also claim jurisdiction over the whole of mainland China; the island, in their view, is Taiwan Area, or Taiwan District. The People's Republic of China, in turn, claims jurisdiction over Taiwan. Both governments agree that Taiwan is a sheng (province) of China. The island lies astride the Tropic of Cancer in the Pacific Ocean. It extends about 245 miles (395 km) from south to northeast and about 90 miles (145 km) at its widest from west to east. Taiwan is bounded by the East China Sea (north), the Pacific Ocean (east), the Bashi Channel (south), and the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait (west). Since 1949 Taipei has been designated by the Nationalists as the provisional capital of the Republic of China; the provincial capital is Chung-hsing Hsin-ts'un. Area 13,969 square miles (36,179 square km). Pop. (1996 est.) 21,463,000. Chinese (Wade-Giles) T'ai-wan, or (Pinyin) Taiwan, Portuguese Formosa island located about 100 miles (161 kilometres) off the southeast coast of the China mainland. It is approximately 245 miles long (northsouth) and 90 miles across at its widest point. The largest city, Taipei, is the seat of the government of the Republic of China (Nationalist China). In addition to the main island, the Nationalist government has jurisdiction over 22 islands in the Taiwan group and 64 islands to the west in the Pescadores Archipelago, with a total area of some 13,900 square miles (36,000 square kilometres). Taiwan is bounded to the north by the East China Sea, which separates it from the Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa, and Japan; to the east by the Pacific Ocean; to the south by the Bashi Channel, which separates it from the Philippines; and to the west by the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait, which separates it from the China mainland. From the mid-1660s to 1895 Taiwan was administered by the Imperial Chinese government, after which (until 1945) the island was ruled by the Japanese as a colony. In 1945 Taiwan reverted to China, and in 1949 it became the last territory controlled by the Nationalist government. The Nationalists have continued to claim jurisdiction over the Chinese mainland, whereas the government of the People's Republic of China on the mainland claims jurisdiction over Taiwan; both governments are in agreement that the island is a sheng (province) of China. Taipeisince 1949 designated by the Nationalists as the provisional capital of the Republic of Chinawas the provincial capital until 1967, when the capital was moved to Chung-hsing Hsin-ts'un. Additional reading The best general official reference is Republic of China: A Reference Book, ed. by Harold Chang (et al.), sponsored by Taiwan's Government Information Office. The most comprehensive descriptive geography remains Cheng-siang Chen, Tai-wan ti chih: A Geography of Taiwan, 3 vol. (195961), in Chinese. An overview of postwar economic development is Walter Galenson (ed.), Economic Growth and Structural Change in Taiwan (1979). On social and cultural background, see Emily Martin Ahern and Hill Gates (eds.), The Anthropology of Taiwanese Society (1981). Free China Journal (weekly) and Free China Review (monthly) cover current political and cultural events. Edwin A. Winckler Administration and social conditions Government For centuries Taiwan has been ruled by outsidersImperial Chinese bureaucrats, colonial Japanese administrators, and most recently Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT) refugees from the Chinese mainland. In 1949, with the success of the Communist rebellion in mainland China, the KMT retreated to Taiwan and set up office. For most of the post-World War II period (194590), the Nationalist government's claim to rule Taiwan was predicated on its claim to rule all of China, and so-called temporary emergency measures in effect led to the creation of an authoritarian regime in Taiwan based on martial law. By the 1990s, however, the Nationalist party-state had largely shifted its focus to Taiwan, restaffing its leadership with Taiwanese and submitting itself to election, and the government had initiated some liberalization measures. While some Taiwanese agitated for independence, opposition from the government of the People's Republic of China made de jure independence for Taiwan unlikely. Constitutional structure Formally the KMT applied to postwar Taiwan the constitution they had drawn up in 1947 for all of China. This eclectic document includes elements from traditional China (personnel and investigative councils), from Western parliamentarism (a Cabinet and premier approved by a legislative yan, the legislative body), and from Western presidentialism (a president elected by a National Assembly). The 1947 constitution permits democracy, guarantees civil liberties, and promotes political participation and cultural development. The central government also includes five constitutionally mandated councils (yans): legislative, executive, judicial, examination, and control. The legislative yan, the membership structure of which parallels that of the National Assembly, enacts legislation. The executive yan, the Cabinet, is headed by a premier, who is appointed by the president but is nominally answerable to the legislative yan. The judicial yan oversees the court system. The examination yan fulfills the functions of a civil service commission, while the control yan oversees government administration. The constitution also provides for provincial and local administrative institutions. The island of Taiwan and the cities of Taipei and Kao-hsiung have provincial status. At the local level are 16 counties (hsien) and five municipalities (shih), which, according to the constitution, are self-governing. In reality, however, they have had little autonomy from the national government. Cultural life The people of Taiwan enjoy a rich heritage of traditional Chinese culture and a lively fusion of modern Chinese and Western cultures. The government attempts to preserve and revitalize such traditional arts as painting, calligraphy, ceramics, and music by sponsoring concerts, classes, and competitions. The National Palace Museum in Taipei houses an immense collection of ancient Chinese paintings and books, pottery, porcelain, curios, and sculptures. Elements of traditional popular culture include Chinese opera, Taiwanese opera and puppet theatre, and Chinese and aboriginal folk dances. All major mainland regional cuisines are represented, particularly in Taipei. Beginning in the 1970s, the government gave increasing attention to cultural development, establishing art museums and performance centres in the major cities and libraries and cultural centres in an increasing number of localities. Exhibitions and performances by foreign painters, photographers, musicians, and dancers are frequent. Foreign-trained artists have brought a contemporary touch to their work. International trends in clothing and life-styles quickly reach Taiwan, which makes many fashionable Western-style consumer goods for export. Domestic television has long carried many foreign programs, and liberalization of import restrictions in the 1980s brought an invasion of foreign fast food, cosmetics, and other items. Both traditional Chinese exercises and modern Western sports such as baseball are popular. In addition, several national parks have been created in wilderness areas. There are about 30 daily newspapers and thousands of periodicals, many of the latter house organs of various organizations. The government sets general guidelines for the political and cultural content of newspapers and periodicals and has powers of confiscation and suspension. There are three television stations and about 30 radio broadcasting companies with more than 180 stations. Yu-chin Kang Edwin A. Winckler The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica