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Location
Taiwan is a country in East Asia. It is located at the junction of 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.
See Also: Geography of Taiwan
Administrative Divisions
Taiwan is divided into 22 subnational divisions, which are either special municipalities, cities, or counties. Special municipalities and cities are further divided into districts, while counties are further divided into townships and county-administered cities. Each division has a local government led by an elected head and a local council.
Administrative Divisions of Taiwan
The capital and largest city of Taiwan is Taipei.
History
Taiwan has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples for at least 25,000 years. They developed diverse cultures and languages, and some maintain their distinct identities to this day.
In the 17th century, Taiwan, then known as Formosa, became a contested territory between European powers, mainly the Dutch and the Spanish. In 1662, Ming dynasty loyalists from mainland China came to Formosa, expelling the Dutch and capturing Fort Zeelandia. They established the Kingdom of Tungning, led by Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga).
In 1683, the Qing dynasty defeated the Kingdom of Tungning and annexed Taiwan as part of its empire. Taiwan remained under Qing rule until 1895, when it was ceded to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War.
Japan ruled Taiwan as a colony for 50 years, during which time it implemented various policies of modernization, industrialization, and assimilation. Taiwan also served as a base for Japan’s expansion into Asia and the Pacific during World War II.
After Japan’s surrender in 1945, Taiwan was occupied by the Republic of China (ROC), led by the Kuomintang (KMT) party, which claimed to represent all of China. However, in 1949, the KMT lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China (CPC) and retreated to Taiwan, where it established a one-party dictatorship under martial law.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Taiwan underwent a process of democratization, social movements, and economic development, as well as a shift in its international status, as most countries switched diplomatic recognition from the ROC to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Since the 1990s, Taiwan has experienced significant political changes, as the KMT lost power to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which advocated for Taiwan’s sovereignty and identity. The relations between Taiwan and China became more tense and complex, as both sides maintained the “one China” principle but differed on its interpretation.
See also: History of Taiwan
Ethnicities
Han Chinese make up more than 95% of Taiwan’s population, and are divided into three subgroups based on their ancestral origins and languages:
The largest subgroup are the Hoklo, also known as Minnanese or Taiwanese, who account for about 70% of Taiwan’s population. They speak Hokkien, a variant of Southern Min. The Hoklo mostly trace their ancestry to immigrants from Fujian Province in mainland China during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The second largest subgroup are the Hakka, who comprising about 15% of Taiwan’s population. They speak Hakka, a distinct Chinese language. The Hakka mostly descend from migrants from Guangdong Province in mainland China during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The smallest subgroup are the Waishengren, also known as Mainlanders or Chinese, who represent about 10% of Taiwan’s population. The speak Mandarin. The Waishengren mostly consist of refugees and soldiers who fled from mainland China after the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and their descendants.
The Taiwanese indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of Taiwan, and belong to the Austronesian language family. They make up about 2% of Taiwan’s population, and are divided into sixteen officially recognized tribes, such as the Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan, Rukai, and Tsou. They have their own cultures, traditions, and religions, and some still live in rural and mountainous areas.
See Also: Taiwanese People
Languages
There are three official languages in Taiwan. These include Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Hakka. A majority of the people in Taiwan (around 73%) speak Taiwanese Hokkien. Mandarin, however, is understood by all and serves as a lingua franca. Mandarin is used in all government and educational settings, as well as in everyday communication.
See also: Chinese Languages
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Religion
The constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan) provides for freedom of religion, and the authorities generally respect this right in practice. This means that all religions are treated equally and there is no official or state religion. The majority of Taiwanese people practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism often with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion.
See also: Religion in Taiwan
See also: Demographics of Taiwan
Taiwanese Naming Conventions
The Taiwanese generally follow traditional Chinese naming conventions. Chinese names usually consist of a surname ( xìng 姓) and a given name ( míng 名). The surname comes first, followed by the given name. For example, in the name Liu Xiaobo, Liu is the surname and Xiaobo is the given name. Most surnames are one character long, although some are two characters long. Most given names are two characters long, but some are one or three characters long. Chinese names may have different romanizations, depending on the system used to transliterate them from Chinese characters to Latin letters. For example, the name Zhang Sanfeng can also be written as Chang San-feng, Chang Sanfong, or Jang Sanfeng, depending on whether the Hanyu Pinyin, Wade-Giles, Tongyong Pinyin, or Gwoyeu Romatzyh system is used. Chinese names may also have different forms or variations, depending on the context, region, or personal preference of the name holder. For example, some people may use a nickname, an English name, a courtesy name, an art name, or a religious name in different situations.
See Also: Chinese Names