What is "taiwan"

Formosa \Formosa\ prop. n. An island off the coast of China, also called Taiwan. It was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1945, when it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. After the Communist revolution which took over the Chinese mainland in 1949, the Nationalist Chinese under Chang Kai-Shek retreated to the island of Formosa and established that island as the base of their government, being recognized for several years as the de jure possessor of the China seat in the United Nations. The capital is Taipei. As of 1998, both the Taiwan government and the mainland China government recognized Taiwan as properly a part of China, but the island is currently ruled as a de facto independent nation, though it does not possess a seat in the United Nations. The question of when and under what circumstances the island will be reunited with the mainland government is still unresolved.

Syn: Taiwan.

literally "terrace bay," from Chinese tai "terrace" + wan "bay." Related: Taiwanese.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia centered on the island of the same name.

Taiwan may also refer to:

• Chinese Taipei, the name used for Taiwan when participating in some international organizations
• Free area of the Republic of China, or Taiwan Area, the territory of Republic of China not lost to the Chinese Communists
• the area covered by the Taiwan Relations Act (the island of Taiwan and the Penghu archipelago, but not the outer islands)
• Taiwan Province, Republic of China, a nominal administrative division covering much of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands
• Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China, a political designation reflecting that state's claim of sovereignty
  • " Taiwan, China", a controversial term presenting Taiwan as part of "China"
• Republic of Formosa, or Taiwan Republic, the republic that existed in Taiwan in 1895
• Taiwan Prefecture, a prefecture of the Qing Dynasty between 1684 and 1887

Tai Wan ("big bay") is the name of several places in Hong Kong, including:

• Tai Wan, Hung Hom, an area in Kowloon, which includes Tai Wan Road
• Tai Wan, a beach at Tai Long Wan, Sai Kung in the east of the New Territories
• Tai Wan, a bay and village on the island of Po Toi

The Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan , is a state with limited recognition in East Asia, covering the islands of Taiwan and Penghu, as well as Kinmen and Matsu Islands just off the coast of mainland China, and several islands in the South China Sea. Since the retreat of the Kuomintang to Taiwan in 1949, the legal and political status of Taiwan has been contested.

The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before Han Chinese began immigrating to the island in the 17th century. European settlements and the Kingdom of Tungning were established shortly before China annexed the island. Taiwan was later ceded to Japan in 1895 after China was defeated in war. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China (ROC) was established on the mainland in 1912. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the ROC took governance of Taiwan. However, the ROC lost control of the mainland to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War. In 1949, the Communist Party of China took full control of the mainland and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC). The ROC government fled to Taiwan and continued to claim to be the legitimate government of all of China. Effective ROC jurisdiction has been limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands, with the main island making up 99% of its de facto territory. The ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, when the PRC assumed China's seat via Resolution 2758, causing the ROC to lose its UN membership. International recognition of the ROC gradually eroded as most countries switched their "China" recognition to the PRC. and the Holy See currently maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC. However, numerous other states maintain unofficial ties through representative offices via institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. Afterwards, diplomats around the world avoid mentioning the Republic of China's official name and instead use various other designations such as Chinese Taipei, Taiwan, China or simply "Taiwan", the name of the island the ROC is currently based in, to refer to the ROC. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Taiwan changed from a military dictatorship with a one party system of governance dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party system with universal suffrage.

Taiwan maintains a stable industrial economy as a result of rapid economic growth and industrialization, which has been dubbed the Taiwan Miracle. Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers and a member of the World Trade Organization and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The 21st-largest economy in the world, its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. Taiwan is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, and human development.

The complications of Taiwan's history since 1945 have created a number of practical issues for its people. Key among these are the exact nature of Taiwanese national identity, the ambiguous international political status of Taiwan, and the difficult cross-strait relations. In Taiwan, these issues generate debate among political parties and candidates. Though the ROC renounced in 1992 the conquest of PRC-controlled territories as a national goal, there is still dispute over whether the constitution still claims sovereignty over all of the ROC's pre-1949 territories, including Outer Mongolia and the entirety of the present PRC. In practical terms, settlement of questions such as whether the ROC identifies more as "Taiwan" or "China", and what the exact nature of its identity is relative to the PRC (whether international or domestic), rests with the political coalition most recently elected. Meanwhile, the PRC continues to assert the One China policy, in which it is sole legal government of "China" and that Taiwan is a province of China. As a result, the ROC is not recognised as a sovereign state by most countries and is not a member of the United Nations. The PRC has threatened the use of military force as a response to any formal declaration by Taiwan of national independence or to any decision by PRC leaders that peaceful Chinese unification is no longer possible.