Taiwan, also Republic of China, Formosa is located in East Asia.
A group of islands, the main of which is the island of Taiwan, is
located southeast of mainland China, southwest of Okinawa and north
of the Philippines. The island, de facto independent from China, is
self-determined as the Republic of China, while the PRC does not
recognize the independence of Taiwan and considers it its territory.
Other destinations
Alishan is a wonderful area with seas of
clouds, views of Mount Yushan, and Taiwan's longest narrow gauge
railway.
Taroko Gorge is a gorge and national park in the east of
the island.
Attractions
Taipei 101, Taipei. The skyscraper
with a height of 509.2 meters and 101 floors is the second highest
in the world.
Taiwanese snacks
The 10 most popular night market snacks in Taiwan
Chicken Popcorn (鹽酥雞 Yán sū jī)
Chicken Fillet (雞排 Jī pái)
Milk
tea with balls (珍珠奶茶 Zhēn zhū nǎi chá)
Oyster Omelet (蚵仔煎 Hé zǐ jiān)
Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐 Chòu dòu fu)
Papaya milk cocktail
Mango shaved
ice (芒果冰 Máng guǒ bīng)
Oyster Vermicelli Soup (蚵仔大腸麵線 Hé zǐ dà cháng
miàn xiàn)
Sausage in Glutinous Rice Bread (大腸包小腸 Dà cháng bāo xiǎo
cháng)
Hot potato balls (地瓜球 Dì guā qiú)
Mayor's Precautions
Do not drink tap water from the island's central water supply system (it
is dirty), preferably buy bottled water.
Communication
The
international dialing code for Taiwan is +886. Internet domain countries
.tw
Republic of China (1912-1949)
The Republic of China was founded in
1912 and was ruled by the Kuomintang as a one-party state. She
controlled a significant part of mainland China and Mongolia (the latter
not earlier than from 1917 until February 3, 1921). After the end of
World War II, the group of islands of Taiwan and Penghu, which had
belonged to Japan since 1895, came under the control of the Republic of
China.
Republic of China (Taiwan)
In 1950, after the defeat in
the civil war, the Kuomintang administration evacuated to Taiwan and
established the city of Taipei as the temporary capital. The islands of
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other small islands, including those
in the South China Sea, remain under the control of the Republic of
China. Despite de facto jurisdiction over this territory only, until the
1970s, the Republic of China was recognized by most states and
international organizations as the legitimate authority for all of
China; so, until 1971, its representative occupied the chair of China in
the UN.
Constitutionally, the Republic of China has not renounced
its rights to mainland China, although it has not been very active in
recent times, and has not declared its independence from it. Political
parties in the Republic of China often have radically different views on
its independence. The two former presidents, Li Tenghui and Chen
Shui-bian, held the view that there was a sovereign and independent
state separate from mainland China, and therefore did not see the need
to formally declare their independence and sovereignty.
The
Republic of China is a democracy with a semi-presidential system and
universal suffrage. As one of the "Four Asian Tigers", the Republic of
China has the 19th largest economy in the world. Its technology industry
plays an important role in the global economy. The standard of living is
very high, according to IMF data for 2019-2020. The country in terms of
GDP per capita significantly exceeds China.
The "Taiwan Region" is an area that covers 36,197.07 km² and
includes the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, as well as
a number of smaller islands. Since the evacuation to Taiwan in 1949
by the Kuomintang government, the term "Taiwan Region" also refers
to the area under the de facto jurisdiction of the government of the
Republic of China.
Taiwan is the largest of a chain of
islands located on the border of the Asian continental shelf and
located between Japan and the Philippines. The island reaches 394 km
in length and 144 km in its widest part. The coastline has a rather
smooth contours and stretches for 1566 km (including the islands of
the Penghu archipelago). The island is separated from the east coast
of mainland China by the Taiwan Strait, 130 to 220 km wide, and is
approximately equidistant from Shanghai and Hong Kong SAR and Macau.
Part of the islands of the Taiwan region (Kinmen and Matsu) are
located in close proximity to the mainland.
The population of Taiwan as of December 2022 was estimated at
23,264,640 people. Since the area of the Republic of China is 36,197
km², the population density is 643 people per square km. It is the 10th
largest in the world in terms of population density and the second in
Asia (after Bangladesh), excluding micro-countries. Almost the entire
population of the Republic of China is urban. The main population of the
Republic of China is concentrated on the flat western coast of the
island of Taiwan and lives in a megalopolis (urban agglomerations
flowing one into another), from Xingbei in the north to Kaohsiung in the
south. As of 2019, one third of the total population of the Republic of
China lived in the north of Taiwan in the Greater Taipei metropolitan
area. The population decline in 2021 was 1.3%.
Most of Taiwan's
population lives in urban areas. The largest of them are as follows: New
Taipei (6,607,115 people), Kaohsiung (2,752,008), Taichung-Zhanghua
(2,161,327), Taoyuan (1,814,437), Tainan (1,237,886), Hsinchu (671,464
), Chiayi (373,417). All of them are located on the west coast of
Taiwan. Largest cities (as of 2009: Taipei (2,620,273), Kaohsiung
(1,526,128), Taichung (1,067,366), Tainan (768,891), Hsinchu (396,983),
Jilong (390,299), Chiayi ( 272 718).
Ethnic composition and
languages
97% of Taiwan's population are ethnic Chinese (Han); almost
3% are indigenous peoples (the oldest population of the island of
Taiwan) who speak the Taiwanese languages of the Austronesian family.
The official language is Chinese (Goyu), but the majority of the
population speaks other dialects of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hakka.
Traditional Chinese characters are used.
Until recently,
indigenous languages did not have official status and gradually
disappeared, but since 2016, progress has been made in implementing the
policy of mainstreaming ethnic issues.
In 2017, Parliament passed
the Indigenous Languages Act. Now they can be taught in schools for an
hour a week and on a voluntary basis. In December 2018, a draft law on
the support of national languages was adopted, which affirms the
equality of all languages spoken in the republic; the use of national
languages should not be subject to discrimination or restrictions. The
bill also provides for the support of printed materials, films and
television programs in the languages of the Republic of China.
Religion
There are 27 registered religious denominations in Taiwan,
including mainstream world religions and new religious movements. A
significant part of religious life in Taiwan is associated with Chinese
folk religion. The religious traditions of the aboriginal Austronesian
population of Taiwan lost their former significance; in the post-war
period, the aborigines massively converted to various denominations of
Christianity.
The largest number of followers has religious
traditions originating in mainland China. These are different schools of
Buddhism, Taoism and other beliefs, the characteristic features of
which, especially at the everyday level, are polytheism and syncretism,
a high degree of convergence with each other. Sanctified in Confucian
ethics, ancestor worship is also widely observed in Taiwan regardless of
religious affiliation. Monotheistic religions, primarily Christianity,
are practiced by a relatively small portion of Taiwan's population;
Islam has a certain number of followers.
18% of the population
are not religious, of the believers, 94% are followers of religions
traditional for Chinese culture, including Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism, less than 4.5% - Christianity or Islam.
We can
single out the main features that characterize the religious situation
in Taiwan:
a high degree of religious tolerance;
syncretic
religiosity of the majority of believers;
an abundance of religious
symbols and practices used in everyday life.
LGBT and same-sex
marriage
In 2017, the Republic of China legalized same-sex marriage
and thus became the first state in Asia to allow same-sex marriages to
be registered.
On May 24, 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled
that the constitutional right to equality and freedom of marriage
guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry in accordance with the
Constitution of the Republic of China. The Ordinance (Judicial Yuan
Interpretation No. 748) gave the Legislative Yuan two years to harmonize
marriage laws, after which the registration of such marriages would
automatically take effect. Since the ruling, progress in implementing
the same-sex marriage law has been slow due to government inaction and
strong opposition from some conservative people and Christian groups. In
November 2018, the Taiwanese electorate held referendums to prevent the
recognition of same-sex marriage in the Civil Code and to limit the
teaching of LGBT issues. The government responded by affirming that the
Court's decision would be implemented and that referendums could not
uphold laws that were contrary to the Constitution.
On February
20, 2019, a bill titled "JY Interpretation Enforcement Act No. 748" was
promulgated. The bill gave same-sex couples almost all of the rights
available to heterosexual couples under the Civil Code, except that it
would only allow the adoption of a child genetically related to one of
them.
The Executive Yuan handed it over the next day, sending it
to the Legislative Yuan for a quick review. The bill was passed on May
17, signed by the President on May 22, and entered into force on May 24,
2019 (the last day possible under the Court's order).
At the same
time, initially marriages with citizens of foreign states were
registered only if it was permissible in the country of citizenship of
the foreign partner. According to Art. 46 of the Law on the Regulation
of Civil Affairs with the Participation of Foreign Citizens, the
conclusion of a marriage union is regulated by the law of the country of
citizenship. Any marriages between partners, one of whom is Taiwanese,
had to first be contracted in the foreign partner's country and then
approved by the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior. In January 2023, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs decided to allow the registration of
same-sex marriages with foreigners regardless of their citizenship,
however, the exception remained in force for KN citizens.