Taiwan (tī'wän') , Portuguese Formosa, officially Republic of China, island nation (2005 est. pop. 22,894,000), 13,885 sq mi (35,961 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, separated from the mainland of S China by the 100-mi-wide (161-km) Taiwan Strait. Together with many nearby islets, including the Pescadores and the island groups of Quemoy and Matsu, it forms the seat of the Republic of China. The provisional capital is Taipei; Nanjing, on mainland China, is regarded as the official capital of the republic.

Land and People

The heavily forested hills and mountains of central and E Taiwan reach their summit at Yu Shan (13,113 ft/3,997 m high); there are about 70 peaks exceeding 10,000 ft (3,048 m). This mountainous area produces some minerals, chiefly gold, silver, copper, and coal, but its main resources are forest products, including valuable hardwoods and natural camphor. Petroleum and natural gas have also been found. The broad coastal plain in the west supports most of the island's population and is the chief agricultural zone. Typhoons are common. Taiwan has a semitropical climate and rainfall ranging from moderate to heavy. In addition to Taipei, other major cities include Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, and Chilung.
The overwhelming majority of the people are Chinese; they generally speak the Mandarin, Amoy, or Hakka dialects. There are also Austronesian aborigines living in the mountainous interior. Numerous religions are practiced on Taiwan, including Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, shamanism, and Christianity. Elementary education is compulsory, and educational facilities were greatly improved in the 1950s and 1960s.

Economy

The island produces abundant food crops, although in recent years agricultural production has decreased due to rising costs and increased competition. Rice is the chief crop, followed by wheat, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, vegetables, fruits, and tea. The island has a sizable fishing fleet. Industry, once concerned mainly with rice and sugar milling, has diversified to include a variety of light and heavy manufactures, increased high-technology businesses, and a growing service sector. Manufacturing accounts for almost 40% of Taiwan's gross domestic product, while service industries contribute 60%.
Textile and food processing industries have been supplemented by the production of chemicals, steel, electrical appliances, petrochemicals, machinery, ships, cement, computers and electronics, pharmaceuticals, and communication systems. Most industries are privately run, but the government operates those considered essential to national defense, such as steel and electricity. Railroad and bus lines are also government operated. Taiwan trades chiefly with the United States, Japan, Europe, and China (through Hong Kong). Major exports are computers, electronics, and electrical products, machinery, clothing, textiles, and communications equipment; imports include nonelectrical and electrical machinery, petroleum, iron and steel, precision instruments, and transportation equipment.

Government

Taiwan's national government is based on the constitution of 1947 (amended in 1992, 1994, and 1997), which was drawn up to govern the whole of China; when the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan in 1949, most countries still recognized it as the government of all China, and it has continued to assert that claim, regarding Taiwan itself as only a province.
The national government is made up of five yuan, or branches. The Executive yuan, where the greatest political power rests, is similar to a cabinet and is headed by a popularly elected president; the Legislative yuan, whose 225 members are elected (most directly from multimember districts; the rest proportionally), handles all legislation; the Judicial yuan is appointed by the president and serves as the highest judicial authority; the Control yuan is in charge of censorship and such political matters as censure and impeachment; and the Examination yuan supervises examinations for government positions. Amendments to the constitution passed in 2005 will reduce the number of members of the legislature to 113, with some elected directly and the rest chosen proportionally. The dominant political party was long the conservative Kuomintang (KMT; Nationalist party); the Democratic Progressive party, formed in Oct., 1986, is the other main party.
Theoretically separate from the national government is the government of Taiwan province, which includes all of Taiwan except for the cities of Taipei and Kaohsing and a few island off the mainland coast. The province is administered by a governor, which in 1994 became an elective post, and a 79-member provincial assembly.

History

Early History through World War II
The origins of Taiwan's Austronesian aborigines are a matter of debate. Some believe that these early inhabitants migrated from the Malay Archipelago, while others assert that they came from what is now SE China. The earliest Chinese settlements on Taiwan began in the 7th cent., chiefly from the mainland provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. The island was reached in 1590 by the Portuguese, who named it Formosa [=beautiful]. In 1624 the Dutch founded forts in the south at present Tainan, while the Spanish established bases in the north. The Dutch, however, succeeded in expelling the Spaniards in 1641 and assumed control of the entire island. They in turn were forced to abandon Taiwan in 1662, when Koxinga, a general of the Ming dynasty of China who had to flee from the Manchus, seized the island and established an independent kingdom. However, the island fell to the Manchus in 1683. Chinese immigration increased, and the aboriginal population was gradually pushed into the interior.
Japan, attracted by the island's strategic and economic importance, acquired Taiwan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) after the First Sino-Japanese War. Japan exploited the island for the benefit of the Japanese home economy and tried to establish Japanese as the language of the island. The island was scarcely used, however, for Japanese colonization. Under Japan, Taiwan's economy was modernized and industrialized, railroads were built, and the large cities expanded. During World War II, Taiwan was heavily bombed by U.S. planes. In accordance with the Cairo declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Conference of 1945, Taiwan was returned to China as a province after the war.