Taiwan (island)

This redirect is about the people, history, culture, and geography of Taiwan. For the state commonly known as "Taiwan," see Republic of China. For other uses, see Taiwan (disambiguation).. For other uses, see Taiwan (island) (disambiguation).

The location of Taiwan

Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east but gradually changes to gently sloping plains in the west. Penghu Islands (the Pescadores) are to the west of Taiwan. (Satellite photo by NASA)

Taiwan (traditional Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; simplified Chinese: 台湾; pinyin: Táiwān; Wade–Giles: T'ai-wan; Taiwanese: Tâi-oân) is an island nation in East Asia located off the coast of mainland China, south of Japan and north of the Philippines. "Taiwan" is commonly used to refer to the territories currently governed by the Republic of China (ROC), which include the Taiwan island group (including Lanyu (Orchid Island) and Green Island), the Pescadores in the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen and Matsu off the coast of mainland Fujian, and Taiping and the Pratas in the South China Sea. The current political status of Taiwan and its nationhood is contested by the People's Republic of China, which claims it as one of its provinces, though the PRC government does not and has not ever exercised de facto control over Taiwan. A small pan-Blue minority also believes that Taiwan is not a nation and is merely a part of China, although they believe the ROC is the legitimate government of all of China.

The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa (Portuguese sailors called it Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island"), is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89 miles) wide and consists of steep mountains covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation.

Political status

Main article: Political status of Taiwan

In 1895, Taiwan, including the Pescadores, became a Japanese colony, a concession by the Qing Empire after it lost the First Sino-Japanese War. After Japan's defeat at the end of World War II in 1945, Allied Command ordered Japanese troops in Taiwan to surrender to the Republic of China (ROC) and the ROC has been the de facto ruler of Taiwan ever since. In 1949, upon losing the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) of the Republic of China retreated from mainland China and moved the ROC government to Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, while continuing to claim sovereignty over all of China and Mongolia. On the mainland, the Communists established the People's Republic of China (PRC), claiming to be the sole representative of China including Taiwan and portraying the ROC government on Taiwan as an illegitimate entity.

Taiwan has been transformed into a major industrialized economy and is often touted as the Taiwan Miracle and one of the East Asian Tigers. Meanwhile, political reforms beginning in the late 1970s and continuing through the early 1990s liberalized the Republic of China from an authoritarian one-party state into a multiparty democracy. In 2000, the KMT's monopoly on power ended after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the ROC presidency. Besides groups seeking the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland, there is a Taiwan independence movement that seeks to establish a Taiwanese republic. The competing claims over the future of Taiwan have made and continue to make Taiwan's political status a contentious issue. The number who answer favorably toward any particular resolution often changes depending on the particular wording of the question, illustrating the complexity of public opinion on the topic.

The political environment is complicated by the potential for military conflict should overt actions toward independence be taken. It is the policy of the PRC to reserve the right to "use force to ensure reunification" if peaceful reunification fails, and there are substantial military installations on the Fujian coast for this reason. In return, the US has provided military training and arms sales to the ROC. However, the United States has repeatedly stated that it does not support any unilateral changes in the current status quo by either the ROC or PRC leadership.

The KMT supports the status quo for the indefinite future with a stated ultimate goal of reunification because unification with the PRC for the forseeable future is unacceptable to its members and the public. Ma Ying-Jeou, current chairman of the KMT and current frontrunner for the 2008 presidential election, has set out democracy, economic development to a level near that of Taiwan, and equitable wealth distribution as the conditions that the mainland must fulfill in order for reunification to occur; these conditions make reunification a goal achievable only in the long term. The DPP, which supports an independent Taiwan, supports the status quo because the risk of declaring independence and provoking mainland China is unacceptable to its members. However, President Chen Shui-Bian has stated that no matter what, any said decision should be decided through a public referendum of the people of Taiwan. Both parties current foreign policy positions support taking active steps to advocate the ROC's participation in international organizations and in fact, are actually quite similar, with the two exceptions being that the KMT is willing to accept "one-China" and the DPP encouraging economic ties with countries other than China for security reasons.

Currently there are 25 states -- mostly small, developing nations in Africa and Central America -- that have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, although many countries such as the United States and United Kingdom have de-facto embassies in the ROC. The United States, for example, maintains unofficial diplomatic relations through the American Institute in Taiwan. ROC's de facto embassies are referred to as "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices" (TECRO), with branch offices, the equivalent of consulates, called "Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices" (TECO). Each year since 1992, the government of the Republic of China petitions the UN for entry but has so far been unsuccessful because most countries, including the United States, do not wish to discuss the issue of the ROC's political status for fears of souring diplomatic ties with the PRC, although both the US and Japan publicly support the ROC's bid for membership of the World Health Organization as an observer.

Facing tremendous pressure from the PRC, the ROC uses the name Chinese Taipei in the Olympics and other international events, usually of which PRC is also a party. The ROC is also barred from using its national anthem and national flag in international events due to PRC pressure, and Taiwanese spectators attending events such as the Olympics are barred from bringing ROC national flags into Olympic venues.

History

Main article: History of Taiwan

The Puyuma's moon-shaped monolith, ca. 1896

Prehistory and early settlement

Evidence of human settlement in Taiwan dates back 30,000 years, although the first inhabitants of Taiwan may have been genetically distinct from any groups currently on the island. About 4,000 years ago, ancestors of current Taiwanese aborigines settled Taiwan. These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and Polynesians, and linguists classify their language as Austronesian. Records indicate that Han Chinese settled in Penghu since the 1100s, but it was not until later that people other than aborigines permanently settled in the main island of Taiwan.

Records from ancient China indicate that Han Chinese might have known of the existence of the main island of Taiwan since the Three Kingdoms period (third century), having assigned offshore islands in the vicinity names like Greater and Minor Liuqiu (Ryukyu in Japanese), though none of these names have been definitively matched to the main island of Taiwan. It has been claimed but not verified that the Ming Dynasty admiral Zheng He visited Taiwan between 1403 and 1424.

In 1544, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of Taiwan and dubbed it "Ilha Formosa", which means "Beautiful Island." The Portuguese made no attempt to colonize Taiwan. In 1624, the Dutch established a commercial base on Taiwan and began to import workers from Fujian and Penghu as laborers, many of whom settled. The Dutch made Taiwan a colony with its colonial capital at Tayoan City (present day Anping, Tainan). The Dutch military presence was concentrated at a stronghold called Castle Zeelandia. The name Taiwan derives from Tayoan, meaning "I" in one of the Formosan languages.

Koxinga and imperial Chinese rule

Ming naval and troop forces defeated the Dutch in 1662, subsequently expelling the Dutch government and military from the island. They were led by Lord Zheng Chenggong (also known as Lord Koxinga or 鄭成功), a pirate turned Ming navy commander. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty, Zheng retreated to Taiwan as a self-styled Ming loyalist, and established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683). Cheng establishing his capital at Tainan and he and his heirs, Zheng Jing (鄭經) who ruled from 1662-82 and his son Zheng Ke-Shuang (鄭克塽), who served less than a year, continued to launch raids on the east coast of mainland China well into the Qing dynasty in an attempt to recover the mainland.

In 1683, the Qing dynasty defeated the Zheng holdout, and formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. Following the defeat of Zheng's grandson to an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang, Zheng's followers were expatriated to the farthest reaches of the Qing Empire, leaving approximately 7,000 Han on Taiwan. The Qing government wrestled with its Taiwan policy to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, which led to a series of edicts to manage immigration and respect aboriginal land rights. Illegal immigrants from Fujian continued to enter Taiwan as renters of the large plots of aboriginal lands under contracts that usually involved marriage, while the border between taxpaying lands and "savage" lands migrated east, with some aborigines 'Sinicizing' while others retreated into the mountains. The bulk of Taiwan's population today claim descent from these immigrants. During this time, there were a number of conflicts involving Han Chinese from different regions of China, and between Han Chinese and aborigines.

In 1887, the Qing government upgraded Taiwan's status from that of being a prefecture of Fujian to one of province itself, the 20th in the country, with capital at Taipei. The move was accompanied by a modernization drive that included the building of the first railroad and the beginning of a postal service in Taiwan.

Japanese rule

The building currently known as the ROC Presidential Office was originally built as the Office of the Governor-General by the Japanese colonial government.

Following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Qing China ceded Taiwan and Penghu (the Pescadores) to Japan in perpetuity, on terms dictated by the latter. Inhabitants wishing to remain Chinese subjects were given a 2-year grace period to sell their property and move to the mainland.

On May 25, 1895, the Republic of Formosa was formed with a dynastic name of "Forever Qing" ("Qing" or "Ch'ing" referring to the dynastic name of China at the time: Great Qing Empire) and with capital at Tainan, to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital and quelled this resistance on October 21, 1895. As opposed to elsewhere in Asia (notably Korea), Japan attempted to use Taiwan as a model colony and was instrumental in the industrialization of the island; they extended the railroads that had just sprung up in late Qing rule, built a sanitation system and a public school system, among other things. Still, the ethnic Chinese and Taiwanese aborigines were classified as second and third class citizens. Large-scale violence continued in the first decade of rule. Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire. By 1945, just before Japan lost World War II, desperate plans were in place to incorporate popular representation of Taiwan into the Japanese Diet to make Taiwan an integral part of Japan proper.

Japan's rule of Taiwan came to an end with its defeat in World War II. Its signing of the Instrument of Surrender on August 15, 1945, signaled that Taiwan was to be returned to China, one of the Allied objectives from the wartime declarations. On October 25, 1945, ROC troops, representing the Allied Command, accepted the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taihoku (today: Taipei). However, due to the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allies stipulated the United States as the main occupying power of Taiwan while not naming the recipient of Taiwan's sovereignty, which the President of ROC refused to accept. PRC was not invited to the treaty because of the Korean War.

Dictatorship of the Kuomintang

ROC National Assembly delegates with Chiang Kai-shek in 1946, 3 years before moving the central government to Taiwan. There is little evidence that the people of Taiwan actually participated in electing these delegates.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei

The ROC administration, led by Chiang Kai-shek, announced October 25, 1945, as "Taiwan Retrocession Day" (臺灣光復節). At first, they were reportedly greeted as liberators by the people of Taiwan. However, the ROC military administration on Taiwan under Chen Yi was generally unstable and corrupt. The corruption, compounded by hyperinflation, unrest due to the Chinese Civil War, and distrust due to political, cultural and linguistic differences between the Taiwanese and the Mainland Chinese, quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new administration. This culminated in a series of severe clashes between the ROC administration and Taiwanese, in turn leading to the bloody 228 incident and the reign of White Terror.

At the same time, the Chinese Civil War was in progress. In 1949, Chiang's Kuomintang (Nationalist Party or KMT), which at the time controlled the government of the ROC, retreated to Taiwan after its defeat on mainland China at the hands of the Communist Party of China. Some 1.3 million refugees from mainland China, consisting primarily of soldiers, KMT party members, and other wealthy mainlanders, arrived in Taiwan around that time. From this period on, Taiwan was governed by a authoritarian one-party government led by the KMT. Military rule continued and little to no distinction was made between the government and the party, with "public property", government property, and party property being interchangeable. Government workers and party workers were also indistinguishable, with government workers, such as teachers, being required to become KMT members, and party workers paid salaries and promised retirement benefits along the lines of government employees.

Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that Taiwan would fall to the Communists. However, in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the 7th Fleet into the Taiwan Straits to "neutralize" the Straits. In the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which came into force on April 28, 1952, and the Treaty of Taipei, concluded hours before that date, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Peng-hu), and renounced all treaties signed with China before 1942. Both treaties remained silent about who would take control of the island, in part to avoid taking sides in the Chinese Civil War. Advocates of Taiwan independence have used this omission to call into question any legal claims on Taiwan, and arguing that the future of Taiwan should be decided by self-determination.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Taiwan began to develop into a prosperous and dynamic economy, becoming one of the East Asian Tigers while maintaining the authoritarian, one-party government. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the Republic of China government on Taiwan as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s, when most nations began switching recognition to the Communists' People's Republic of China on the mainland.

Democratic era

After Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975, Vice President Yen Chia-kan briefly took over from 1975 to 1978 according to the Constitution, but actual power was in hands of the Premier of the Executive Yuan, Chiang Ching-kuo, who was KMT chairman and a son of Chiang Kai-shek. During the presidency of Chiang Ching-kuo from 1978 to 1988, Taiwan's political system began to undergo gradual liberalization. Martial law, which had been in effect since 1948, was lifted in 1987, and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party was formed and allowed to participate overtly in politics. After Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988, Vice President Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as the first Taiwan-born president of the ROC and chairman of the KMT. One-party rule lost its effective dominance with the continuation of peaceful social and political reforms. Lee became the first ROC president elected by popular vote in 1996.

In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party won the Presidential election, marking the first ever peaceful democratic transition of power to an opposition party in Chinese history and a decisive end to the KMT's monopoly in administration of the central government. After surviving a politically controversial assassination attempt the night before the 2004 election, Chen was re-elected to his second four-year term by an extremely slim margin. Today, both parties have moderated their positions, with both the KMT and the DPP appearing to support maintenance of the status quo in the short term. However, Chen's recent executive order that the National Unification Council "cease to function" is criticized by some of his opponents as dangerously provocative in terms of cross-strait policy and neglectful of the economic needs of Taiwan.

See also

• Timeline of Taiwanese history
• History of the Republic of China
• History of China

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the Republic of China

Taiwan Island contains all but one county of Taiwan Province: 15 counties and all five province-administered cities. Penghu (the Pescadores) is the only county in Taiwan Province which is not on Taiwan. Taiwan's two largest cities, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City, although on the island of Taiwan, are not part of Taiwan Province but are centrally-administered municipalities, with the same level as provinces. Since 1998, the provincial tier of government has been largely eliminated, leaving the county the main division under the central government.

In addition to Taiwan Province and the two municipalities, the Republic of China also controls Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu islands, both situated in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of mainland Fujian (Fuchien), as well as some Pacific Coast islands (notably the Green and Orchid islands). Furthermore, the ROC also claims some islands in the South China Sea. Some of these outer islands, notably the Spratly (Nansha) islands, are claimed simultaneously by the PRC, ROC and some southeastern Asian countries. Finally, the ROC claims the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan and disputed by both PRC and ROC.

Geography

Taroko National Park

Main article: Geography of Taiwan

The island of Taiwan lies some 200 kilometers off the southeastern coast of China, across the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,801 square kilometers (13,823 square miles), with the East China Sea to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. The island is characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges from the northern to the southern tip of the island, and the flat to gently rolling plains in the west that are also home to most of Taiwan's population. Taiwan's highest point is the Yu Shan at 3,952 meters, while there are 5 other peaks over 3,500 meters.

Taiwan's climate is marine tropical. The Northern part of the island has a rainy season that lasts from January to late March during the southwest monsoon, and also experiences "Plum Rains" in May. The entire island succumbs to hot humid weather from June until September, while October to December are arguably the most pleasant times of year. The Middle to South of the island do not have an extended Monsoon during the winter months, however can experience several weeks of rain, especially during and after Lunar New Year. Natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes are common in the region.

Taiwan is a center of bird endemism. See Endemic Birds of Taiwan for further information.

Environment

With its high population density and many factories, some areas in Taiwan suffer from heavy pollution. Most notably are the southern suburbs of Taipei and the eastern stretch from Tainan to Lin Yuan, South of Kaohsiung. In the past, Taipei suffered from extensive vehicle and factory air pollution, however with mandatory use of unleaded gasoline and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality of Taiwan has improved dramatically. The motor scooters which are ubiquitous in Taiwan, especially older or cheaper 2-stroke versions, also contribute disproportionately to air pollution in Taiwan.

Land and soil pollution has decreased as Taiwanese industry moves out of heavy industry; however, several toxic sites leftover mainly by foreign companies operating factories in Taiwan continue to pose challenges. Solid waste disposal has become less of a problem as a nation-wide recycling movement has taken hold, especially with support from Buddhist charity organizations.

Water pollution remains a largely unameliorated problematic issue. Nearly 90% of sewage waste in Taiwan is dumped into waterways untreated. Several rivers are so heavily polluted that it would take political unfeasible billions of dollars to clean up.

Natural resources

Taiwan has few natural resources. Fishing is a big industry, but its international quotas have been cut.

Energy resources

Taiwan has significant coal deposits and some insignificant oil and gas deposits. Electrical power generation consists of nearly 50% oil-based power, less than 10% natural gas, less than 10% nuclear power, and about 35% hydroelectric power, with the difference made up with renewable energy sources. Nearly all oil and gas for transporation and power needs must be imported, making Taiwan particularly sensitive to fluctations in energy prices. Because of this, Taiwan's Executive Yuan is pushing for 10% of energy generation to come from renewable energy by 2010, double from a current figure of approximately 5%. In fact, several wind-farms built by American and German companies are have come online or will in the near future. Taiwan is rich in wind-energy resources, both on-shore and off-shore, though limited land area makes development of offshore wind resources more feasible. Solar energy, to an extent, is also a potential resource. By promoting renewable energy, Taiwan's government hopes to also aid the nascent renewable energy manufacturing industry, which hopes to develop into an export market.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Taiwan

ROC's population was estimated in 2005 as being 22.9 million, most of which are on Taiwan. About 98 % of the population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. Of these people, 84 % are descendants of early Han immigrants known as native Taiwanese (c: 本省人; p: Bensheng ren; lit. "home-province person"). This group contains two subgroups. The first subgroup is the Southern Fujianese (70 % of the total population), who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian region in the southeast of mainland China. The second subgroup is the Hakka (15 % of the total population), who originally migrated south to Guangdong, its surrounding areas and Taiwan, intermarrying extensively with Taiwanese aborigines. The remaining 14 % of Han Chinese are known as Mainlanders (外省人; Waisheng ren; lit. "external-province person") and are composed of and descend from immigrants who arrived after the Second World War. This group fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Dalu ren (大陸人) refers to residents of Mainland China. This group excludes almost all Taiwanese, including the Mainlanders, except recent immigrants from mainland China, such as those made Republic of China citizens through marriage. It also excludes foreign brides from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines or foreign grooms of which a greater number come from Western countries. One in seven marriages now involves a partner from another country. As Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world , this contingent is playing an increasingly important role in changing Taiwan's demographic makeup.

The other 2% of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are the Taiwanese aborigines (原住民; yuánzhùmín; lit. "original inhabitants"), divided into 12 major groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan and Taroko.

Language

Almost everyone on Taiwan born after the early 1950s can speak Mandarin. It is the official language in Taiwan, and has been the medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. Under the Republic of China language policy in effect up to the 1980s, use of the local languages was forbidden from the airwaves and in official situations, and students sometimes received corporal punishment by their instructors, as they did for many other infractions, for speaking Taiwanese, Hakka, or Aboriginal languages in school or at home.

Although Mandarin is still the language of instruction in schools and predominate television and airwaves, today, non-Mandarin languages have undergone a revival in public life in Taiwan. Demographically, a large fraction of people speak Taiwanese, a variant of Min-nan, and a majority understand it. A large proportion also speak Hakka. Between 1900 and 1945, Japanese was the medium of instruction, so older people educated during that period can also speak Japanese. There are some cases where older generations only speak the Japanese they learned at school and the Taiwanese they spoke at home. This leaves them out of the loop with the modern generations who may only speak Mandarin while they can't speak it at all.

Most aboriginal groups in Taiwan have their own languages, and unlike Taiwanese or Hakka, do not belong to the Chinese language family, but rather to the Austronesian language family.

Several romanization schemes exist. Chinese romanization on Taiwan uses both Tongyong pinyin (Tongyong pronunciation), which the national government officially has adopted, and Hanyu pinyin (Hanyu pronunciation), which some localities use. Wade-Giles, used traditionally, also is found. Mayor Ma Ying-jeou recently changed all Taipei street names to the Hanyu form, although most romanizations in other cities still are in Tongyong and addresses are generally written in Tongyong.

Religion

About half of the ROC population is religious, and most of these people identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. The default identity is Taoism but in Taiwan, belief in folk religion also is prevalent, and many people practice some combination of these faiths. Confucianism is also an honored school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years; a majority of these churches are Protestant, with Presbyterians and Baptists playing a particularly significant role. Noteworthy is the Presbyterian church's role in facilitating the democratization of Taiwan.

Besides formal religions, many in Taiwan also believe in the idea of destiny and will commonly go to fortune tellers to have their fortune's read. In addition, it is common for younger people today to establish common ground through their Western horoscope sign and their blood types.

Economy

Taipei City at night

Main article: Taiwan miracle

Because of the Taiwanese economy's quick industrialization and rapid growth during the latter-half of the 20th century, the Taiwan Economy is often called the Taiwan Miracle or Taiwan Economic Miracle (台灣奇蹟). Because of the concomitance of its rise with that of several other East Asian economies, that of Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, Taiwan is known as one of the East Asian Tigers.

The Taiwan Miracle may have begun prior to the end of World War II. In 1962 Taiwan had a per capita gross national product (GNP) of $170, placing the island's economy squarely between Zaire and Congo. But, by 1997 Taiwan's per capita GNP, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), had soared to $19,197, contributing to a Human Development Index similar to that of European countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Greece.

According to economist Paul Krugman, the rapid growth was made possible by increases in capital and labor, but not an increase in efficiency. In other words, the savings rate increased, and work hours were both lengthened and many more people, such as women, entered the work force.

Main article: Economy of Taiwan

Today, Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing state involvement in investment and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, the government is privatizing some large banks and industrial firms. Real growth in gross domestic product has averaged about 8 % during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Taiwan's current GDP per capita is $27,122, ranking 23rd in the world.

The ROC has its own currency: the New Taiwan Dollar.

Agriculture constitutes only 2% of GDP, down from 35 % in 1952. Traditional labor-intensive industries are moving steadily offshore, with more capital- and technology-intensive industries replacing them. Taiwan has become a major investor in mainland China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam; around 50,000 Taiwanese businesses are established in mainland China. Taiwan is one of the largest foreign investors in mainland China.

Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, consisting of many small and medium sized businesses, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998–1999. The global economic downturn, however, combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Due to the relocation of many manufacturing and labor-intensive industries to mainland China, unemployment also peaked at a level last seen during the 1970s oil crisis. This problem became one of the major issues in the presidential election of 2004. The unemployment rate eventually declined after the government adopted a few economy-stimulating measures.

The ROC has entered international governmental trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization and APEC under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (台灣、澎湖、金門及馬祖個別關稅領域) in WTO and under the name Chinese Taipei in APEC. Although the PRC objects to having other countries maintain diplomatic or official relations with the ROC, it made no objection to having the ROC maintain economic relations. However, under PRC pressure, the ROC joined governmental organizations under different names.

The opening of the Taipei Financial Center, also known as Taipei 101 due to its number of floors, on December 31, 2004, brought more world recognition to Taiwan and Taipei. Taipei 101, equipped with the world's fastest elevators, is the world's tallest building. The surrounding financial district is steadily becoming more recognized in the world market, and a trendy shopping district is rapidly growing around it as well.

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Culture of Taiwan

Main article: Culture of Taiwan

Dancer in traditional aboriginal dress

Taiwan's culture is primarily derived from traditional Chinese culture, with some Japanese and American influences. Taiwanese aborigines each also have distinct cultures which are thought to share the common ethnic origins with the Pacific Islanders.

Most Taiwanese adhere to a mix of Buddhist/Taoist religions and Confucian teachings. Traditional Chinese holidays such as Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival are celebrated regularly. One especially important deity for Taiwanese people is Matsu, symbolizing the seafaring spirit of Taiwan's ancestors from Fujian and Guangdong.

Many Japanese style houses can be found in Taiwan as relics of Japanese colonial rule. Common usage of Japanese words such as "obasan" and almost all baseball terminology can also be seen as lasting Japanese effect on Taiwan.

Taiwanese culture also has influenced the West: Bubble tea and milk tea are popular drinks readily available around city centers in Europe, Canada and the United States. Ang Lee is the famous Taiwanese movie director of Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Eat Drink Man Woman, among other films. Mr. Lee also won the Best Director Academy Award for his directing in the film Brokeback Mountain.

About 80 % of the people in Taiwan belong to the Holo ethnic group and speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese. Mandarin is the primary language of instruction in schools; however, most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become an emblem of expressing Taiwanese identity, and the language has undergone a resurgence since the early 1990s. The Hakka, about 10 % of the population, have a distinct Hakka language. Aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, although most also speak Mandarin.

Longshan Temple, Taipei, an example of architecture with southern Chinese influences commonly seen in older buildings in Taiwan.

The Taiwanese localization movement continues to be a major driver of Taiwanese culture, as a reaction against both the previous repression by the previously Kuomintang-controlled government and the hostility of the PRC. Thus, identity politics, along with the over 100 years of political separation from mainland China, 50 of which were under Japanese colonial rule, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including cuisine, opera and music.

One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum, which houses more than 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting and porcelain. The Kuomintang government moved this collection from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1949 when it fled to Taiwan. The collection, estimated to be one-tenth of China's cultural treasures, is so extensive that only 1 % is on display at any time.

Popular sports in Taiwan include basketball and baseball. Cheerleading performances and pool are also quite fashionable. Less popular, but still common are badminton and golf.

Convenience store culture

Boasting 8,058 convenience stores in an area of 35,980 km² and a population of 22.9 million, Taiwan has the Asia Pacific’s and perhaps the world’s highest density of convenience stores per person: one store per 2,800 people or .000357 stores per person. With 3897 7-Eleven stores, Taiwan also has the world’s highest density of 7-Elevens per person: one store per 6200 people or .000161 stores per person . In Taipei, it is not unusual to see two 7-Elevens across the street or several of them within a few hundreds of meters of each other.

Because they are found everywhere, convenience stores in Taiwan provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of the city parking fee, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments. Eighty percent of urban household shoppers in Taiwan visit a convenience store each week. The idea of being able to purchase food items, drink, fast food, magazines, videos, computer games, and so on 24 hours a day and at any corner of a street makes life easier for Taiwan’s extremely busy and rushed population.

Buxiban culture

Taiwan, like Japan and South Korea, is well-known for its bushibans (補習班), often translated as cram school, and literally meaning "make-up class" or "catch-up class" or to learn more advanced classes. Nearly all students attend some sort of buxiban, whether for math, computer skills, English, other foreign languages, or exam preparation (college, graduate school, TOEFL, GRE, etc). This is perpetuated by a meritocratic culture that measures merit through testing, with entrance into college, graduate school, and government service decided entirely on testing. This has also led to a remarkable respect for degrees, including Ph.D.s and overseas Western degrees (US and Great Britain).

Teaching English has become a big industry in Taiwan, with Taiwan, as part of its project to reinvigorate the Taiwan miracle, aiming to become a trilingual country--fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English. Many teachers come from English-speaking countries, such as the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and enjoy salaries of about $30,000 per year at a low cost-of-living.

See also

• List of Taiwan-related topics (by category)
• Cinema of Taiwan
• Communications in the Republic of China
• Demographics of Taiwan
• Economy of Taiwan
• Holidays in the Republic of China
• Literature of Taiwan

• Music of Taiwan
• Military of Taiwan
• Taiwanese aborigine
• Taiwanese cuisine
• Taiwanese language
• Taiwanese photography
• Timeline of Taiwanese history
• Transportation in the Republic of China
• Chinese cultural world

External links

Government

• Government Information Office - government information portal
• Central Weather Bureau - local weather and earthquake reports
• Electronic Government - e-government, entry point of Taiwan

Tourism

• Lonely Planet Destination Taiwan - travel guide
• Template:Wikitravel
• Taiwan Tourism Bureau - local travel news
• Taiwan from inside - Pictures of the daily life in Taiwan

Major Blogs

• "Politics in Taiwan" - In depth analysis of Taiwanese politics
• "The View from Taiwan - General blog from the perspective of a resident expat English teacher, many photos

Expat Sites

• "Teaching English And Living In Taiwan" - Site with lots of information on teaching English in Taiwan
• "Forumosa" - The primary English language message board in Taiwan

Taiwan news in English

• Taiwan Headlines -- news via Taiwan's Government Information Office
• "POTS EXTRA, Taipei's Free Weekly"
• Radio Taiwan International
• Taipei Times
• Taiwan Central News Agency
• Taiwan Economic News
• Taiwan News
• The China Post

Misc.

• Country Profile on BBC
• History of Taiwan from a TI perspective
• WUFI - World United Formosans for Independence