[syn: Taiwan, Formosa]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Taiwan
n 1: a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by
Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the
Communists led by Mao Zedong [syn: Taiwan, China,
Nationalist China, Republic of China]
2: an island in southeastern Asia 100 miles off the coast of
mainland China in the South China Sea [syn: Taiwan,
Formosa]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Taiwan
Introduction Taiwan
-------------------
Background: In 1895, military defeat forced
China to cede Taiwan to Japan,
however it reverted to Chinese
control after World War II.
Following the Communist victory on
the mainland in 1949, 2 million
Nationalists fled to Taiwan and
established a government using the
1947 constitution drawn up for all
of China. Over the next five
decades, the ruling authorities
gradually democratized and
incorporated the native population
within its governing structure. This
culminated in 2000, when Taiwan
underwent its first peaceful
transfer of power from the
Nationalist to the Democratic
Progressive Party. Throughout this
period, the island has prospered to
become one of East Asia's economic
"Tigers." The dominant political
issues continue to be the
relationship between Taiwan and
China - specifically the question of
eventual unification - as well as
domestic political and economic
reform.
Geography Taiwan
----------------
Location: Eastern Asia, islands bordering the
East China Sea, Philippine Sea,
South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait,
north of the Philippines, off the
southeastern coast of China
Geographic coordinates: 23 30 N, 121 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 35,980 sq km
note: includes the Pescadores,
Matsu, and Quemoy
water: 3,720 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland and
Delaware combined
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,566.3 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; marine; rainy season
during southwest monsoon (June to
August); cloudiness is persistent
and extensive all year
Terrain: eastern two-thirds mostly rugged
mountains; flat to gently rolling
plains in west
Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,997 m
Natural resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas,
limestone, marble, and asbestos
Land use: arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 75%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: earthquakes and typhoons
Environment - current issues: air pollution; water pollution from
industrial emissions, raw sewage;
contamination of drinking water
supplies; trade in endangered
species; low-level radioactive waste
disposal
Environment - international party to: none of the selected
agreements: agreements because of Taiwan's
international status
signed, but not ratified: none of
the selected agreements because of
Taiwan's international status
Geography - note: strategic location adjacent to both
the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon
Strait
People Taiwan
-------------
Population: 22,548,009 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (male 2,464,290;
female 2,268,627)
15-64 years: 70% (male 8,010,014;
female 7,774,296)
65 years and over: 9% (male
1,053,975; female 976,807) (2002
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.78% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 14.21 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 6.08 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.74 years
female: 79.71 years (2002 est.)
male: 73.99 years
Total fertility rate: 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%,
mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%
Religions: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and
Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other
2.5%
Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official),
Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 86% (1980 est.)
male: 93% (1980 est.)
female: 79% (1980 est.)
note: literacy for the total
population has reportedly increased
to 94% (1998 est.)
Government Taiwan
-----------------
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan
local short form: T'ai-wan
local long form: none
former: Formosa
Government type: multiparty democratic regime headed
by popularly elected president and
unicameral legislature
Capital: Taipei
Administrative divisions: the central administrative divisions
include the provinces of Fu-chien
(some 20 offshore islands of Fujian
Province including Quemoy and Matsu)
and Taiwan (the island of Taiwan and
the Pescadores islands); Taiwan is
further subdivided into 16 counties
(hsien, singular and plural), 5
municipalities* (shih, singular and
plural), and 2 special
municipalities** (chuan-shih,
singular and plural); Chang-hua,
Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-
chu, Hsin-chu*, Hua-lien, I-lan,
Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li,
Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung,
T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan,
T'ai-nan*, T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**,
T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin;
the provincial capital is at Chung-
hsing-hsin-ts'un
note: Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles
system for romanization
National holiday: Republic Day (Anniversary of the
Chinese Revolution), 10 October
(1911)
Constitution: 1 January 1947, amended in 1992,
1994, 1997, and 1999
Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Shui-bian
CHEN (since 20 May 2000) and Vice
President Annette Hsiu-lien LU
(since 20 May 2000)
election results: Shui-bian CHEN
elected president; percent of vote -
Shui-bian CHEN (DPP) 39.3%, James
SOONG (independent) 36.84%, LIEN
Chan (KMT) 23.1%, HSU Hsin-liang
(independent) 0.63%, LEE Ao (CNP)
0.13%
elections: president and vice
president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms;
election last held 18 March 2000
(next to be held NA March 2004);
premier appointed by the president;
vice premiers appointed by the
president on the recommendation of
the premier
head of government: Premier
(President of the Executive Yuan)
Shyi-kun YU (since 1 February 2002)
and Vice Premier (Vice President of
the Executive Yuan) Hsin-yi LIN
(since 1 February 2002)
cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by
the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Yuan (225
seats - 168 elected by popular vote,
41 elected on the basis of the
proportion of islandwide votes
received by participating political
parties, eight elected from overseas
Chinese constituencies on the basis
of the proportion of islandwide
votes received by participating
political parties, eight elected by
popular vote among the aboriginal
populations; members serve three-
year terms) and unicameral National
Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body;
delegates nominated by parties and
elected by proportional
representation within three months
of a Legislative Yuan call to amend
the Constitution, impeach the
president, or change national
borders)
elections: Legislative Yuan - last
held 8 December 2001 (next to be
held NA December 2004); note - the
National Assembly is a nonstanding
body and is called into session
election results: Legislative Yuan -
percent of vote by party - DPP 39%,
KMT 30%, PFP 20%, TSU 6%,
independents and other parties 5%;
seats by party - DPP 87, KMT 68, PFP
46, TSU 13, independents and other
parties 11
Judicial branch: Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by
the president with consent of the
National Assembly; note - beginning
in 2003, justices will be appointed
by the president with consent of the
Legislative Yuan)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP
[Frank Chang-ting HSIEH, chairman];
Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist
Party) [LIEN Chan, chairman]; People
First Party or PFP [James Chu-yu
SOONG, chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity
Union or TSU [Chu-wen HUANG,
chairman]; other minor parties
Political pressure groups and Taiwan independence movement,
leaders: various business and environmental
groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence
has become acceptable within the
mainstream of domestic politics on
Taiwan; political liberalization and
the increased representation of
opposition parties in Taiwan's
legislature have opened public
debate on the island's national
identity; a broad popular consensus
has developed that Taiwan currently
enjoys de facto independence and -
whatever the ultimate outcome
regarding reunification or
independence - that Taiwan's people
must have the deciding voice;
advocates of Taiwan independence
oppose the stand that the island
will eventually unify with mainland
China; goals of the Taiwan
independence movement include
establishing a sovereign nation on
Taiwan and entering the UN; other
organizations supporting Taiwan
independence include the World
United Formosans for Independence
and the Organization for Taiwan
Nation Building
International organization APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IFRCS,
participation: IOC, WCL, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: none; unofficial commercial and
cultural relations with the people
of the US are maintained through an
unofficial instrumentality, the
Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office (TECRO) in the
US with headquarters in Taipei and
field offices in Washington and 12
other US cities
Diplomatic representation from the none; unofficial commercial and
US: cultural relations with the people
on Taiwan are maintained through an
unofficial instrumentality - the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) -
which has offices in the US and
Taiwan; US office located at 1700 N.
Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA
22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703)
525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385);
Taiwan offices located at #7 Lane
134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3,
Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2)
2709-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2702-7675;
#2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886]
(7) 224-0154 through 0157, FAX:
[886] (7) 223-8237; and the American
Trade Center, Room 3208
International Trade Building, Taipei
World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road
Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548,
telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX:
[886] (2) 2757-7162
Flag description: red with a dark blue rectangle in
the upper hoist-side corner bearing
a white sun with 12 triangular rays
Economy Taiwan
--------------
Economy - overview: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist
economy with gradually decreasing
guidance of investment and foreign
trade by government authorities. In
keeping with this trend, some large
government-owned banks and
industrial firms are being
privatized. Real growth in GDP 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.
Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP,
down from 35% in 1952. Traditional
labor-intensive industries are
steadily being moved offshore and
replaced with more capital- and
technology-intensive industries.
Taiwan has become a major investor
in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam;
50,000 Taiwanese businesses are
established in China. Because of its
conservative financial approach and
its entrepreneurial strengths,
Taiwan suffered little compared with
many of its neighbors from the Asian
financial crisis in 1998-99. 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. Unemployment also
reached a level not seen since the
1970s oil crisis.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $386
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -2.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,200
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2%
industry: 32%
services: 66% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 1% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Distribution of family income - Gini 32.6 (2000)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 9.8 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 56%, industry 36%,
agriculture 8% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.5% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $36 billion
expenditures: $36.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2002 est.)
Industries: electronics, petroleum refining,
chemicals, textiles, iron and steel,
machinery, cement, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: -5% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 149.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 69.48%
hydro: 5.82%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 24.7%
Electricity - consumption: 139.295 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea;
pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish
Exports: $122 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and electrical equipment
55%, metals, textiles, plastics,
chemicals
Exports - partners: US 23.5%, Hong Kong 21.1%, Europe
16%, ASEAN 12.2%, Japan 11.2% (2000)
Imports: $109 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and electrical equipment
50%, minerals, precision instruments
Imports - partners: Japan 27.5%, US 17.9%, Europe 13.6%,
South Korea 6.4% (2000)
Debt - external: $40 billion (2000)
Currency: new Taiwan dollar (TWD)
Currency code: TWD
Exchange rates: new Taiwan dollars per US dollar -
34.494 (yearend 2001), 33.082
(yearend 2000), 31.395 (yearend
1999), 32.216 (1998), 32.052 (1997),
27.5 (1996)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1
July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for
FY00; calendar year (after FY00)
Communications Taiwan
---------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 12.49 million (September 2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 16 million (September 2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: provides
telecommunications service for every
business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern;
completely digitalized
international: satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine
cables to Japan (Okinawa),
Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle
East, and Western Europe (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999)
Radios: 16 million (1994)
Television broadcast stations: 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 8.8 million (1998)
Internet country code: .tw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)
Internet users: 11.6 million (2001)
Transportation Taiwan
---------------------
Railways: total: 1,108 km
narrow gauge: 1,108 km 1.067-m gauge
(519 km electrified)
note: in addition to the above
routes in common carrier service,
there are several thousand
kilometers of 1.067-m gauge routes
that are dedicated to industrial use
(2001)
Highways: total: 34,901 km
paved: 31,271 km (including 538 km
of expressways)
unpaved: 3,630 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: NA
Pipelines: petroleum products 3,400 km; natural
gas 1,800 km (1999)
Ports and harbors: Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-
hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung
Merchant marine: total: 152 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 4,262,451 GRT/6,596,950 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Hong Kong 3, Japan 1
(2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 40, cargo 28,
combination bulk 3, container 53,
petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated
cargo 9, roll on/roll off 2
Airports: 39 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 36
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 3 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Heliports: 3 (2001)
Military Taiwan
---------------
Military branches: Army, Navy (including Marine Corps),
Air Force, Coast Guard
Administration, Armed Forces Reserve
Command, Combined Service Forces
Command
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,575,625 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 5,018,882 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching males: 198,766 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $8,041.2 million (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 2.8% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Taiwan
---------------------------
Disputes - international: involved in complex dispute over the
Spratly Islands with China,
Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and
possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands
occupied by China, but claimed by
Taiwan and Vietnam; claims Japanese-
administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku
Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does China
Illicit drugs: regional transit point for heroin
and methamphetamine; major problem
with domestic consumption of
methamphetamine and heroin