Taiwan Province

Not to be confused with Taiwan, the country officially known as the Republic of China.

This article is about an administrative province of the Republic of China. For the hypothetical province claimed by the People's Republic of China, see Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China.

Taiwan Province 臺灣省
Streamlined Province
Taiwan Province of the Republic of China (in red).
Country	Republic of China
Established	October 25, 1945 (Retrocession Day)
Streamlined	December 21, 1998
Provincial capital	Taipei (1945-1956) Zhongxing New Village (1956-)
Government
• Governor	Lin Junq-tzer
Area
• Total	25,110.0037 km2 (9,695.0266 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	7,182,952
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Taiwanese
Time zone	Asia/Taipei (UTC+8)
Postal codes	200–206, 260–369, 500–655, 880–885, 900–983
Area codes	(0)2, (0)3, (0)4, (0)5, (0)6, (0)8
ISO 3166 code	TW
Counties	11
Cities	3
Website	www.TPG.gov.tw

Taiwan Province
Traditional Chinese	臺灣省 or 台灣省
Simplified Chinese	台湾省
Postal	Taiwan
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Shěng Tongyong Pinyin Táiwan Shěng Wade–Giles T'ai²-wan¹ Sheng³ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Tair'uan Sheeng MPS2 Táiwān Shěng Bopomofo ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄕㄥˇ Hakka Romanization Thòi-vàn Sén Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tâi-oân Séng Tâi-lô Tâi-uân Síng Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dài-uăng Sēng

Taiwan Province (Chinese: 臺灣省 or 台灣省; pinyin: Táiwān Shěng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân Séng) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Republic of China (ROC) that are officially referred to as "provinces". The province covers approximately 69% of the actual-controlled territory of the ROC, with around 31% of the total population.

Geographically it covers the majority of the island of Taiwan as well as almost all of its surrounding islands, the largest of which are the Penghu archipelago, Green Island, Xiaoliuqiu Island and Orchid Island. Taiwan Province does not cover territories of the special municipalities of Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan, all of which are located geographically within the main island of Taiwan. It also does not include the counties of Kinmen and Lienchiang, which are located alongside the southeast coast of mainland China and administered as a separate Fujian Province (not to be confused with the PRC's Fujian Province).

Originally Taiwan Province covered the entire island of Taiwan and all its associated islands. All the special municipalities were split off from the province between 1967 and 2014. Since 1997 most of the Taiwan provincial government's functions have been transferred to the central government of the Republic of China following a constitutional amendment. The Taiwan Provincial Government has effectively become a nominal institution under the Executive Yuan's administration.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) regards itself as the "successor state" of the Republic of China (ROC), which the PRC claims no longer legitimately exists, following establishment of the PRC in mainland China. The PRC asserts itself to be the sole legitimate government of China, and claims Taiwan as its 23rd province, even though the PRC itself has never had control of Taiwan or other ROC-held territories. The ROC disputes this position, maintaining that it still legitimately exists and that the PRC has not succeeded it to sovereignty.

History

Qing Dynasty

In 1683, Zheng Keshuang (third ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning and a grandson of Koxinga), surrendered to the Qing following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang. The Qing then ruled the Taiwanese archipelago (including Penghu) as Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian Province. In 1875, Taipeh Prefecture was separated from Taiwan Prefecture. In 1885, work commenced under the auspices of Liu Ming-chuan to develop Taiwan into a province. In 1887, the island was declared an independent "Taiwan Province" (officially Fujian-Taiwan-Province; 福建臺灣省), with Liu as the first governor. The province was also reorganized into four prefectures, eleven districts, and three sub-prefectures. The provincial capital, or "Taiwan-fu", was intended to be moved from the south (modern-day Tainan) to the more central area of Dadun (大墩; modern-day Taichung) in the revamped Taiwan Prefecture. As the new central Taiwan-fu was still under construction, the capital was temporarily moved north to Taipei, which eventually was designated the provincial capital.

Divisions of Taiwan Province
Circuit	Prefectures	Districts	Sub-Prefectures
Taiwan	Taipeh	Tamsui	Kelung
		Gilan
		Hsinchu
	Taiwan	Taiwan (臺灣縣)
		Changhua	Puli
		Yunlin
		Miaoli
	Tainan	Anping	Penghu
		Kagi
		Fengshan
		Hengchun
	Taitung

Empire of Japan

In 1895, the entire Taiwan Province, including Penghu, was ceded to Japan following the First Sino-Japanese War through the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Under Japanese rule, the province was abolished in favour of Japanese-style divisions. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Republic of China (ROC) obtained control of Taiwan. The way that the ROC obtained Taiwan is a subject of controversy that gave root to the complex unresolved political status of Taiwan and the Taiwan Independence movement.

Republic of China

The ROC government immediately established the Taiwan Provincial Government under first Chief Executive and government-general Chen Yi in September 1945, becoming a province a second time. Chen was extremely unpopular and his rule led to an uprising - the February 28 Incident. Chen was recalled in May 1947 and the government-general position was abolished.

When the Republic of China government was relocated to Taipei in 1949 as a result of the Kuomintang's (KMT) defeat by the Chinese Communist Party forces in the Chinese Civil War, the provincial administration remained in place under the claim that the ROC was still the government of all of China even though the opposition argued that it overlapped inefficiently with the national government.

The building of the Taiwan Provincial Government at Zhongxing New Village

The seat of the provincial government was moved from Taipei to Zhongxing New Village in 1956. Historically, Taiwan Province covers the entire island of Taiwan and all its associated islands. The city of Taipei was split off to become a province-level special municipality in 1967, and the city of Kaohsiung was split off in 1979 to become another special municipality. In December 2010, Kaohsiung County left the province and merged with the original Kaohsiung City to become an expanded Kaohsiung City, Taipei County became the special municipality named New Taipei City. The cities and counties of Taichung and Tainan were also merged, respectively, and elevated to special municipality. On 25 December 2014, Taoyuan County was upgraded into a special municipality and split off from Taiwan Province.

Until 1992, the governor of Taiwan province was appointed by the ROC central government. The office was often a stepping stone to higher office.

In 1992, the post of the governor of the province was opened to election. The then-opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to retain the province with an elected governor in the hopes of creating a "Yeltsin effect" in which a popular local leader could overwhelm the national government. These hopes proved unfulfilled as then-Kuomintang member James Soong was elected governor of the Taiwan province by a wide margin, defeating the DPP candidate Chen Ding-nan.

In 1997, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the administration of the province was streamlined and curtailed by constitutional changes. For example, the post of provincial governor and the provincial assembly were both abolished and replaced with a nine-member special council. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, Soong and his supporters claim that it was actually intended to destroy James Soong's power base and eliminate him from political life, though it did not have this effect. In addition, the provincial legislature was abolished, while the Legislative Yuan was expanded to include some of the former provincial legislators.

Prior to January 1, 2007 all vehicles registered in Taiwan Province carried the label "Taiwan Province" (台灣省) on their license plates.

The provincial administration has been greatly streamlined in 1998, and handed most of its power to the central government. The counties and provincial cities under the province then became the primary administrative divisions in the country. In contrast to the past where the head of Taiwan province was considered a major official, the Governor of the Taiwan Provincial Government after 1999 has been considered a very minor position.

Government

Main article: Taiwan Provincial Government

Since the streamlining of the Taiwan Provincial Government in 1998, the government has been headed by a provincial council of nine members, led by the provincial governor. The members of the Provincial Council are all appointed by the president. The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing provincial highways and the Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan.

Divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of the Republic of China

Main article: List of administrative divisions of Taiwan

Taiwan Province is divided into 11 counties (縣 xiàn)      and 3 provincial cities (市 shì)     :

Map	No.	Name		Mandarin (Pinyin)	Taiwanese (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)	Hakka (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	1	Changhua County	彰化縣	Zhānghuà xiàn	Chiong-hoà koān	Chông-fa yen
	2	Chiayi City	嘉義市	Jiāyì shì	Ka-gī chhī	Kâ-ngi sṳ
	3	Chiayi County	嘉義縣	Jiāyì xiàn	Ka-gī koān	Kâ-ngi yen
	4	Hsinchu City	新竹市	Xīnzhú shì	Sin-tek chhī	Sîn-tsuk yen
	5	Hsinchu County	新竹縣	Xīnzhú xiàn	Sin-tek koān	Sîn-tsuk sṳ
	6	Hualien County	花蓮縣	Huālián xiàn	Hoa-liân koān	Fâ-lièn yen
	7	Keelung City	基隆市	Jīlóng shì	Ke-lâng chhī	Kî-lùng sṳ
	8	Miaoli County	苗栗縣	Miáolì xiàn	Biâu-le̍k koān	Mèu-li̍t yen
	9	Nantou County	南投縣	Nántóu xiàn	Lâm-tâu koān	Nàm-thèu yen
	10	Penghu County	澎湖縣	Pénghú xiàn	Phêⁿ-ô͘ koān	Phàng-fù yen
	11	Pingtung County	屏東縣	Píngdōng xiàn	Pîn-tong koān	Phìn-tûng yen
	12	Taitung County	臺東縣	Táidōng xiàn	Tâi-tang koān	Thòi-tûng yen
	13	Yilan County	宜蘭縣	Yílán xiàn	Gî-lân koān	Ngì-làn yen
	14	Yunlin County	雲林縣	Yúnlín xiàn	Hûn-lîm koān	Yùn-lìm yen

Note: The cities of Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan are administered directly by the central government and are not part of Taiwan province. The Senkaku Islands, which are currently administered by Japan, are disputed by both the ROC and PRC, which claim them as the Tiaoyutai/Diaoyutai Islands. The ROC government claims them as part of Toucheng Township, Yilan County.

Administrative history

Decisions by the Executive Yuan since 1945:

Date	Division No.		Notes
	Counties	Cities
Dec. 25, 1945	8	9	Counties: Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Penghu, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taitung. Provincial Cities: Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei. (with 2 county-controlled cities: Hualien and Yilan)
Aug. 16, 1950	16	8	Counties: Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taitung, Taoyuan, Yilan, and Yunlin Provincial Cities: Changhua, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei. (downgrade Chiayi to a county-controlled city)
Dec. 1, 1951	16	5	Downgrade Changhua, Hsinchu, and Pingtung provincial cities to county-controlled cities
Jul. 1, 1967	16	4	Taipei became the first Taiwanese special municipality
Nov. 11, 1967	16	4	All county seats (originally towns) upgraded to county-controlled cities.
Jul. 1, 1979	16	3	Kaohsiung became the second Taiwanese special municipality
Jul. 1, 1982	16	5	Upgrade Chiayi and Hsinchu to provincial cities (approved on April 23, 1981)
Dec. 25, 2010	12	3	Upgrade Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan to special municipalities, which covers four counties (Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung, Tainan) and two provincial cities (Taichung and Tainan).
Dec. 25, 2014	11	3	Upgrade Taoyuan to special municipality.

Governor of the Province

Official titles of the governor

Year	Full title			Literally	Notes
	Chinese	Mandarin (Pinyin)	Taiwanese (Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
1945–1947	臺灣省 行政長官	Táiwānshěng Xíngzhèng Zhǎngguān	Tâi-oân-séng Hêng-chèng Tióng-Kuaⁿ	Chief Executive of Taiwan Province	The position of Chief Executive was temporarily part of the Executive Yuan, the position was legalized in Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office Organizational Outline (臺灣省行政長官公署組織條例 Táiwān-shěng xíngzhèng zhǎngguān gōngshǔ zǔzhī tiáolì) of September 20, 1945.
1947–1994	臺灣省政府 主席	Táiwānshěng Zhèngfǔ Zhǔxí	Tâi-oân-séng Chèng-hú Chú-se̍k	Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government	After the February 28 Incident, the Administrative Executive Office was reformed to a provincial government. The title often abbreviate as 省主席 shěngzhǔxí.
1994–1998	臺灣省 省長	Táiwānshěng Shěngzhǎng	Tâi-oân-séng Séng-tiúⁿ	Governor of Taiwan Province	During the democratic reforms, the title "Governor" was first legally used in the Self-Governance Law for Provinces and Counties (省縣自治法) of July 29, 1994. The governor was directly elected by the people of the province.
1998–present	臺灣省政府 主席	Táiwānshěng Zhèngfǔ Zhǔxí	Tâi-oân-séng Chèng-hú Chú-se̍k	Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government	Since the streamlining of the Taiwan Provincial Government in 1998, the government has been headed by a provincial council of nine members, led by the provincial governor. The members of the Provincial Council are all appointed by the president. The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing provincial highways and the Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan.

List of Governors

Lin Junq-tzer, the incumbent Governor of Taiwan Province

No.	Governor	Chinese	Mandarin (Pinyin)	Term in office
Chief Executive
	Chen Yi	陳儀	Chén Yí	August 29, 1945 – April 22, 1947
Chairman of the Provincial Government
1	Wei Tao-ming	魏道明	Wèi Dàomíng	May 16, 1947 – January 5, 1949
2	Chen Cheng	陳誠	Chén Chéng	January 5, 1949 – December 21, 1949
3	K. C. Wu	吳國楨	Wú Guózhēn	December 21, 1949 – April 16, 1953
4	O. K. Yui	俞鴻鈞	Yú Hóngjūn	April 16, 1953 – June 7, 1954
5	Yen Chia-kan	嚴家淦	Yán Jiāgàn	June 7, 1954 – August 16, 1957
6	zh	周至柔	Zhōu Zhìróu	August 16, 1957 – December 1, 1962
7	Huang Chieh	黃杰	Huáng Jié	December 1, 1962 – July 5, 1969
8	Chen Ta-ching	陳大慶	Chén Dàqìng	July 5, 1969 – June 6, 1972
9	Shieh Tung-min	謝東閔	Xiè Dōngmǐn	June 6, 1972 – May 20, 1978
acting	zh	瞿韶華	Qú Sháohuá	May 20, 1978 – June 11, 1978
10	Lin Yang-kang	林洋港	Lín Yánggǎng	June 12, 1978 – December 5, 1981
11	Lee Teng-hui	李登輝	Lǐ Dēnghuī	December 5, 1981 – May 20, 1984
acting	Liu Chao-tien	劉兆田	Liú Zhàotián	May 20, 1984 – June 8, 1984
12	Chiu Chuang-huan	邱創煥	Qīu Chuànghuàn	June 9, 1984 – June 16, 1990
13	Lien Chan	連戰	Lián Zhàn	June 16, 1990 – February 25, 1993
acting	Tu Teh-chi	凃德錡	Tú Déqí	February 27, 1993 – March 19, 1993
14	James Soong	宋楚瑜	Sòng Chǔyú	March 20, 1993 – December 20, 1994
Governor
1	James Soong	宋楚瑜	Sòng Chǔyú	December 20, 1994 – December 21, 1998
Chairman of the Provincial Government
15	zh	趙守博	Zhào Shǒubó	December 21, 1998 – May 2, 2000
acting	Chiang Ching-hsien	江清馦	Jiāng Qīngxiān	May 2, 2000 – May 19, 2000
16	Chang Po-ya	張博雅	Zhāng Bóyǎ	May 20, 2000 – February 1, 2002
17	zh	范光群	Fàn Guāngqún	February 1, 2002 – October 13, 2004
18	zh	林光華	Lín Guānghuá	October 13, 2004 – January 25, 2006
acting	zh	鄭培富	Zhèng Péifù	January 25, 2006 – December 7, 2007
19	zh	林錫耀	Lín Xíyào	December 7, 2007 – May 19, 2008
20	Tsai Hsun-hsiung	蔡勳雄	Cài Xūnxióng	May 20, 2008 – September 10, 2009
21	Chang Jin-fu	張進福	Zhāng Jìnfú	September 10, 2009 – February 26, 2010
22	Lin Junq-tzer	林政則	Lín Zhèngzé	February 26, 2010 – present

PRC's claims

Main articles: Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China and Two Chinas

The PRC claims the entirety of the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including the Penghu, as parts of its Taiwan Province, corresponding to the ROC's Taiwan Province before the special municipalities were split off. The PRC claims that Taiwan is part of China, that the PRC succeeded the ROC as the sole legitimate authority in all of China upon its founding in 1949, and that therefore Taiwan is part of the PRC.

Sister States/Provinces

• Ohio, United States (1985)
• Florida, United States (1992)

See also

• Fujian Province, Republic of China
• History of the Republic of China
• Politics of the Republic of China
• Political status of Taiwan
• Chinese Taipei
• "Taiwan, China" - A political term used by China
• Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China
• Kuomintang

Further reading

• Bush, R. & O'Hanlon, M. (2007). A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-98677-1
• Bush, R. (2006). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-1290-1
• Carpenter, T. (2006). America's Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6841-1
• Cole, B. (2006). Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-36581-3
• Copper, J. (2006). Playing with Fire: The Looming War with China over Taiwan. Praeger Security International General Interest. ISBN 0-275-98888-0
• Federation of American Scientists et al. (2006). Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning
• Gill, B. (2007). Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-3146-9
• Shirk, S. (2007). China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-530609-0
• Tsang, S. (2006). If China Attacks Taiwan: Military Strategy, Politics and Economics. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40785-0
• Tucker, N.B. (2005). Dangerous Strait: the U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13564-5

External links

• Taiwan Provincial Government official site
• Local government structures by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Interior, ROC