Taiwan has been controlled by various governments and has been associated with various flags throughout its history. Since 1945, the Republic of China rules the island and which became the major territorial base of the ROC since 1949, thus the flag most commonly associated with it is the Flag of the Republic of China.
The first national flag of Taiwan was first used in 1663 during the Kingdom of Tungning, which had a plain white flag with the character 「鄭」 (zhèng) on the red bordered circle. The flag of the Qing dynasty was also used from 1862 until 1895, when the Republic of Formosa was declared. The Formosan flag had a tiger on a plain blue field with azure clouds below it.
During Japanese rule of Taiwan, the flag of Japan was flown in the island from 1895 to 1945.
Following the transfer of Taiwan from Japan to China in 1945, the national flag was specified in Article Six of the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the government of Chiang Kai-shek relocated the Republic of China (ROC) to the island of Taiwan.
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1544-1578 | Flag of Portuguese Formosa | Used by the Portuguese when they discovered the island. | ||
| 1578-1624 | Flag of Portuguese Formosa | Same as the Flag of Portugal | ||
| 1624–1662 | Same as the Flag of the Netherlands | |||
| 1626–1642 | Same as the Flag of the Spanish Empire | |||
| 1661–1683 | The Han character "鄭" in a red circle outline on a plain white field. | |||
| 1890–1895 | Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red sun of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. | |||
| 1895 | Tiger on a plain blue field with azure clouds below it. | |||
| 1895–1945 | White field with red disc in the centre. |
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1626–1642 | Royal Flag of the House of Habsburg in Spain. (Inescutcheon of Portugal in the Royal arms) | |||
| 1863–1895 | Azure Dragon on a plain right triangle yellow field with the red sun of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. | |||
| 1895-1945 | Red field with the golden 16-petal chrysantemum in the centre. |
See also: Administrative divisions of the Republic of China. Below are the flags used in the political divisions of Taiwan.
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–Present | Kaohsiung City 高雄市 | Stylized "高". Colors symbolizing sunshine, vitality, environmental protection, & ocean.[1] | ||
| 2009–Present | New Taipei City 新北市 | Highly stylized "北" in the form of four hearts arranged to resemble a four-leaf clover.[2] | ||
| 2008–Present | ||||
| 2009–Present | ||||
| 2009–Present | ||||
| 2014–Present |
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945– present | Flag of the Republic of China Army (formerly National Revolutionary Army) | The Blue Sky with a White Sun with a red border. | ||
| Identical to the Kuomintang flag (see below). | ||||
| ROCA General's Flag | ||||
| Chairman of the ROC Military Affairs Commission | ||||
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929– | ||||
| 1930– | Standard of the vice president of the Republic of China (abolished) | |||
| 1947–1986 | Abolished with Act of Ensign of the Republic of China Navy (海軍旗章條例) on Jan. 3rd, 1986. | |||
| 1929–1966 | Four serrated yellow stripes are added to the flag of the Republic of China for use as a civil ensign at sea. Present civil ensign is national flag. |
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1895– | Kuomintang flag (shared as the Naval Jack of the nation) | The "Blue Sky with a White Sun", 12 rays of the sun represent progressive ideals. | |
| 1952– | China Youth Corps flag | ||
| 1986– | Democratic Progressive Party flag | ||
| 2000– | People First Party flag | ||
| 2015–2019 | Minkuotang flag | ||
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1986 | Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. | The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. | ||
| 1986–2010 | Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. | The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. | ||
| 2010– | Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. | The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. | ||
| 1994-2004 | Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag | |||
| 2004-2019 | Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag | |||
| 2019-Present | Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag | |||
| 1997-2019 | Chinese Taipei Deaflympics flag | |||
| 2019-Present | Chinese Taipei Deaflympics flag | |||
| 2014-Present | Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association flag | |||
| Pre-2006 | Chinese Taipei football flag | |||
| 2006-2012 | Chinese Taipei football flag | The Chinese Taipei Olympic flag replaced this flag as the football flag in 2012 | ||
| 2012-Present | Chinese Taipei football flag | |||
| 2009-Present | Chinese Taipei Universiade flag | |||
| 2013-Present | Chinese Taipei WorldSkills flag | |||
| 2019-Present | Chinese Taipei FIRST Robotics Competition flag | |||
| 2016-Present | Chinese Taipei electronic sports flag used in Blizzard competitions. |
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–2010 | Flag of Taipei City | Previous flag used by Taipei City, with its seal on top of 16 horizontal stripes of white and blue. | |
| 1999-2006 | |||
| 1980s-1999 | |||
| 2006-2010 | |||
| ?-2010 2018-2019 | |||
| 2010-2018 | |||
| 1951-2010 | |||
| 1978-2010 | |||
| ?-2010 | |||
| 1974-2009 | |||
| ?-1999 | |||
| 1999-2010 | |||
| 1984-2014 | |||
| Flag | Duration | Use | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–present | A white flag with the traditional "boat's eye" symbol and traditional triangular ornaments on the top and bottom.[3] | ||
| 2017–present | The "Lily Flag" composed of three colors: red, yellow and green, representing hope, love and peace. The lilies and eagle feathers represent the purity and fairness of the Rukai tribe, was designed by Jin Shaohua.[4] | ||
| 2017–present | |||
| 2016–present | "National flag" of Amis people in the Amis Music Festival.[5] [6] | ||
| ?–present | Flag of Amis people in Taidong (Falangaw tribezh) | ||
| 1984–1998 | Flag of Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Aboriginal Rightszh | ||