| Taiwan Province | |
| Native Name: | Chinese: 臺灣省 |
| Translit Lang1: | Name |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | Chinese: 臺灣省 |
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | TW / Chinese: {{linktext|臺 (pinyin:) |
| Translit Lang1 Info2: | Tâi-oân-séng |
| Translit Lang1 Info3: | Thòi-vàn-sén or Thòi-vân-sén |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Flag Size: | 120px |
| Seal Type: | Seal |
| Seal Size: | 100px |
| Mapsize: | 275px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Seat Type: | Provincial capital |
| Seat: | Zhongxing New Village (1956-2018) Taipei (1945–1956) |
| Seat1 Type: | Largest city |
| Seat1: | Hsinchu |
| Parts Type: | Divisions |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 11 counties |
| P2: | 3 cities |
| Established Title: | Established from Fujian |
| Established Date: | 1887 |
| Established Title2: | Secession to Japan |
| Established Date2: | 17 April 1895 |
| Established Title3: | Placed under the control of the ROC |
| Established Date3: | 25 October 1945 |
| Established Title4: | Streamlined |
| Established Date4: | 21 December 1998 |
| Extinct Title: | Governmental functions removed |
| Extinct Date: | 1 July 2018[1] |
| Government Type: | Province (nominal) |
| Governing Body: | National Development Council |
| Area Total Km2: | 25,110.0037 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 7,060,473 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Demonym: | Taiwanese |
| Timezone: | NST |
| Utc Offset: | +08:00 |
| Taiwan | |
| Collapse: | no |
| Pic: | Taiwan (Chinese characters).svg |
| Piccap: | "Taiwan" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters |
| Picupright: | 0.5 |
| P: | Táiwān |
| Bpmf: | ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ |
| W: | Tʻai²-wan¹ |
| Tp: | Táiwan |
| Gr: | Tair'uan |
| Mps: | Táiwān |
| Zh-Dungan: | Тэван |
| Psp: | Taiwan |
| Hsn: | dwɛ13 ua44 |
| Poj: | Tâi-oân |
| Tl: | Tâi-uân |
| Phfs: | Thòi-vàn or Thòi-vân |
| Buc: | Dài-uăng |
| J: | Toi4waan1 |
| Y: | Tòihwāan |
| Wuu: | The平-uae平 pronounced as /d̥e uɛ/ |
| Hsn2: | tan44 ɣo13 miɛn13 kwa13--> |
| Also Known As: | Abbreviation |
| P2: | Tái |
| Bpmf2: | ㄊㄞˊ |
| W2: | Tʻai² |
| Tp2: | Tái |
| Gr2: | Tair |
| Mps2: | Tái |
| Hsn2: | dwɛ13 |
| Poj2: | Tâi |
| Tl2: | Tâi |
| Phfs2: | Thòi |
| Buc2: | Dài |
| J2: | Toi4 |
| Y2: | Tòih |
| Wuu2: | The平 pronounced as /d̥e/ |
| Altname3: | Taiwan Province |
| Bpmf3: | ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄕㄥˇ |
| W3: | Tʻai²-wan¹ Shêng³ |
| P3: | Táiwān Shěng |
| Tp3: | Táiwan Shěng |
| Mps3: | Táiwān Shěng |
| Gr3: | Tair'uan Sheeng |
| Poj3: | Tâi-oân-séng |
| Tl3: | Tâi-uân-síng |
| Phfs3: | Thòi-vàn-sén or Thòi-vân-sén |
| Buc3: | Dài-uăng sēng |
| J3: | Toi4waan1 Saang2 |
| Y3: | Tòihwāan Sáang |
| Showflag: | ppojphfs |
Taiwan Province (; PFS: Thòi-vàn-sén or Thòi-vân-sén) is a de jure administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Provinces remain a titular division as a part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but are no longer considered to have any administrative function practically.[2] [3]
Taiwan Province covers approximately 69% of the island of Taiwan, and comprises around 31% of the total population. The province initially covered the entire island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu (the Pescadores), Orchid Island, Green Island, Xiaoliuqiu Island, and their surrounding islands. Between 1967 and 2014, six special municipalities (Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan) were split off from the province, all in the most populous regions.
Taiwan was initially made a prefecture of Fujian Province by the Qing dynasty of China after its conquest of the Kingdom of Tungning in 1683. Following the French offensive in northern Taiwan during the Sino-French War, the island's strategic position in maritime security and defence was re-evaluated and given prominence by the Qing.[4] Under the auspices of Liu Ming-chuan, a plan was commenced to develop Taiwan into a stand-alone division. In 1887, Taiwan was designated as a distinct province (namely "Fujian-Taiwan Province";), with Liu as the first governor, but the island was then ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895, following China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. After the surrender of Japan in World War II, the province was re-established on Taiwan by the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Nationalist Government in September 1945 and it became the last stronghold of the KMT government after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. The provincial capital of Taipei has correspondingly become the provisional capital of the ROC central government since 1949.
During the constitutional reform initiated in 1996, the ROC authorities decided to downsize the provincial structure to solve the problem of overlapping personnel and administrative resources between the provincial and central governments, and cut excessive public spending. The provinces were streamlined and ceased to be self-governing bodies in December 1998, with their administrative functions transferred to the Executive Yuan's subsidiary National Development Council, as well as second-tier local governments such as counties. In July 2018, all provincial governmental organs were formally abolished, with their budget and personnel removed.[3] [5]
In 1683, Zheng Keshuang (third ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning and a grandson of Koxinga), surrendered to the Qing Empire 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 designated as a province (officially "Fujian-Taiwan Province"; Chinese: 福建臺灣省), with Liu as the first governor.[6] The province was also reorganized into four prefectures, eleven districts, and three sub-prefectures.[7] The provincial capital, or "Taiwan-fu", was intended to be moved from the south (modern-day Tainan) to the more central area of Toatun (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 Taipeh (modern-day Taipei), which eventually was designated the provincial capital.
| Taiwan | Taipeh | Tamsui | Kelung |
| Gilan | |||
| Hsinchu | |||
| Taiwan | Taiwan (Chinese: [[:zh:臺灣縣 (1887年-1895年)|臺灣縣]]) | ||
| Changwha | Puli | ||
| Yunlin | |||
| Miaoli | |||
| Tainan | Anping | Penghu | |
| Kagi | |||
| Fengshan | |||
| Hengchun | |||
| Taitung | |||
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, Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China (ROC).
The ROC government immediately established the Taiwan Provincial Government under first Chief Executive and government-general Chen Yi in September 1945.[9] [10] Chen was extremely unpopular and his rule led to an uprising – the February 28 Incident of 1947. 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 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 Taiwan province, defeating the DPP candidate Chen Ding-nan.
In 1997, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the powers of the provincial government were curtailed by constitutional amendments. The post of provincial governor was abolished. In addition, the provincial council was also replaced by the Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, Soong and his supporters claim that it was actually intended to impede James Soong's political life, though it did not have this effect.
The provincial administration was downscaled in 1998, most of its power handed to the central government. The counties and provincial cities under the province became the primary administrative divisions of the country.
See main article: Taiwan Provincial Government and Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council.
The position of the Chairperson of the Provincial Government, appointed by the central government, is retained to comply with the Constitution.
The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing provincial highways and the Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan since 1998. In July 2018, all remaining duties were transferred to the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan.[11]
The Taiwan Provincial Government was located in Zhongxing New Village, Nantou City, Nantou County between 1957 and 2018.
See main article: Administrative divisions of Taiwan and List of administrative divisions of Taiwan.
See also: Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945).
In October 1945, The Government of the Republic of China reformed the eight(8) Japanese prefectures under the Government-General of Taiwan into 8 counties and 9 cities.
| Year | Date | Division No. | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counties | Cities | Bureaus | ||||
| 1945 | 25 October | 8 | 9 |
(with 2 county-controlled cities: Hualien and Yilan) | ||
| 1949 | 26 August | 8 | 9 | 1 | Ts'ao-shan Administrative Bureau established from Taipei County | |
| 1950 | 1 April | 8 | 9 | 1 | Ts'ao-shan Administrative Bureau renamed to Yangmingshan Administrative Bureau | |
| 16 August | 16 | 5 | 1 |
Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taitung, Taoyuan, Yilan, and Yunlin
(Chiayi, Changhua, Hsinchu, and Pingtung downgraded to county-administered cities) | ||
| 1967 | 1 July | 16 | 4 | 1 | Taipei became the first Taiwanese special municipality | |
| 1968 | 1 July | 16 | 4 | Yangmingshan Administrative Bureau merged into Taipei | ||
| 1973 | 1 July | 16 | 4 | 1 | Li-shan Administrative Bureau established from Taichung County | |
| 1979 | 1 July | 16 | 3 | 1 | Kaohsiung became the second Taiwanese special municipality | |
| 1981 | 1 March | 16 | 3 | Li-shan Administrative Bureau merged back to Taichung County | ||
| 25 December | 16 | 3 | All county seats (originally urban townships) upgraded to county-administered cities. | |||
| 1982 | 1 July | 16 | 5 | Upgrade Chiayi and Hsinchu to provincial cities (approved on 23 April 1981) | ||
| 1998 | 21 December | 16 | 5 | Provincial government streamlined, all counties and cities are directly led by the Executive Yuan | ||
| 2010 | 25 December | 12 | 3 | Upgrade Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan to special municipalities, which covers 4 counties (Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung, Tainan) and 2 cities (Taichung and Tainan). | ||
| 2014 | 25 December | 11 | 3 | Upgrade Taoyuan to a special municipality. | ||
| 2018 | 1 July | 11 | 3 | Provincial government defunct, all counties and cities are directly led by the Executive Yuan | ||
Taiwan Province is nominally divided into 11 counties and 3 cities . All divisions are directly administered by the central government in practice.
| Map | No. | Name | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Taiwanese (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) | Hakka (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Changhua County | Zhānghuà xiàn | Chiong-hoà koān | Chông-fa yen | ||
| 2 | Chiayi City | Jiāyì shì | Ka-gī chhī | Kâ-ngi sṳ | ||
| 3 | Chiayi County | Jiāyì xiàn | Ka-gī koān | Kâ-ngi yen | ||
| 4 | Hsinchu City | Xīnzhú shì | Sin-tek chhī | Sîn-tsuk sṳ | ||
| 5 | Hsinchu County | Xīnzhú xiàn | Sin-tek koān | Sîn-tsuk yen | ||
| 6 | Hualien County | Huālián xiàn | Hoa-liân koān | Fâ-lièn yen | ||
| 7 | Keelung City | Jīlóng shì | Ke-lâng chhī | Kî-lùng sṳ | ||
| 8 | Miaoli County | Miáolì xiàn | Biâu-le̍k koān | Mèu-li̍t yen | ||
| 9 | Nantou County | Nántóu xiàn | Lâm-tâu koān | Nàm-thèu yen | ||
| 10 | Penghu County | Pénghú xiàn | Phêⁿ-ô͘ koān | Phàng-fù yen | ||
| 11 | Pingtung County | Píngdōng xiàn | Pîn-tong koān | Phìn-tûng yen | ||
| 12 | Taitung County | Táidōng xiàn | Tâi-tang koān | Thòi-tûng yen | ||
| 13 | Yilan County | Yílán xiàn | Gî-lân koān | Ngì-làn yen | ||
| 14 | Yunlin County | Yúnlín xiàn | Hûn-lîm koān | Yùn-lìm yen | ||
Note that the special municipalities of Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan are both nominally under and directly administered by the central government. They are not parts of any province.
Taiwan Province is twinned with 42 U.S. states:[12]
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See main article: Senkaku Islands, Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China and Two Chinas.
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 on 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.
The PRC claims the entirety of the island of Taiwan and its nearby islands and 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 a 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 a part of the PRC.
The Senkaku Islands, which are currently administered by Japan, are disputed by both the ROC and the PRC, which claim them as the Tiaoyutai/Diaoyu Islands. The ROC government claims them as part of Toucheng Township, Yilan County.
. Davidson . James W. . James W. Davidson . The Island of Formosa, Past and Present: History, People, Resources, and Commercial Prospects: Tea, Camphor, Sugar, Gold, Coal, Sulphur, Economical Plants, and Other Productions . 1903 . Macmillan & Co. . London and New York . 6931635M.