Taiwan (province)
Taiwan Province 臺灣 省 |
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State : | Republic of China (Taiwan) | ||
Founded : | October 25, 1945 | ||
Coordinates : | 23 ° 8 ′ N , 121 ° 0 ′ E | ||
Height : | 0 - 3952 m | ||
Area : | 25,110 km² | ||
Residents : | 7,112,424 (Dec 2017) | ||
Population density : | 283 inhabitants per km² | ||
Time zone : | UTC + 8 (Chungyuan time) | ||
Telephone code : | (+886) | ||
Postal code : | 200-206, 260-369, 500-655, 880-885, 900-983 | ||
ISO 3166-2 : | TW | ||
Structure : | 11 rural districts 3 independent cities |
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Governor: | Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成) (independent) | ||
Website : | |||
The province of Taiwan ( Chinese 臺灣 省 / 台湾 省 , Pinyin Táiwān Shěng ) is the only province of the Republic of China , founded in 1912 , which is still completely under the control of the government of this republic to this day. In addition to the main island of Taiwan, it includes numerous smaller islands (including Lü Dao , Lan Yu and the Penghu Islands ). On the main island, however, Taipei (1967), Kaohsiung (1979), New Taipei , Taichung and Tainan (2010) and Taoyuan (2014) were spun off as "cities under the government" (i.e. directly under the government of the Republic of China). This means that the province of Taiwan only covers about 70% of the island's area (25,110 km²) on its main island, with a population of just over seven million (February 2015). Zhongxing has been the seat of the provincial government since 1956 .
Taiwan Province is not the only province of the Republic of China in Taiwan . The archipelagos Matsu and Kinmen, which are directly in front of the mainland, are historically part of the Fujian Province, which is otherwise governed by the People's Republic of China , and are still administered by the Republic of China as Fujian Province .
The PR China regards the province of Taiwan including the sub-government cities spun off from the Republic of China as a province of its national territory. However, control of the province has been exercised by the Republic of China since 1945, while Taiwan has never been under the control of the People's Republic (see also the Taiwan conflict ). States that wish to maintain diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China must formally recognize the view described in the one-China principle that the province of Taiwan is part of an inseparable China. Proponents of Taiwan's independence, on the other hand, deny that the province of Taiwan is legally a part of both the Republic and the PRC.
Administrative Division of Taiwan Province
The province of Taiwan comprises eleven administrative districts and three independent cities:
Counties
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One district cities |
The cities of Taipei , New Taipei , Kaohsiung , Tainan , Taichung and Taoyuan are directly subordinate to the central government and do not belong to the province of Taiwan; Kinmen and Lienchiang counties are administered as Fujian Province .
geography
→ See paragraph in article Taiwan : Geography
The east of the main island is formed by a mountain range, in the western half there are plains that can be used for agriculture.
history
After the island of Taiwan (Formosa) was taken over by the Chinese Empire of the Qing Dynasty in 1683, Taiwan was initially administered as part of Fujian Province . During the entire time that it belonged to China, the island's interior and large parts of the east coast, where tribes of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan settled, were largely left to their own devices. Chinese rule was essentially limited to the plains of the west coast. In order to fend off colonial claims and to document the Chinese claim to ownership, Taiwan was spun off from Fujian Province in 1885 and made a province of its own. In 1895 Taiwan and Penghu (the pescadors) were ceded to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War . During the Japanese rule , the provincial administration was replaced by the Japanese administrative division. After the end of World War II and the surrender of Japan , Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China in 1945.
Reintegration as a Chinese province
On October 25, 1945, a public administration ministry for Taiwan was officially created, which in April 1947 became the provincial government of Taiwan. In the course of the conquest of mainland China by the People's Liberation Army under Mao Zedong , the national conservative government of the Republic of China under its President Chiang Kai-shek withdrew to Taiwan, from where the mainland would be recaptured in later years.
Taiwan Province within the Republic of China
After its incorporation into the Republic of China, the province of Taiwan was initially divided into eight counties and nine independent cities. On August 16, 1950, there was a further subdivision into 16 districts, the number of independent cities was reduced to eight and in December 1951 further to five (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Tainan, Taichung). In 1956, the provincial administration of Taipei was transferred to the city of Zhongxing , which was planned by the government . The People's Republic of China does not recognize this and continues to regard Taipei as the capital of the Taiwan Province.
In the course of the years, five cities became subordinate to the government and thus separated from the province. These were Taipei (1967), Kaohsiung (1979), Taichung and Tainan (both 2010) and Taoyuan (2014). All five had previously been urban districts (Tayouan only since 1982). In 2010, Taipei County became the City of New Taipei and became a city under the government. In 2010, the districts of Kaohsiung and Tainan were also removed from the province and incorporated into the cities of the same name. In 2014, the same thing happened to Taoyuan County . Hsinchu and Chiayi regained the status of independent cities in 1982, but remained in the province. As a result of the territorial reforms in 2010 and 2014, the province lost a quarter of its area and over half of its population, so that it now comprises only about a third of the population of Taiwan. The main urban centers of Taipei , New Taipei, Kaohsiung , Tainan , Taichung and Taoyuan are now outside the province.
Until 1993, the provincial governors were appointed by the central government of the Republic of China. In the process of democratization in 1994 with James Soong for the first and only time a governor elected by the people. On July 19, 1997, the National Assembly decided with a large majority of 261 to 8 votes to largely reduce the powers of the provincial government. The provincial assembly was dissolved and an advisory provincial council took its place. The members of the provincial council and the governor of the province were in future nominated by the head of government and appointed by the president. The KMT and DPP voted for the law , while the Xindang boycotted the vote. In the course of an administrative reform, the provincial administration lost all local political competences to the governments of the districts and cities and has only played the role of a supervisory authority since then. Since the governor's office lost its importance due to the administrative reform of 1998, the governor has headed a provincial government appointed by the President of the Republic of China. The governor also has the rank of cabinet minister.
Question of sovereignty
The controversial question today, whether Taiwan belongs to the Republic or the People's Republic of China or not, is assessed politically. On the part of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan is usually referred to as an "inseparable part of Chinese territory". In fact, the province was never under its own control.
List of governors
Main administrator ( 行政 長官 / 行政 长官 , Xíngzhèng Chángguān , English Chief executive ):
- Chen Yi (October 25, 1945 - May 1947)
Governors ( 省主席 , Shěngxǐng Zhǔxí - "provincial chairman "):
- Wey Daw-ming (May 16, 1947 - January 5, 1949)
- Chen Tsyr-shiou (January 5, 1949 - December 21, 1949)
- Wu Gwo-jen (Wu Kuo-chen) (December 21, 1949 - April 16, 1953)
- Yu Horng-jiun (April 16, 1953 - June 7, 1954)
- Yen Chia-kan (June 7, 1954 - August 16, 1957)
- Chow Chih-jou (August 16, 1957 - December 1, 1962)
- Huang Chieh (December 1, 1962 - July 5, 1969)
- Shien Ta-ching (July 5, 1969 - June 6, 1972)
- Shien Tung-min (June 6, 1972 - May 20, 1978)
- Lin Yang-kang (June 12, 1978 - December 5, 1981)
- Lee Teng-hui (December 5, 1981 - May 20, 1984)
- Chiu Chuang-huan (June 9, 1984 - June 16, 1990)
- Lien Chan (June 16, 1990–1993)
- James Soong (1993 - December 20, 1994):
- James Soong (December 20, 1994 - December 21, 1998), as governor of the province ( 省長 / 省长 , Shěngcháng ). The title of “governor” was only officially introduced with the provisions of the Self-Government Act ( 省 縣 自治法 / 省 县 自治法 , Shěngxǐng Zìzhì Fǎ - “Provincial Autonomy Act”) of July 29, 1994.
- Chao Shou-po (December 21, 1998 - May 20, 2000)
- Chang Po-ya (May 20, 2000 - February 1, 2002)
- Fan Kuang-chun (February 1, 2002 - October 14, 2003)
- Lin Kuang-hua (October 14, 2003 - January 25, 2006)
- Lin Si-yao (December 7, 2007 - May 19, 2008)
- Tsai Hsun-hsiung (May 20, 2008 - September 10, 2009)
- Chang Jin-Fu (September 10, 2009 - February 26, 2010)
- Lin Jenq-Tzer (February 26, 2010 - May 20, 2016)
- Shih Jun-ji (May 20, 2016 - June 29, 2016)
- Hsu Jan-yao (June 29, 2016 - November 6, 2017)
- Wu Tze-cheng (since November 6, 2017)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Taiwan Ends Its Status as a 'Province' of China. The New York Times, July 20, 1997, accessed November 21, 2018 .
- ^ Discarding the "Province of China" . In: Taiwan Communiqué . No. 77 , September 1997, ISSN 1027-3999 , pp. 5–7 (English, pdf ).
- ^ Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Office of the President of the Republic of China, accessed November 21, 2018 .
- ^ Local Government Act (English version), Taiwan Ministry of Interior website
- ^ Government organizations: Local governments. Office of the President of the Republic of China, accessed May 1, 2018 .
- ^ Taiwan. Retrieved January 4, 2019 .