COUNTRY PROFILE: TAIWAN

March 2005

COUNTRY

Formal Name: Taiwan (台灣); formally, Republic of China

(Chung-hua Min-kuo—中華民國).

Short Form: Taiwan (台灣).

Term for Citizen(s): Chinese (Hua-jen—華人);

Taiwanese (T’ai-wan-jen—台灣 人).

Capital: The capital of central administration of Taiwan is

Taipei (T’ai-pei—台北—literally, Taiwan North), located in

T’ai-pei County in the north. Since 1967, Taipei has been administratively separate from Taiwan Province.

Major Cities: The largest city is Taipei, with 2.6 million inhabitants in 2004. Other large cities are Kao-hsiung, with 1.5 million, and T’ai-chung, with 1 million. Fifteen other cities have populations ranging from 216,000 to 749,000 inhabitants.

NATIONAL Public Holidays: Founding Day (January 1, marking the founding of the Republic of China in 1912); Lunar New Year (also called Spring Festival, based on the lunar calendar, occurs between January 21 and February 19 and is preceded by eight days of preparatory festivities); Peace Memorial Day (February 28, commemorating the February 28, 1947, incident); Tomb Sweeping Day (Ching Ming, April 4); Dragon Boat Festival (fifth day of the fifth lunar month, movable date in June); Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the eighth lunar month, movable date in September); and Double Tenth National Day (October 10, also called Republic Day, commemorates the anniversary of the Chinese revolution in 1911 and the date from which years are sometimes counted). Also marked but not as national holidays and closure of government offices are Youth Day (March 29), Women’s and Children’s Day (April 4), Labor Day (May 1), Mother’s Day (May 8), Father’s Day (August 8), Ghost Festival (15th day of the seventh lunar month, movable date in August or September), Armed Forces Day (September 3), Teachers’ Day and Confucius’s Birthday (September 28), Taiwan Retrocession Day (October 25, marks return by Japan of Taiwan to Chinese rule in 1945), Sun Yat-sen’s Birthday (November 12), and Constitution Day (December 25).

Flag:

The Republic of China flag has a crimson field with a dark blue rectangle

representing the sky in the upper hoist-side corner and bearing a white

sun with 12 triangular rays. The blue, white, and crimson represent the

Three Principles of the People (San Min Chu I —nationalism, democracy,

and social well-being). The 12 points of the white sun represent the 12 two-hour periods of the day, symbolizing unceasing progress. The white sun and blue sky symbol has been used since 1895. The flag has been in use since 1921 and was adopted by the new national government in 1928.