Taiwan+(ROC)

Taiwan is a country located in East Asia neighboring the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Besides Taiwan, there are many other names that the country is known as, such as its official name, Republic of China. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural center of the country,and New Taipei is the most populous city.

Dating back to the Paleolithic Era, Taiwanese natives and Aboriginals were the first to inhibit the area, however, they were soon taken over by the Dutch and Spanish Empire. Soon, they became colonies of the Netherlands and Spain. The Aboriginals fought hard in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, and Taipei became under the rule of the Qian Dynasty. 200 years later, Japan won the first Sino-Japanese war, meaning that the Qian Dynasty now had to hand over control to the Japanese under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. It was not until the end of World War Two, did rule over Taiwan be passed onto the government of China.

The History Behind the Government (ROC)
The Republic of China is a democratic government established in mainland China in 1912 and governed varying amounts of the mainland until 1949. At the end of World War II, Japan surrendered Taiwan and associated islands to ROC forces. Following the Chinese Civil War in the last three years, the Communist forces took control of mainland China and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC). In 1949, the ROC government and forces moved to the island of Taiwan.

Political Situation
The political and legal status of Taiwan is a contentious issue. Up until 1971, the ROC government still represented "China" in the UN. However, since the founding of the PRC, international recognition of the ROC has gradually eroded as most countries switched recognition to the PRC as "China". In 1971, the PRC assumed China's seat at the United Nations. Now, only 23 states now recognize the ROC as an independent nation and maintain formal diplomatic relations with it.

Officially, the ROC government still claims sovereignty over all of "China", in a definition that includes mainland China and Mongolia, as well as Taiwan, But it has not made retaking the mainland a political goal since 1992. The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims that the Republic of China government is illegitimate, referring to it as the "Taiwan Authority". The PRC also officially asserts itself to be the only legal representation of China and actively claims Taiwan to be under its sovereignty, denying the status and existence of ROC as a sovereign state.

The ROC, however, has its own constitution, independently elected president and a large army, continues to view itself as an independent sovereign state. The territory of Taiwan has never been controlled by the PRC. Internationally, there is controversy on whether the ROC still exists as a state or a defunct state per international law due to the loss of membership / recognition in the United Nations and lack of wide diplomatic recognition.

Even within the Taiwanese people, opinions are diverse about the topic of whether ROC is a country.



Some Facts
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Taiwan evolved into a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage. Building on the infrastructure and education improvements initiated during the Japanese era, Taiwan has experienced rapid economic growth and industrialization during the latter half of the 20th century and is now an advanced industrial economy. It is one of the Four Asian Tigers and a member of the WTO and APEC. The 19th-largest economy in the world,its advanced technology industry plays a key role in the global economy. Taiwan is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care,[26] public education, economic freedom, and human development.

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JULIE WANG, VIVIENNE HSU (A) 2012

Bibliography: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ **Taiwan **