Taiwan, an island about 100 miles off the southeastern coast of China, has been considered a renegade province by the Communist Chinese government since the defeated Nationalist government fled there at the end of China's civil war in 1949.
Beijing has been working to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and maintains a standing threat to invade the island if it appears to be pursuing independence rather than eventual reunion with the mainland.
Taiwan's recent leaders have also favored eventual reunification -- but only if China's communist system is abolished and China drops the threat of force.
Land and People | History |
| Travel | Financial | Weather
DEMOGRAPHICS:
- Population:
- 21,585,000
- Average life span:
- 72 male, 79 female
- Average income (US$):
- $5,000
- GDP per capita (US$):
- $12,270
- Literacy rate:
- 86%
THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE:
- Capital:
- Taipei
- Size:
- 13,900 square miles (36,002 sq. km)
(Slightly larger than Maryland)
- Government type:
- Republic
- Political leaders:
- President Lee Teng-hui
- Prime Minister Lien Chan
- Religions:
- Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian (93%); Christian (4.5%)
- Languages:
- Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese; Hakka dialects
MODERN HISTORY
- 1895 -- China cedes Taiwan to Japan after losing the Sino-Japanese war. Japan rules the island until the end of World War II.
- 1949 -- Defeated Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek transplants his government to Taiwan's capital, Taipei, after Communists win control of mainland China.
- 1954 -- Chiang's fiercely anti-Communist Taiwan government, billing itself as "Free China," signs a mutual security pact with the United States.
- 1958 -- Taiwan's military withstands China's attack on Quemoy and Matsu -- two small islands close to the mainland controlled by Taiwan.
- 1971 -- Taiwan, known as the Republic of China, loses its seat in the United Nations to the mainland government, the People's Republic of China.
- 1979 -- The United States becomes the last major country to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.
- 1993 -- Leaders from Taiwan and China hold their first high-level talks.
EARLY HISTORY
- 1600s -- Taiwan, known as West Formosa, is invaded alternately by the Dutch and Spaniards.
- 1662 -- The island reverts to Chinese rule.
FINANCIAL
- Monetary unit:
- Taiwan Dollar
CNN TRAVEL INFORMATION:
CNN WEATHER INFORMATION
- Forecasts:
- Taipei
- Kaohsiung
- Taichung
- T'ainan
- Hualien
- Pingtung
- Tia Nan
- Forecast and satellite maps:
- Asia forecast map
- Asia satellite image