Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article is missing information about shape of territorial waters . Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (October 2021) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Taiwan Area" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (May 2022) Click for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|zh|臺灣地區}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Taiwan Area Taiwan Area of the Republic of China臺灣地區 中華民國臺灣地區
Largest cities	New Taipei City
Languages	Mandarin Taiwanese Hokkien Hakka Formosan languages Matsunese
Ethnic groups	Han Taiwanese Taiwanese indigenous peoples
Demonym(s)	Taiwanese (Mainly in Taiwan and Penghu) Kinmenese (Kinmen) Matsunese (Matsu)
Area
• Total	36,193 km (13,974 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 census	23,681,968
• Density	650/km (1,683.5/sq mi)
Currency	New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, NTD)
Time zone	UTC+08:00 (National Standard Time)
Date format	yyyy年mm月dd日
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+886
Internet TLD	.tw, .台灣, .台湾

Politics of Taiwan
Government Constitution of the Republic of China Additional Articles of the Constitution Law Taxation
Presidency President of the Republic of China Lai Ching-te (DPP) Vice President of the Republic of China Hsiao Bi-khim (DPP) Office of the President National Security Council
ExecutiveExecutive Yuan Premier Cho Jung-tai (DPP) Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (DPP)
LegislatureLegislative Yuan 11th Legislative Yuan President of the Legislative Yuan Han Kuo-yu (KMT) Vice President of the Legislative Yuan Johnny Chiang (KMT)
JudiciaryJudicial Yuan President of the Judicial Yuan and Chief Justice Shieh Ming-yan acting Vice President of the Judicial Yuan Vacant Supreme Court High Courts District Courts
Other branchesExamination Yuan President of the Examination Yuan Vacant Vice President of the Examination Yuan Vacant Control Yuan President of the Control Yuan Chen Chu Vice President of the Control Yuan Lee Hung-chun Local government Mayors and Magistrates
Elections Central Election Commission Presidential elections Legislative elections Local elections Referendums
Political partiesRepresented in the Legislative Yuan Kuomintang Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan People's Party Others New Power Party Taiwan Statebuilding Party People First Party Taiwan Solidarity Union New Party Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Green Party Taiwan
Mass mediaTelevision Newspapers United Daily News Liberty Times China Times Taipei Times Propaganda Censorship Film censorship White Terror
Foreign relationsMinistry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung Cross-Strait relations Special state-to-state relations One Country on Each Side 1992 Consensus Taiwan consensus Chinese Taipei Australia–Taiwan relations Canada–Taiwan relations France–Taiwan relations Russia–Taiwan relations Taiwan–United Kingdom relations Taiwan–United States relations Taiwan and the World Health Organization
Related topicsPolitical status of Taiwan Republic of China (1912–1949) Chinese Civil War One-China policy China and the United Nations Chinese unification Taiwan independence movement Taiwanese nationalism Tangwai movement Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
Taiwan portal Other countries
v t e

The Taiwan Area, fully the "Taiwan Area of the Republic of China", also the free area of the Republic of China, the "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fuchien)" , is a term used to refer to the actual-controlled territories of the Republic of China, usually called "Taiwan". It has been in official use since the Additional articles of the Republic of China constitution took effect to end temporary anti-communist provisions on 1 May 1991. The term is also used in the 1992 Cross-Strait Act.

The area currently under the definition consists of the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands. The collective term "Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma" is literally equivalent except that it only refers to the geographical areas of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Area, to the exclusion of Wuqiu, Dongsha Island, and Taiping Island.

The term is complementary to "Mainland Area", which is practically viewed as being synonymous to Mainland China under the control of the People's Republic of China, despite the fact that the Republic of China constitution never defined specific territorial boundaries. Although acknowledging the reality of the Taiwan Strait, technically the Republic of China still claims to be the sole representative of China with its constitution.

Background

The term "free area" or "Free China" was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) to describe the territories under the control of the Kuomintang led Nationalist government in Chungking (today Chongqing), as opposed to the parts of China under Japanese occupation, including Nanking (today Nanjing) the capital of the Republic of China until the Japanese invasion in 1937.

The Japanese occupation ended with the imperial surrender in 1945, but the term "Free China" was soon to acquire a new meaning in the context of the early Cold War. Following the Communist Party's victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the newly inaugurated People's Republic of China solidified its control of mainland China, while the Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan and selected Taipei to serve as the provisional capital of the Republic of China. Mainland China was officially considered to be in a state of "Communist Rebellion", also known as "Communist China" or "Red China", and furthermore all territories still under Nationalist administration were said to constitute the "Free Area" of China, also known as "Nationalist China" or "Free China". This period of mobilization was officially terminated by the government on 1 May 1991 with the implementation of the Additional Articles of the Constitution.

Prior to the Battle of Dachen Archipelago in 1955, the Free Area also encompassed a group of islands off Zhejiang, up to then part of the ROC province of Chekiang. The islands have since been administered exclusively by the People's Republic of China.

Nomenclature

Various names used to describe the geopolitical area include:

Legal use

The term "free area of the Republic of China" has persisted to the present day in the ROC legislation. The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China delegates numerous rights to exercise the sovereignty of the state, including that of electing the President and Legislature, to citizens residing in the "free area of the Republic of China". This term was put into the Constitution with the promulgation of the first set of amendments to the Constitution in 1991 and has been retained in the most recent revision passed in 2005.

The need to use the term "free area" in the Constitution arose out of the discrepancy between the notion that the Republic of China was the sole legitimate government of China and the pressures of the popular sovereignty movement. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were demands, particularly by the Tangwai movement and other groups opposed to one-party authoritarian KMT rule, to restructure the ROC government, long dominated by mainlanders, to be more representative of the Taiwanese people it governed. For example, until 1991, members of the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan elected in 1948 to serve mainland constituencies remained in their posts indefinitely and the President of the Republic of China was to be elected by this same "Eternal Parliament" dominated by aging KMT members. However, more conservative politicians, while acquiescing to the need for increased democracy, feared that constitutional changes granting localized sovereignty would jeopardize the ROC government's claims as the legitimate Chinese government and thereby promote Taiwan independence.

While the 1991 revisions of the Constitution granted the sovereignty rights to the Taiwanese people, it did not explicitly name Taiwan and instead used the term "free area" to maintain the notion that the Republic of China encompassed more than Taiwan. In ordinary legislation, the term "Taiwan Area" is usually used, especially in contexts of trade and exchange. In contrast to the "free area" is the "mainland area", which the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area defines as "the territory of the Republic of China outside the Taiwan Area". However, on more practical grounds, the "mainland area" refers simply to Mainland China.

In addition, there are two other Acts defining other "areas": the "Hong Kong and Macau Area" (Chinese: 港澳地區). The hand-over of these former European colonies to the People's Republic of China necessitated laws governing the relations of the Taiwan Area with them. The Acts are worded in a manner to avoid discussing whether the Republic of China claims sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macau.

Use by People's Republic of China

Based on the One China policy, the People's Republic of China (PRC) does not recognize the legitimacy of the ROC. A series of standardized terms called "Taiwan-related terms" (涉台用语) were invented by the PRC government, which are used in official statements, news reports, and press releases, etc., to serve this purpose. Among them, the terms "Taiwan area" or "Taiwan authority" (台湾当局) are commonly used to replace "Republic of China" or "Taiwan" (because mentioning only "Taiwan" but not "Taiwan area" or "Taiwan Province" would give an impression that Taiwan is an independent country). For example, the term "Leader of the Taiwan area" (台湾地区领导人) is used to replace "President of the Republic of China" or "President of Taiwan", "Taiwanese citizens" is replaced with "Residents of Taiwan area" (台湾地区居民), and Executive Yuan is called "Taiwan area's executive body" (台湾地区行政管理机构), etc.

In official PRC statistics involving Taiwan, "Taiwan Area" is widely used instead, corresponding to the ROC's Free Area of the Republic of China, and is treated together with Special Administrative Regions rather than other provinces. Taiwan Province only includes Taiwan and associated islands such as the Pescadores Islands, but "Taiwan Area" (the same as "Taiwan Area" as used by ROC, a.k.a.) is all area administered by Taipei and includes Fujian islands such as Kinmen, Matsu, as well as (at least in principle) Pratas Island (Tungsha/Dongsha) (part of Cijin District, Kaoshiung; claimed as part of Guangdong Province by the PRC) and Taiping Islands (assigned to Kaoshiung by ROC, and to Sansha and Hainan by PRC). In 2017 Xinhua News Agency issued guidelines mandating no scare quotes for all members of local governments of Taiwan authorities (except Fujian and Lienchiang) and preferring the term "Taiwan Area" over the term "Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China", since the latter does not include the Kinmen and Matsu islands.

Administrative divisions

Notes

1. ^ Has an elected executive and an elected legislative council.
2. ^ Has an appointed district administrator for managing local affairs and carrying out tasks commissioned by superior agency.
3. Has an elected village administrator for managing local affairs and carrying out tasks commissioned by superior agency.

See also

• Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
• Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China
• Constitution of the Republic of China
• History of the Republic of China
• Kuomintang
• Mainland China
• Politics of the Republic of China
• Soviet Zone / Liberated Zone
  • Chinese Soviet Republic
• Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China

Notes

1. Also known as the Taiwan area or Tai–Min area (Chinese: 臺閩地區; lit. 'Taiwan–Fujian area')
2. The mainland area consists of Mainland China, Tibet and (previously) Outer Mongolia
3. Special municipalities, cities, and county-administered cities are all called shi (Chinese: 市; lit. 'city')
4. Nominal; provincial governments have been abolished
5. Constitutionally having the same structure as the free area, these are currently under the Chinese Communist Party control with a different structure
6. Sometimes called cities (Chinese: 市) or provincial cities (Chinese: 省轄市) to distinguish them from special municipalities and county-administered cities
7. There are two types of townships: rural townships or xīang (Chinese: 鄉) and urban townships or zhèn (Chinese: 鎮)
8. Villages in rural townships are known as cūn (Chinese: 村), those in other jurisdictions are known as lǐ (Chinese: 里)

Words in native languages

1. ^
   • Traditional Chinese script: 中華民國自由地區
   • Mandarin Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Zìyóu Dìqū
   • Hokkien: Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Chū-iû Tē-khu
   • Sixian Hakka: Chûng-fà Mìn-koet Chhṳ-yù Thi-khî
   • Matsu: Dṳ̆ng-huà Mìng-guók Cê̤ṳ-iù Dê-kṳ̆
2. • Traditional Chinese script: 臺灣地區
   • Mandarin Pinyin: Táiwān dìqū
   • Hokkien: Tâi-oân tē-khu
   • Sixian Hakka: Thòi-vàn thi-khî
   • Matsu: Dài-uăng dê-kṳ̆

References

1. "Laws and Regulations Regarding Mainland Affairs". mac.gov.tw. Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan. 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021. Article 2: The following terms as used in this Act are defined below.1. "Taiwan Area" refers to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and any other area under the effective control of the Government.2. "Mainland Area" refers to the territory of the Republic of China outside the Taiwan Area.3. "People of the Taiwan Area" refers to the people who have household registrations in the Taiwan Area.4. "People of the Mainland Area" refers to the people who have household registrations in the Mainland Area
2. "The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China Archived 12 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine." Republic of China. Retrieved on 7 April 2009.
3. Corcuff, Stéphane; Edmondson, Robert (2002). Memories of the Future: National Identity Issues and the Search for a New Taiwan. M.E. Sharpe. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7656-0792-8. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
4. Chen Wei-han (8 June 2016). "NPP to push constitutional reforms". Taipei Times. Taipei. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017. An amendment made to the Constitution in 1991 "to meet the requisites prior to national unification" recognizes the "Chinese mainland area" as opposed to the "free area," and both areas make up the Republic of China.
5. Sara L. Friedman (2015). Exceptional States: Chinese Immigrants and Taiwanese Sovereignty. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0520961562. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2020. The Act's use of the spatial language of "area" was a direct reference to the postwar ROC Constitution, which had created two classes of Chinese based on politically differentiated, territorial criteria: those of the "free area," which included Taiwan and the scattered smaller islands under post-1949 ROC control, and those of the 'mainland area', who presumably were not free because they lived under Communist rule.
6. "中華民國憲法§4-全國法規資料庫". law.moj.gov.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
7. 廖顯謨 (2017). "疆域與國家認同:我國憲法第四條「固有疆域」之探究" (PDF). 高苑學報. 22: 156–162. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023. 在台灣，國人對我國疆域範圍的認知，可謂真的是「各自表述」…
8. "Taiwan appoints new chief administrator". People's Daily. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
9. "截至6月18日24时新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情最新情况 COVID-19 latest situation as of 24:00 June 18 (UTC+8)". nhc.gov.cn. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
10. "新华社发布新闻报道禁用词和慎用词".

External links

• Relations with Hong Kong and Macau
• Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area

v t e Cross-strait relations
Diplomatic posts	Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan) Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong Macau Economic and Cultural Office (Taiwan) Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Macau
Diplomacy	Opening of the South-North route Restoration of Taiwan strait shipping Kinmen Agreement Wang–Koo summit Cross-strait charter 2004 Taiwanese cross-strait relations referendum May 17 Statement 2005 Pan–Blue visits to mainland China Cross-strait high-level talks First Chen–Chiang summit Second Chen–Chiang summit Fourth Chen–Chiang summit Fifth Chen–Chiang summit Sixth Chen–Chiang summit Seventh Chen–Chiang summit Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement Cross-Strait CEO Summit Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement Jinjiang–Kinmen Pipeline 2014 Wang–Zhang meetings 2015 Xi–Chu meeting Ma–Xi meeting Straits Forum Shanghai-Taipei City Forum Second Ma–Xi meeting
Conflicts	Chinese Civil War Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan Guanbi policy First Taiwan Strait Crisis Project National Glory Battle of Dong-Yin Battle of Dongshan Battle of East Chongwu Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Third Taiwan Strait Crisis Senkaku Islands Dispute
Incidents	Capture of the Tuapse Kashmir Princess United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations CAAC Flight 296 China Airlines Flight 334 1987 Lieyu massacre Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident Min Ping Yu No. 5202 1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions Qiandao Lake incident China Airlines Flight 611 Sunflower Student Movement Braga incident Anti-Black Box Curriculum Movement Wang Liqiang Freedom pineapples 2021 Solomon Islands unrest Chinese military exercises around Taiwan 2022 2023 2024 2024 Kinmen Chinese motorboat capsizing incident
Legislation	Cross-Strait Act Proposed National Unification Promotion Law Anti-Secession Law Anti-Infiltration Act
Organizations	All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots Alumni Association of Huangpu Military Academy Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum Cross-Strait Peace Forum Grand Alliance for China's Reunification under the Three Principles of the People Lienchiang Cross-Strait Matters Forum Mainland Affairs Council National Unification Council Straits Exchange Foundation Taiwan Affairs Office Taiwan Competitiveness Forum Taiwan Strait Tourism Association
Concepts	1992 Consensus China Circle Chinese unification Chinese nationalism Chinese irredentism Chinese Taipei Cross-Strait Economic Zone Dang Guo Four Noes and One Without Greater China Han chauvinism One China One-China policy One Country on Each Side One country, two systems Propaganda in China Cross-strait propaganda Republic of China on Taiwan Self-determination Socialist ideology of the Kuomintang Socialism with Chinese characteristics Special non-state-to-state relations Six Assurances Taiwan, China Two Chinas Three Noes Three Links Taiwan consensus Taiwan independence movement Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan United front in Taiwan Under the Roof of One China Xi Jinping Thought Zhonghua minzu
Related	Fujian–Taiwan relationship Hong Kong–Taiwan relations Hong Kong–Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council Taiwan–Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council Pro-ROC camp Chinese Travel Document Taiwan Entry Permit Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Resident Cross-strait language database ECFA Debate HMS Aurora (12) China and the United Nations China and the World Bank Chinese intelligence activity abroad Chinese information operations and information warfare Chinese Soviet Republic Freedom of religion in China Foreign relations of China Timeline of diplomatic relations with China Political status of Taiwan Foreign relations of Taiwan Opinion polling on Taiwanese identity Timeline of diplomatic relations with Taiwan Geostrategy in Taiwan Anti-Communist Hero Milk Tea Alliance Taishang G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway G99 Taiwan Ring Expressway China National Highway 228 (Taiwan) Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama The World Turned Upside Down Go and Reclaim the Mainland Pro-Republic of China
Category:Cross-strait relations

v t e East Asia
Countries and regions	China Hong Kong Macau Mainland Japan Ryukyu Mongolia North Korea South Korea Jeju Taiwan
Ethnic groups	Ainu Han Chinese subgroups Hui Japanese Yamato Koreans in China in Japan in Sakhalin Manchu Miao Mongolic Mongols in China Khalkha in Mongolia Qiang Ryukyuans Indigenous Taiwanese Tibetans Tujia Uyghurs Yi Zhuang other ethnic groups in China unrecognized historical
Culture	Age reckoning Architecture‎ Art Chinese Japanese Korean Taiwanese Blepharoplasty Buddhism Calligraphy Cinema Cuisine Sinosphere Dance Chinese knotting Chinese dragon Festivals Gardens Chinese characters Hip-and-gable roof Languages Literature Mādhyamaka Music Mythology Philosophy Religion Scripts Seal Sino-Xenic pronunciations Surnames Television Typography Yogācāra Chinese zodiac
Environment	East Asia Climate Partnership Monsoon Rainy season Flora
Economy and Politics	China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia Capitalism East Asia Summit East Asian Bureau of Economic Research East Asian Community Four Asian Tigers Human rights in East Asia Ports Stock exchanges
History	Archaeology Archaeological cultures Bronze Age Iron Age Former countries
Sports	China–Japan–Korea Friendship Athletic Meeting East Asian Football Federation East Asian Games East Asian Judo Championships East Asian martial arts East Asian Youth Games EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Education	Association of East Asian Research Universities CrossAsia East Asian Economic Review East Asia Image Collection East Asia Law Review East Asian studies Journal of East Asian Studies Ludwigshafen East Asia Institute
Military	Horses in East Asian warfare Bansenshūkai Miyamoto Musashi Sun Tzu The Art of War The Book of Five Rings Yi Sun-sin
Science and technology	Needham Research Institute Printing Swords Traditional medicine

v t e Politics of China
Constitution Laws Ideology
Communist Party	Central Committee Politburo Standing Committee General Secretary Secretariat Military Commission Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Provincial standing committees Constitution
Central government	Paramount leader National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman President Vice President State Council Premier Vice Premiers State Councilors Ministries Central Military Commission Chairman People's Liberation Army People's Armed Police Militia National Supervisory Commission Director Supreme People's Court President Supreme People's Procuratorate Procurator-General
United front	Political Consultative Conference Chairperson Minor parties People's organization United Front Work Department
Politics of province-level divisions (current leaders)	Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Provinces Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Xinjiang Tibet (leaders) SARs Hong Kong Macau Claimed province Taiwan
See also Elections

• Geography of Taiwan
• Politics of Taiwan
• Taiwan Strait