Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan
local short form: T'ai-wan
local long form: none
former: Formosa
Government type:
multiparty democratic regime headed by popularly-elected president
and unicameral legislature
Capital:
Taipei
Administrative divisions:
the central administrative divisions include the provinces of
Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province including
Quemoy and Matsu) and Taiwan (the island of Taiwan and the
Pescadores islands); Taiwan is further subdivided into 16 counties
(hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities* (shih, singular and
plural), and 2 special municipalities** (chuan-shih, singular and
plural); Chang-hua, Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-chu, Hsin-chu*,
Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou,
P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan, T'ai-nan*,
T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin; the
provincial capital is at Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un
note: Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles system for romanization
National holiday:
Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October
(1911)
Constitution:
1 January 1947, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 1999
Legal system:
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and
Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
election results: CHEN Shui-bian elected president; percent of vote
- CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 39.3%, James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu) (PFP)
36.84%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 23.1%, HSU Hsin-liang (independent) 0.63%,
LEE Ao (CNP) 0.13%
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 18 March
2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); premier appointed by the
president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the premier
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) YU
Shyi-kun (since 1 February 2002) and Vice Premier (Vice President of
the Executive Yuan) LIN Hsin-yi (since 1 February 2002)
cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular
vote, 41 elected on the basis of the proportion of islandwide votes
received by participating political parties, eight elected from
overseas Chinese constituencies on the basis of the proportion of
islandwide votes received by participating political parties, eight
elected by popular vote among the aboriginal populations; members
serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat
nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by
proportional representation within three months of a Legislative
Yuan call to amend the Constitution, impeach the president, or
change national borders)
elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 8 December 2001 (next to be
held NA December 2004); note - the National Assembly is a
nonstanding body and is called into session
election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP
39%, KMT 30%, PFP 20%, TSU 6%, independents and other parties 5%;
seats by party - DPP 87, KMT 68, PFP 46, TSU 13, independents and
other parties 11
Judicial branch:
Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of
the National Assembly; note - beginning in 2003, justices will be
appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [CHEN Shui-bian, chairman];
Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [LIEN Chan, chairman]; People
First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan
Solidarity Union or TSU [HUANG Chu-wen, chairman]; other minor
parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental
groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the
mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization
and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's
legislature have opened public debate on the island's national
identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan
currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate
outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's
people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan
independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify
with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement
include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the
UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the
World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for
Taiwan Nation Building
International organization participation:
APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IFRCS, IOC, WCL, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US
with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12
other US cities
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and
Taiwan; US office located at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700,
Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1]
(703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices located at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi
Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2709-2000,
FAX: [886] (2) 2702-7675; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor,
Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 224-0154 through 0157, FAX:
[886] (7) 223-8237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208
International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung
Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2)
2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162
Flag description:
red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays