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Taiwan: COUNTRY PROFILE
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,
Click to Enlarge Image
Click to Enlarge Image 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.
Houston Chronicle,SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican ruling party officials played both sides of the China-Taiwan divide this week, announcing talks for a new trade ... Taiwan lawmaker releases tear gas at parliament to block US arms ... - 24 Oct 2006 Forbes,TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - The long-delayed bill on Taiwan's purchase of a 10 bln usd package of US weapons was blocked again at parliament after a legislator opened ... Taiwan and China handset makers set to compete for mobile TV phone ... - 24 Oct 2006 DigiTimes,Taiwan- and China-based ODM handset makers are set to compete head-on for a greater share of mobile TV phone orders globally amid the emerging market for ... Taiwan Quick Take: Ma starts garbage cleanup - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英ä¹?) said yesterday that a controversial "garbage mountain" in Neihu Dsitrict is expected to be cleaned up by 2011. ... ANNUAL PROTEST: A flotilla of boats from China and Taiwan could be ... - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,A group of Chinese nationalists from Hong Kong was set to meet with a flotilla of Taiwanese ships to protest Japan's claims over a set of disputed islands ... Taiwan Offers To Participate In Expansion Of Panama Canal - 24 Oct 2006 Playfuls.com,...by Playfuls Team. Taiwan on Tuesday congratulated Panama on its referendum result backing widening the Panama Canal and offered to participate in the expansion. ... Taiwan Quick Take: Consumer site launched - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,The Department of Health unveiled a new Web site yesterday to help consumers cut through misinformation and make more informed choices. ... Taiwan cleaning products tested - 24 Oct 2006 United Press InternationalTAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct. 23 (UPI ... estrogen. A spokesman for the foundation says there currently are no laws in Taiwan regarding NP. A ... Harsh terms delivered in Taiwan software piracy case - 24 Oct 2006 DigiTimes,A court in northern Taiwan recently delivered a two-year prison sentence in a software piracy case, the first such severe anti-piracy punishment, marking a ... Return of Taiwan's living dead - 24 Oct 2006 Taiwan Headlines,...as well as its artistic director and choreographer, uses the characteristic rituals to revitalize and reaffirm the culture and identity of her native Taiwan. ... China invites Tories to relations-warming visit - 24 Oct 2006 Canada.com,...traditional ''one China'' policy by indulging the wishes of some of his Conservative backbenchers who have called for recognition of Taiwan, the breakaway ... Taiwan Society to promote local consciousness - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,The Taiwan Society said yesterday that it is going to hold an indoor rally in Kaohsiung tomorrow to expand the "local culture movement" to southern Taiwan. ... Taiwan Quick Take: NSC head under fire - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義ä»?) came under fire yesterday for earmarking NT$3.5 million (US$109,375) for the purchase ... Taiwan Quick Take: Two arrested in Cambodia - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,Cambodian police have arrested two Taiwanese caught while allegedly trying to smuggle 2.1kg of heroin out of the kingdom, police in Phnom Penh said yesterday. ... Taiwanese lawmaker sprays aerosol substance to stop Legislature ... - 24 Oct 2006 International Herald Tribune,TAIPEI, Taiwan A gadfly Taipei mayoral candidate wearing a gas mask sprayed an aerosol substance inside Taiwan's Legislature Tuesday, saying he wanted to block ... Taipei a vestige of the old regime - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,When former president Lee Teng-hui (æ?Žç™»è¼?) proposed freezing or abolishing the Taiwan provincial government more than 10 years ago, I repeatedly wrote that ... Editorial: Tuna quotas a red herring - 24 Oct 2006 Taipei Times,Last year the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas slashed Taiwan's quota for tuna from 14,900 tonnes to 4,600 tonnes after ... Asian Stocks Rise on Lower Oil Prices, Fed Rates; Toyota Gains - 24 Oct 2006 Bloomberg...and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., on speculation slumping energy prices will prompt the Federal Reserve to leave US interest rates unchanged this week ... This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant. |
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