Taiwan

Demographic Profile

Capital: Taipei
Population: 23,464,787 (July 2016 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.2% (2016 est.)
Nationality: Taiwan (or Taiwanese)
Religions: mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Language: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects

Location and Geography

Taiwan is located off the coast of southeastern China, About 70 miles (II3 km) east of Taiwan lies
Yonagunijima, the southwestern most of the Sakishima Islands of Japan, and some 50 miles (80
km) to the south across the Bashi Channel lie the Batan Islands, the northernmost of the
Philippine Islands. While Taiwan shares the continental shelf with China, it is part of the same
island system as Japan. Taiwan has the highest mountains east of Tibet, with a water runoff that
could power all of Asia if it were used to power generators on a rainy day. Most people live in
the small areas that are comparatively flat-principally the western plain formed over the
millennia by mud washed down from the mountains.

Taiwan before Colonization

The island's aboriginal Austronesian population is closely related to the peoples of the
Philippines. About four hundred years ago, increasing numbers of Chinese began moving across
the Taiwan Strait from Fujian Province and settling in Taiwan. Their origins varied slightly, and
their squabbling over land rights and other issues in Taiwan often led them to seek alliances
with people from the same places of origin to conduct petty local wars with other settlers, as
the earlier non-Chinese population took refuge in ever-higher mountainous areas.

History

Taiwan was ruled by six colonial regimes:

(1) the Dutch (16241662);

(2) the Spanish (16261642), who ruled in north Taiwan simultaneously with the Dutch;

(3) the Cheng family (16621683);

(4) the Manchu Qing empire (16831895);

(5) the Japanese (18951945);

and (6) the authoritarian Chinese Nationalist regime (19451988).

 DUTCH and SPANISH COLONIZATION

When the Dutch arrived in Taiwan in 1624, Taiwan was an island of Austronesian
aboriginal peoples.6 At that time, Taiwan had no permanent Han Chinese communities.
Han Chinese came to Taiwan temporarily for trade with the aborigines, for fishing and
for piracy. Dutch estimates suggest these Han Chinese at most totalled from several
hundred to about 1,500 persons.

When the Spanish came to northern Taiwan a few years after the Dutch, they found
virtually no Han Chinese there. The aboriginal population of Taiwan at the time was
about 100,000

THE CHENG FAMILY

Cheng Cheng-kung, also known as Koxinga and his father, Cheng Chih-lung, also known
as Nicolas Iquan, had run huge trading empires from their bases in southern Fujian. With
the fall of the Ming, Cheng Cheng kung remained loyal at least on the surface and
helped the Southern Ming continue its rebellion in southern China. In other words,
Cheng Cheng-kung did want to restore the Ming and he did have some successes
fighting against the Manchus until his failure to take Nanjing in 1659.

The last Ming pretender, the Yung-li emperor, died in Yunnan probably on 19 or 25 May
or 11 June, 1662. The Dutch surrendered to Cheng Cheng-kung on 1 February, 1662, so
the last Ming pretender was still alive when Cheng Cheng-kung took over Taiwan.
Cheng Cheng-kung died of illness at the age of thirty-nine on 23 June 1662, just a short
time after the last Ming pretender died.

The cause of his death remains unclear, but Tonio makes a good case that it might have
been from tertiary syphilis. In any case, Cheng seems to have become insane before he
died.

MANCHU QING EMPIRE

Most people who assert that Taiwan is Chinese focus on the two centuries of Manchu
control from 1683 to 1895. The Manchu empire was administratively and ideologically
very complex.

At the end of the eighteenth century the Qing empire encompassed an area twice the
size of Ming China. The court handled this expansion in a range of fashions without any
one model of incorporation and administration. Differentiation and heterogeneity came
to be the keys to the division of space within the empire. As a conquest dynasty, Qing
political culture and institutions derived as much from the traditions of Inner Asia as
they did from traditional Confucian political theory.
 The dawn of centralized Qing administration of the island came in 1683, and in 1885 it was
granted provincial status under the Qing dynasty. The two centuries between those dates were
characterized by increasing population, settled farming, frequent plagues, occasional uprisings,
and almost constant feuding and petty wars among ethnic groups and local interests. The whole
island was a wild and woolly frontier, and no magistrate was enthusiastic about representing the
imperial government in this remote and unruly region.

THE JAPANESE ERA

In 1895, less than ten years after it was made a province, Taiwan was abruptly ceded by
the Qing emperor to Meiji japan. For the Japanese, this introduced the sudden
responsibility to administer a subject population. For the Taiwanese, it was more than a
change of government. It meant subjugation to a new and inexperienced colonial
administration, speaking a foreign language, the imposition of foreign ways, and Japan's
determination to convert the whole populace from being Chinese to Japanese.

The colonial record of Japan in Taiwan is mixed. In retrospect, and with our current
distaste for colonialism, it is easy to be critical. It is also easy to forget that the political
situation in Japan between 1895 and the end of World War II was rapidly evolving, and
so colonial policy toward Taiwan also varied.

Quite possibly, no two Japanese ever agreed on what the empire's "steady-state"
relationship with Taiwan should be. But for better and for worse, Japanese possession
of Taiwan-for an even fifty years-comprises part of the island's history and part of its
identity. Industrial and commercial development during this period clearly provided the
basis for the prosperity that was to follow.

In 1911 the dynasty (Qing) was overthrown and in 1912 a new Republic of China was
established, headed by the Nationalist Party, also known as the KMT (Kuomintang) or
GMD (Guomindang). But the KMT government was so weak that some areas it claimed
to control never in fact passed under its effective administration. The revolution was not
without bloodshed, and local warlords ravaged the countryside in some areas. Taiwan
again escaped the turmoil, for it was part of Japan.

In 1937, japan-increasingly falling under the control of extremist military factions-

invaded China, seizing much of the Eastern part of the country and imposing a brutal
administration that lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. Taiwan, already long
under Japanese administration, was once again sheltered from the suffering inflicted
upon the mainland.

In 1945, with the defeat of Japan by the allied forces, Taiwan was turned over to the
Republic of China, a government unknown to the people of Taiwan-and one scornful
and suspicious of them as "Japanese collaborators."
 Taiwan were returned to China

From 1945 to 1949, the government of the republic was engaged in a vicious civil war
with forces of the Communist Party. The Communists prevailed and established a new
People's Republic of China.

The organs of government were hastily moved to Taibei, in northern Taiwan, which was
identified as the "provisional capital" of the Republic of China during the "temporary
period" of Communist rebellion.

A state of martial law prevailed on the island until 1987. It is easy to imagine the period
of martial law as darker than it was. Babies still giggled, children still laughed, and the
sun continued to shine. Economic progress was so rapid that even severe critics
conceded that it was almost a miracle.

When martial law was lifted, a new era of openness and of open criticism of KMT abuses
dawned. Taiwan, with a population now over 22 million-more than three times what it
was in 1945-had at last became a democratic state.

Today the distinction between "Taiwanese" and "mainland immigrants" has been much
muted with the passing of half a century since the fall of the KMT on the mainland. But
many aspects of life are affected by the history of mainlander-Taiwanese relations.

The Communist government on the mainland has continued to insist that, as the
successor to the Republic of China on the mainland, it is the only legal and legitimate
government of Taiwan.

Flag of Taiwan

In 1824 the Dutch formed a southern colony in Formosa, previous name for Taiwan, called
Dutch Formosa. The flag flown was the red-white-blue horizontal tricolour.

Two years later the Spanish set up their own colony called Spanish Formosa that used the
burgundy cross as their flag. In 1642 the Dutch took control of most of the land of Formosa.

The Dutch lost control in 1662 and the land became the Kingdom of Tungning and no flag was
used at this point. In 1683 the Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan. The flags most associated with the
Qing Dynasty are the yellow triangular dragon flag and the rectangular yellow dragon flag with
red sun disc.

In 1895 the Republic of Formosa was formed and a new flag was adopted featuring a dragon on
a grey blue background with blue steam and red fire. This republic was short lived when the
Japanese took control of the country in the same year. The Japanese white flag with red sun disc
was adopted and flown until the Japanese surrendered the land to allied forces in 1945.
 The country became The Republic of China, also known unofficially as Taiwan, in 1945. The flag
adopted was a plain red field with bleu rectangle in the top left and white sun with 12 white
rays.

There is negativity towards the flag from Taiwanese nationalists. During some sporting events
and the Olympic Games, a different Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Flag is flown.

Emblem

The Emblem of Taiwan, also called The National Emblem of the Republic of China, was adopted
in 1928. It is a blue circle with white sun and 12 white rays. It is nicknamed the blue sky with
white sun.

Meaning of Taiwans Flag

The red color symbolizes fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism.

White stands for equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood

Sun symbolizes progress

Blue represents liberty, justice, and democracy

The 12 rays of the sun stands twelve months in Chinese calendar and the twelve shichen
('shichen' is a Chinese traditional unit of time which corresponds to two modern hours)

Taiwans Economy

Among the countrys important industries are:

Computers and Peripherals

integrated circuit

Optoelectronic

precision machinery, and telecommunications.

The information technology industry makes up around 1/3 of Taiwans Gross

Domestic Product. It is a leading player in the worlds ICT sector.

Taiwan was the 20th largest exporter and 18th largest importer of merchandise
in 2014.

Taiwans GDP growth rate for 2016 had expanded just 0.7%

The Tsai Administrations Five Core Industries are:

Internet of things.
 Bio-technology.

Smart machinery.

Defense industries including shipbuilding.

New energy.

The New Southbound Policy

Taiwanese investment only into Southeast Asian countries. This time, trade and
investment will form just one component of Taiwans diverse and multifaceted
economic strategy.

Philippine-Taiwan Relations

Trade:

Philippines total trade to the world $137.20 billion (2016) vs. $129.90 billion (2015).

Taiwan is the Philippines 6th trading partner, 10th export market, and 6th import
source.

Exports to Taiwan were $2.060 billion (2016) vs. $2.010 billion (2015).

Imports from Taiwan were $5.066 billion (2016) vs. $5.840 billion (2015).

Bilateral trade with Taiwan was $7.122 billion (2016) vs. $7.850 billion (2015).

Balance of trade was in favor of Taiwan by $3.01 billion in 2016.

Investments:

In 2015, total recorded Taiwanese investments in the Philippines amounted to $35.6

million.

In 2016, total recorded Taiwanese investments in the Philippines amounted to $147.7

million, which is a 314.90% increase or our 3rd fastest growing investment source.

Majority of investments went to transportation and storage, manufacturing, and real

estate activities.

Taiwan is Philippines 4th source of foreign investments.

Tourism:

Visitor arrivals for the period of January to December 2016 reached 231,801 which is an
increase of 28.71% from the previous year (180,091).
 The substantial increase in tourist traffic for 2016 was brought about mainly by:

More aggressive marketing initiatives to promote Philippine destinations through

working with travel agents and airlines, thus creating new products for the Taiwan
market.

Continuous media exposure thru internet, TV, print and outdoor advertising. Although
limited in financial capacity, our series of familiarization trips and joint promotions with
travel and tour industry stakeholders enabled the Philippines to secure more media
mileage.

New charter flights to the Philippines that led to the increase in tourist traffic.

MECOs activation of on-line visa application which now enables Taiwan passport
holders to acquire an entry permit to the Philippines anytime, anywhere.

Labor:

As of December, 2016, there were 136,400 overseas Filipino contract workers in the
entire island as per official count of Taiwans Workforce Development Agency (WDA) of
the Ministry of Labor (MOL). As earlier pointed out, this is more than 11% increase in
OFW employment in Taiwan compared to previous years.

Distribution as to Work Category:

Manufacturing 104,143 (76.35%).

Caregiver/Household Workers 30,483 (22.35%).

Fishing 1,706 (01.25%).

Others 68 (00.05%)

Taiwan Top 10 Tourist Destinations

10. Presidential Office Building

Presidential Office Building is located in Zhongzheng district. Buildings built during the Japanese
occupation has a beautiful wall with decorative gravel. As a legacy of Japan, the building has 5
floors and the main tower as tall as 7-story faces east to honor the goddess of the Sun. Building
was inaugurated as the President of a national historical site in 1998 and is open to the public.

9. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall

This site is dedicated to Sun Yat-sen, the man considered the "father of the nation" in Taiwan
and "forerunner of the revolution" in China. In it, you can find world-class performance hall,
 multimedia theater, and a very large library. Surrounding environment is very beautiful, there
are lakes and extensive green gardens.

8. Huaxi Night Market

If a visit to Taipei, do not miss the night market. This area is known for its variety of delicious
foods are sold, such as meat soup, eel noodles, shrimp, and snake meat. One of the popular
night market is Huaxi Night Market, located adjacent to the Longshan Temple.

7. Taipei 101 tower

The skyscraper is located in downtown Taipei and just a few blocks from the Taipei World Trade
Center. As the name implies, this tower has 101 floors and visitors can ride up 91 floors to see
the sights of Taipei city from a height of 509 meters. To go to the top of the building, provided
the world's fastest elevator to break the Guinness World of Record. Just in 37 seconds, you sped
from the ground floor of 89 to see the sights.

6. Longshan temple

Feels incomplete without a visit to Taipei when the ancient temple is very famous; Longshan
Temple. In the temple built in 1738, you can see the statue of Guanyin Goddess of Compassion,
a pair of dragon decoration in the hall, and the four dragons in the den. Everything is fine and
perfectly chiseled

5. National Palace Museum

The museum is considered a very majestic as it has a collection of priceless antiquities from the
country of Taiwan and China. Collection of Chinese-owned since Taiwan was chosen as a place
to save objects of Chinese art at the time of the Sino-Japanese war and civil war in China. The
collection, among others, various kinds of jade carvings and sculptures of boats made with olive
seed material.

4. Martyr Shrine

The Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the people of Taiwan who sacrificed themselves in battle.
Built in 1969, the temple architecture is reminiscent of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the
Forbidden City, Beijing. Located on the mountain Chingsan, Shrine of the Martyrs is also present
Keelung river view which is in the process of restoration by the Taipei government.

3. Building Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

Building Chiang Kai-shek Memorial is a landmark of Taipei are usually used to celebrate national
events. In this white marble walled building, visitors can learn the history of Chiang Kai-shek, the
leader of Taiwan to visit the 20th century museum located in the basement. For those of you
who are not too interested in history, you can enjoy views of the garden hall is decorated by
tasteful Chinese ceramic.
 2. Beitou Hot Springs

Actually there are a lot of hot water baths in Taipei, but the most famous area is in Beitou. This
area is famous for its hot baths resort since 1986. With beautiful gardens, museums, and
temples around the city, you must visit Beitou in Taipei during the holidays.

1. Yangmingshan National Park

If your landscape is a priority during a vacation in Taipei, Yamingshan National Park should be
the first destination that should not be missed. The park is located 30 minutes drive from the
city center is surrounded by rocky cliffs, mountain meadows, and lakes are calm. The best time
to visit is around February and March for the cherry blossoms are blooming and the gardens of
colorful flowers that are being showcased finest colors.

Issues

The United Nations again blocked Taiwan's quest for membership in the world body on
Wednesday despite a high-profile campaign this year by Taipei that has irritated the United
States as well as China.

Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 in favor of China.

It was the 15th consecutive year that a membership bid by the island of 23 million people had
met the same fate, but the first time it had applied under the name Taiwan instead of its formal
title, Republic of China.

At issue is whether Taiwan is part of China or not. Beijing says it is and has threatened to attack
the island if it declares independence. U.N. membership could be considered a move toward
independence.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday it had proved legally impossible for his office to
accept Taiwan's application despite careful consideration of the matter.

"This has been the official position of the United Nations and has not changed since 1971," he
said.

The self-ruled island that China has claimed as its own since the 1949 civil war says the
assembly's resolution no longer applies to present-day Taiwan, which is recognized by 24
countries.

Analysts have suggested Chen's government wants to solidify a long-term agenda of greater
independence from China by stirring anger at home. About 250,000 people demonstrated in
two Taiwan cities on Saturday in support of the U.N. drive.

Taiwan will continue to seek inclusion in the World Health Assemblys annual meeting this
month in Geneva, government officials said on Monday, pushing back against the latest in a
 series of efforts by China to block the self-ruled island from participating in international
organizations.

Since President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan took office a year ago, China has worked to suppress
Taiwans participation in global aviation and policing organizations, and has lured away another
of its diplomatic allies.

Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to annex it by force if necessary,
seeks to pressure Ms. Tsai into accepting the so-called 1992 Consensus, which holds that there
is only one China, encompassing the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, although each side has its
own interpretation of what that means.

The director of Beijings Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhang Zhijun, said the Tsai governments refusal
to recognize the 1992 Consensus was responsible for the breakdown of communication
channels between Beijing and Taipei and for Taiwans ineligibility to participate in the World
Health Assembly.

China has worked persistently to block opportunities for Taiwan to participate in any events that
could offer it international visibility or influence. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of
China, lost its membership in the United Nations in 1971, when the mainland Peoples Republic
of China took over the seat.

In September, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, declined to
issue Taiwan an invitation to participate as an observer in its assembly in Montreal. The
organization had invited Taiwan to participate as Chinese Taipei the previous year at Beijings
request, when Ms. Tsais predecessor, the China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou, was president.

In November, the global police organization Interpol rejected Taiwanese participation in its
general assembly. In December, the tiny nation of So Tom and Prncipe announced that it
would cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognize China, leaving Taipei with only 21
diplomatic allies.

Last week, Taiwans minister of health and welfare, Chen Shih-chung, told reporters that Taiwan
would send a delegation to the W.H.A. in Geneva this month even without an invitation and that
the country had not ruled out holding a news conference in the Swiss city to protest its
exclusion.

Top 10 Facts about Taiwan

Republic of China

The country is commonly known by the name Taiwan but officially it is actually called
the Republic of China. This should not be confused with the People's Republic of China.
To this day, the majority of countries in the world, including the People's Republic of
China, still do not recognise Taiwan as an independent country. Only the Vatican City
 and the 21 countries of the United Nations have officially recognised the Republic of
China.

Biking is popular

Forget the car, train and metro. When you are in Taiwan, hop on a bike instead!
Taiwanese people love to cycle and it is getting more and more popular every day. The
government invests a considerable amount of money in creating and maintaining cycle
paths. The country's capital city, Taipei, in particular has an extensive infrastructure for
cyclists.

Wi-Fi everywhere

Recently, the city government of Taipei decided that everyone should have access to the
Internet in any public space. Now, free Wi-Fi has been introduced throughout the city.
All you have to do is to register once and then you will have access to the Wi-Fi in public
spaces such as shopping areas, hospitals and libraries. The idea is that in a few years, all
the densely populated areas together with all public transport will have free Wi-Fi
available. More information can be found on the official website.

Traditional Chinese

Taiwan is one of the few countries that still use traditional Chinese characters in the
written form of the language. These days, in almost every country where people speak
Chinese, simplified Chinese characters are used. However, Taiwan and two autonomous
parts of China (Hong Kong and Macau) never adopted these and still continue to use
traditional characters.

Garbage trucks play music

Normally, trucks that play music are associated with ice creams and kids running behind
them. In Taiwan, youll be disappointed if you hear music and hope to buy an ice cream.
Here the garbage trucks play music to prompt people to bring their garbage to the truck.
Beethoven's Fr Elise can be heard in the streets on a regular base and during the
holidays you can expect Christmas songs.

White symbolises death

The colour white symbolises death and is used at funerals instead of the black common
in the West. You will not see white weddings either. The colour red represents good luck
and is often used at weddings and other celebrations.

Aboriginals

In Taiwan there are 14 recognised aboriginal tribes. Together they make up 1.8% of the
country's population. It is estimated that aboriginals had been living in the country for
 8,000 years before mass immigration by the Han Chinese commenced in the 17th
century.

0.9 babies

In 2011, fertility rates showed that the average number of children that Taiwanese
women gave birth to during their lives was 0.9. This makes Taiwan the country with the
lowest fertility rate in the world. One of the reasons for this is probably the fact that
more women have better access to university and full-time jobs these days, whilst
childcare is expensive.

Formosa

When the Portuguese saw the island of Taiwan back in the 16th century, they called
it Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). The name was the official name for the island until the
Second World War and nowadays Formosa is still informally used as a name for Taiwan.

Densely populated

Taiwan is slightly bigger than Belgium, but has a population of more than 23 million
people! (For the record: the already dense population of Belgium is not even half as big
with about 11 million residents). This makes Taiwan one of the most densely populated
countries in the world, also considering that the large majority of people live in the
flatter west side of the country.