BASIC
INFORMATION
Full
Country Name: TAIWAN
Capital
Taipei
Largest city Taipei
Official language
Mandarin Chinese
Government
Multiparty democratic regime headed
by popularly elected president.
Area , 1948 - Total
65,610 km² (122nd)
Population
21.9 million
Currency
New Taiwan dollar (NT$)
Time
zone (UTC+8)
Internet
TLD .tw
Calling
code +886
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GEOGRAPHY
& BACKGROUND
Taiwan
(Traditional Chinese: or Simplified Chinese:
Hanyu Pinyin: Táiwan; Wade-Giles:
T'ai-wan; Taiwanese: Tâi-oân)
is an island in East Asia, but the term
"Taiwan" is also commonly used
to collectively refer to the territories
governed by the state officially known as
the Republic of China (ROC), which include
the island of Taiwan, Lanyu (Orchid Island)
and Green Island in the Pacific off the
Taiwan coast, the Pescadores in the Taiwan
Strait, and Kinmen and Matsu off the southeastern
coast of the People's Republic of China.
The
main island of Taiwan, sometimes also referred
to as Formosa (from Portuguese, meaning
"beautiful"), is located at 22°57'N
120°12'E, off the coast of mainland
China, south of Japan and north of the Philippines.
It is bounded to the east by the Pacific
Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea
and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the
Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East
China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers
(245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89
miles) wide and consists of steep mountains
covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation.
In
an ongoing dispute, the People's Republic
of China (PRC) denies the legitimacy of
the Republic of China (ROC), claiming Taiwan
as part of its own territory which should
eventually be unified with the PRC under
the "one country, two systems"
scheme currently used for the Special Administrative
Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. This claim
is rejected by the ROC, which is de facto
independent of and distinct from the PRC.
The
island of Taiwan lies some 200 kilometers
off the southeastern coast of China, across
the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,801
square kilometers (13,823 square miles),
with the East China Sea to the north, the
Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait
directly to the south and the South China
Sea to the southwest. The island is characterized
by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds,
consisting mostly of rugged mountains running
in five ranges from the northern to the
southern tip of the island, and the flat
to gently rolling plains in the west that
are also home to most of Taiwan's population.
Taiwan's highest point is the Yu Shan at
3,997 meters, and there are five other peaks
over 3,500 meters. This makes it the world's
7th highest island
The
shape of the main island of Taiwan is similar
to a sweet potato seen in a south-to-north
direction, and therefore, Taiwanese people,
especially the Min-nan division, often call
themselves 'children of the Sweet Potato'.
There are also other interpretations of
the island shape, one of which is a whale
in the ocean (the Pacific Ocean) if viewed
in a west-to-east direction, which is a
common orientation in ancient maps, plotted
either by Western explorers or the Ching
Dynasty.
Taiwan's
climate is marine tropical.[13] The Northern
part of the island has a rainy season that
lasts from January to late March during
the southwest monsoon, and also experiences
meiyu in May.[14] The entire island succumbs
to hot humid weather from June until September,
while October to December are arguably the
most pleasant times of year. The middle
and southern parts of the island do not
have an extended monsoon season during the
winter months, but can experience several
weeks of rain, especially during and after
Lunar New Year. Natural hazards such as
typhoons and earthquakes[15] are common
in the region.
For
more information please visit
http://www.fco.gov.uk/
or
visit
http://www.tripadvisor.com
