  ( image from urlLink http: www. cia. gov/  )
 Taiwan Facts in Brief:  Capital:  Taipei ( image from urlLink http: www. lonelyplanet.
com/ mapshells/ north_east_asia/ taipei/ taipei. htm )
 Official Language:  Chinese Form of Government:  Republic Area:  13, 900 square miles ( 36,
000 km2)  including the Pescadores Islands,  but excluding Matsu and Quemoy.  Greatest Distances –  north- south,
 235 miles ( 378 kilometers)  east- west,  90 miles ( 145 kilometers)
 Coastline -  555 miles ( 893 kilometers)  Elevation:  Highest -  Yü
 Shan ( Mount Morrison)  13, 113 feet ( 3, 997 meters)
 above sea level.  Lowest -  sea level.  Chief Products:  Agriculture -  asparagus,
 bananas,  mushrooms,  pineapples,  rice,  sugar cane,  sweet potatoes,
 tea.  Fishing -  sardines,  tuna.  Forestry -  bamboo,
 camphor,  plywood.  Manufacturing -  cement,  electrical machinery,  fertilizer,
 plastics,  television sets,  textiles.  Flag:  The flag has a red field.  A white sun appears on a blue canton in the upper left-
hand corner.  Red stands for liberty and sacrifice,  and white for fraternity and honesty.  Adopted in 1928.  ( image from urlLink http:
www. gov. tw/ ENGLISH/  )  Money :
 Basic Unit -  New Taiwan dollar or yuan.  Source:  The World Book Encyclopedia ,  1987 ed.  S.
v.  “ Taiwan,  by Ralph N.  Clough.  National Anthem The words of the Republic of China (
ROC)  national anthem were first delivered as an exhortation at the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy on June 16,  1924,  by Dr.  Sun Yat- sen.
 This exhortation was designated as the Kuomintang's ( KMT)  party song in 1928,  after which the KMT then publicly solicited contributions for a tune to fit the words.  The melody submitted by Cheng Mao- yun was the undisputed winner out of 139 contenders.
 In the late 1920s and early 1930s,  the Ministry of Education held two separate competitions for lyrics for a national anthem,  using the KMT party song in the meantime as a temporary national anthem.  None of the entries reviewed by the Ministry of Education were deemed appropriate,  so Dr.  Sun's composition was finally adopted as the official national anthem of the Republic of China in 1937.
 The anthem first declares the Three Principles of the People to be the foundation of the nation and guides to a world commonwealth of peace and harmony;  and then calls upon the people to be brave,  earnest and constant in striving to fulfill the nation's goals.  The piece was honored as the world's best national anthem at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  San Min Chu I Our aim shall be to found a free land.  World peace be our stand.
 Lead on,  comrades,  vanguards ye are.  Hold fast your aim,  by sun and star.  Be earnest and brave,
 your country to save.  One heart,  one soul,  one mind,  one goal!  (
image from urlLink http: www. gov. tw/ ENGLISH/  )
 ( image from urlLink http: www. gov. tw/ ENGLISH/
 )  National Flower:  The plum blossom,  prunus mei ,  was officially designated by the Executive Yuan of the Central Government to be the national flower on July 21,  1964.
 The plum blossom,  which produces shades of pink and white and gives off a delicate fragrance,  has great symbolic value for the Chinese people because of its resilence in harsh winter weather.  The triple grouping of stamens ( one long and two short)  represents Dr.
 Sun Yat- sen's Three Principles of the People,  while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the ROC government.  ( image from urlLink http: www.
gov. tw/ ENGLISH/  )  ( image from urlLink http:
www. gov. tw/ ENGLISH/  )  Source:
 urlLink http: www. gov. tw/ ENGLISH/  -
 Taiwan is a mountainous island on the South China Sea,  about 90 miles,  ( 140 kilometers)  off the Chinese coast.  The Chinese call the island Taiwan ,
 meaning terraced bay .  The wild,  forested beauty of the island led Portuguese sailors in 1950 to name it Ilha Formosa ,  meaning beautiful island .  After the Chinese Communists conquered mainland China in 1949,  the Chinese Nationalist government moved to Taiwan.
 Generalissimo Chiang Kai- shek,  the Nationalist president,  made Taipei the capital of the Republic of China.  The Nationalist government also controls several islands in the Formosa Strait.  These islands include the Matsu,
 Pescadores,  and Quemoy groups.  Government.  The Chinese Nationalist government is based on a Constitution adopted in 1946 on the mainland.  Taiwan’ s National Assembly has about 1,
250 members.  Its main functions are to elect the president and to amend the Constitution.  The president is Taiwan’ s most powerful government official.  The president appoints the prime minister and many other government officials.  The government has five branches –
 executive,  judicial,  legislative,  control,  and examination –  each headed by a yuan (
council)  The executive,  judicial,  and legislative yuan resemble the three branches of the United States government.  The control yuan watches over the activities of government officials and has the power of impeachment.  The examination yuan gives tests that are used to hire and promote government workers.
 Although Taiwan is the seat of the Chinese Nationalist government,  it is administered as a province of China.  The president appoints a provincial governor who serves an indefinite term.  The people elect the members of a provincial Assembly to four- year terms.  The provincial Assembly has duties that are similar to those of a state legislature in the United States.
 The people also elect county and city government officials.  People.  Almost all the people of Taiwan live on the coastal plain that makes up the western third of the island.  Most Taiwanese are Chinese whose ancestors came to the island from Fukien and Kwangtung provinces on the mainland.  Over 1 ½  million more people fled to Taiwan from the mainland after the Communist take-
over in 1949.  The population also includes people who probably are related to peoples in the Philippines.  Most of these Taiwanese live on reservations in the mountains.  About a third of the people of Taiwan farm the land.  Farms on the island average only 2 or 3 acres ( 0.
8 to 1. 2 hectares)  in size,  but Taiwanese farmers live well by Asian standards.  Power tillers are gradually replacing water buffaloes in the fields.  Many farmers can afford bicycles,
 motorcycles,  refrigerators,  radios,  and television sets.  Most of the farmhouses are made of brick,  with tile roofs and central courtyards of packed earth or cement.
 A typical Taiwanese meal includes rice,  served with vegetables and chopped meat or fish.  Most city people in Taiwan wear Western- style clothing.  Some workers go barefoot or wear wooden sandals.  Farmers and others who work in the hot sun wear cone-
shaped straw hats.  The Taiwanese speak various Chinese dialects,  depending on their regional birthplace.  But almost all the people also use Mandarin,  the official Chinese dialect.  The majority of Taiwanese are Buddhists or Taoists.
 About 90%  of the population can read and write.  The law requires children to have six years of elementary school and three years of high school.  National Taiwan University in Taipei has the largest enrollment among Taiwan’ s universities.  Land and Climate.
 Taiwan,  including the Pescadores islands,  covers 13, 900 square miles ( 36, 000 square kilometers)
 This area does not include the Matsu and Quemoy island groups,  which are part of Fukien province on the mainland.  Thickly forested mountains run from north to south and cover about two- thirds of Taiwan.  The highest peak,  Yü
 Shan ( Mount Morrison)  rises 13, 113 feet ( 3, 997 meters)
 above sea level.  At many places along the eastern coast,  the mountains drop sharply to the sea.  Short,  swift rivers have cut gorges through the mountains.  In the west,
 the mountains slope to gently rolling hills and level land.  The farmers have terraced many hills to provide more fields for growing rice.  Taiwan has a subtropical climate,  with hot,  humid summers and an average annual rainfall of more than 100 inches ( 250 centimeters)
 Temperatures average about 80° F.  ( 27°  C)  in summer and 65°
 F.  ( 18°  C)  in winter.  Summer monsoons bring strong winds and rain to Taiwan.
 In winter,  monsoons bring rain and cooler weather to the north.  Typhoons occur almost every year,  with damaging rains and strong winds.  Economy.  Taiwan has few natural resources except its mountain forests.
 But the island's economy has expanded steadily with the growth of manufacturing and foreign trade.  Forest products include bamboo,  camphor,  lumber,  paper,  and plywood.
 Taiwanese factories make cement,  fertilizer,  plastics,  television sets,  and other products.  Exports include bananas,
 canned foods,  chemicals,  electrical machinery,  metals,  plywood,  sugar,
 and textiles.  Most exports go to Hong Kong,  Japan,  the United States,  and West Germany.  Only about a fourth of Taiwan’
s land can be farmed.  The farmers use much fertilizer and harvest two or three crops a year from the same field.  The chief crops include asparagus,  bananas,  citronella grass,  mushrooms,
 pineapples,  rice,  sugar,  sweet potatoes,  and tea.  The farmers raise hogs and poultry.
 Workers in the fishing industry catch such ocean fish as mackerel,  sardines,  and tuna.  Inland ponds produce carp,  eels,  and other fish.
 Coal is Taiwan’ s most important mineral,  though the island has only small deposits.  Copper,  gold,  limestone,
 salt,  and sulfur are also mined.  The government operates the natural gas and oil industries.  Chilung ( Keelung)  Suao,
 Hualien,  Kaohsiung,  and Taichung Harbor are international ports.  Chiang Kai- shek International Airport,  near Taipei,
 is the country’ s main air terminal.  History.  Aborigines were the first inhabitants of Taiwan.  Some Chinese came to the island from the mainland as early as the 500’ s,
 but large settlements did not begin until the 1600’ s.  Dutch traders occupied a Taiwanese port from 1624 until 1661.  Koxinga,  a Chinese Ming dynasty official,  drove them out.
 Manchu conquerors had overthrown the Ming dynasty in mainland China,  and Koxinga hoped to restore the dynasty to power.  He wanted to use Taiwan as a base from which to attack the Manchus.  But the Manchus conquered Taiwan in 1683 and administered it as part of China.  In 1895,  Japan gained control of Taiwan as a result of the first Chinese-
Japanese War.  The Japanese developed Taiwan’ s agriculture and industry and expanded its transportation networks.  China regained Taiwan after World War II ended in 1945.  In a peace treaty signed in 1951,  Japan gave up all claims to Taiwan and the Pescadores islands.
 In 1949,  the Chinese Communists defeated Chiang Kai- shek’ s Nationalist forces and took control of the mainland.  Chiang moved his government to Taiwan on December 8,  1949.
 Both governments consider Taiwan a province of China.  Each claims to be the legal ruler of all China,  and each has declared its determination to take over the other’ s territory.  After the Korean War began in 1950,  the United States said it would protect Taiwan against possible attacks from mainland China.
 The U. S.  and Chinese Nationalist governments signed a mutual defense treaty in 1954.  The Chinese Communists repeatedly shelled Matsu and Quemoy during the 1950’ s.  The shelling of Quemoy in 1958 led U.
S.  air and naval forces to patrol the Formosa Strait.  Taiwan received about $ 1. 5 billion in U. S.
 economic and technical aid up to 1965.  That year,  Taiwan said its economy could stand on its own.  But it continued to receive U. S.  military aid.
 In the early 1970’ s,  Taiwan expressed concern over improved relations between the United States and Communist China.  In 1971,  the United States announced it favored United Nations ( UN)
 membership for Communist China.  But the United States also said that Nationalist China –  a charter member of the UN –  should retain its UN seat.  In October 1971,  the UN expelled the Nationalists and admitted Communist China.
 In 1972,  President Richard M.  Nixon visited Communist China and agreed to gradually withdraw U. S.  military forces from Taiwan.  During the 1970’
s,  a number of nations ended their diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established ties with Communist China.  The United States ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan at the end of 1978,  and established diplomatic relations with Communist China at the start of 1979.  In April 1979,  the United States completed its military withdrawal from Taiwan.
 The mutual defense treaty between the two countries was ended on December 31,  1979.  But the U. S.  agreed to continue to supply Taiwan with some military aid.  Also,
 the two countries agreed to carry on unofficial relations through nongovernmental agencies.  President Chiang Kai- shek died in 1975.  Chiang’ s son Chiang Ching- kuo had become prime minister in 1972.
 He became the country’ s most powerful leader after his father died.  He was elected president of Taiwan in 1978 and was reelected in 1984.  Source:  The World Book Encyclopedia ,  1987 ed.
 S. v.  “ Taiwan,  by Ralph N.  Clough.
 -  ( image from urlLink http: travel. yahoo. com/
p- travelguide- 577432- map_of_taipei- i )  Taipei is the capital and largest city of Taiwan and the seat of the Chinese Nationalist government.
 Mountains surround Taipei,  which lies on the Hsintien,  Keelung,  and Tanshui rivers.  The city’ s name is also spelled Taipeh .
 Industries in Taipei manufacture electrical equipment,  plastics,  plywood,  steel,  textiles,  and other products.
 Chiang Kai- shek International Airport,  Taipei Domestic Airport,  and Taiwan’ s west coast railroad serve the city.  Taipei is the home of National Taiwan University.
 The Chungshan,  National Central,  and National Palace museums near Taipei feature some of the world’ s finest Chinese art.  The Chinese founded Taipei in 1708.  The city grew from three separate settlements.
 The Wanhwa section,  in the southwest,  was the original city.  In the mid- 1800’ s,
 the Tataocheng district developed to the north.  About 1885,  settlers built up Chengnei to the southeast.  The three districts merged in 1920.  The Chinese Nationalist government moved to Taipei in 1949 after the Chinese Communists conquered mainland China.  Since then,
 the city and its suburbs have expanded rapidly in all directions.  Source:  The World Book Encyclopedia ,  1987 ed.  S. v.
 “ Taipei,  by Ralph N.  Clough.  -  Public Holidays Fixed:
 1 January -  New Year's Day and Founding Day 2 January -  New Year's Day Second Day 3 January -  Bank Holiday 29 March -  Youth Day 1 July -  Bank Holiday 28 September -
 Teachers' Day ( Birthday of Confucius)  10 October -  National Day 25 October -  Taiwan Retrocession Day 31 October -  Birthday of Chiang Kai-
shek 12 November -  Birthday of Dr.  Sun Yat Sen Movable:  Chinese New Year's Eve Chinese New Year Chi'ing Ming Tuen Ng ( Dragon Boat)  Festival Mid-
Autumn Festival Source:  urlLink http: www. oanda. com/ products/
cgi- bin/ holidaysResults. pl? country= taiwan&
title= Taiwan -  ( image from urlLink http: www. askasia.
org/ image/ maps/ asia. htm )  Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (
TECO)  in the Philippines 2nd Floor,  Low Rise Tower,  Pacific Star Building,  Makati Avenue,  1200 Makati City,
 Metro Manila,  Philippines Phone:  ( 632)  812- 2016 Fax:
 ( 632)  818- 8834 E- mail:  urlLink infoteco@
info. com. ph 
