Taiwan

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (中華民國), is an island country in East Asia. It is also an island in the Pacific Ocean. Across the ocean west is China, up north is  Japan, and down south is the  Philippines.

Appearance
Taiwan's appearance is red with a dark blue rectangle in the top left corner containing a white sun with 12 rays. They are commonly depicted with blue/green accents (for example, in clothing, or occasionally in the irises) to reflect the KMT and DPP parties.

Though the male version is a lot more common, the female depictions still exist.

Personality
Taiwan is an independent, free-spirit who is very down-to-earth and practical. They are known to be kind and friendly but very moody. They are often struggling with identity crisis and family. Taiwan absolutely despises China. Because they have two souls in their bodies, they are a bit schizophrenic.

Interests

 * Bubble Tea (Pearl Milk Tea)
 * Sweet, tropical fruit
 * food and anything chewy
 * Night market
 * Lunch break
 * Baseball
 * The tune of Beethoven

Flag meaning
[Flag meaning ] the National Flag of Republic of China, and commonly referred to as the Flag of Taiwan, also known as the Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth (青天白日滿地紅) retroactively, consists of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of light emanating from it, respectively. The twelve rays of the white Sun symbolize the twelve months and the twelve traditional shichen, a traditional unit of time which corresponds to two modern hours. The "Red Earth" to the flag to signify the blood of the revolutionaries who sacrificed themselves in order to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and create the ROC.

Please do not confuse it with the Myanmar flag from 1948 to 2010.

Other Symbols

 * The National emblem: Blue Sky with a White Sun
 * Chinese Taipei Olympic flag: The Blue Sky with a White Sun and the Olympic rings, encircled by a five-petaled Prunus mei (the ROC's national flower) drawn in red, white, and blue (the colors of the ROC flag).
 * Animal: Formosan Black Bear
 * Bird: Formosan Blue Magpie
 * Flower: Plum blossom

Nicknames

 * Republic of China (official constitutional name)
 * (Ilha) Formosa (Portuguese name)
 * Asian Tiger
 * Chinese Taipei(The names of countries participating in the Olympic Games and many international organizations, but they don’t like others calling them that way)

Origin of languages
The long colonial and immigration history of Taiwan brought in several languages such as Dutch, Spanish, Hokkien, Hakka, Japanese and Mandarin. Due to its colonial history, Japanese is also spoken and a large number of loanwords from Japanese exist in several languages of Taiwan. Taiwanese language also falls under the Austronesian language (which originally came from them).

Etymology
"Taiwan" came from the words "taian" and "tayoan" which natives in the present Tainan area used in referring to early Chinese settlers. Tainan is in the south of Taiwan and close to the Penghu (Pescadores) islands, which served as stepping stones for early emigrants from the Chinese mainland.

"Formosa" ,old name of Taiwan, given by the Portuguese, from Portuguese Formosa insula "beautiful island." The adjective is from the fem. of Latin formosus "beautiful, handsome, finely formed," from forma "form, shape" (see form (n.)). Related: Formosan (1640s).

Organizations and Affiliations
WCO- TCCV WCO- TCRO
 * Four Asian Tiger
 * World Health Organization (attending limited technical meetings as individual experts)
 * PRC Stance
 * World Federation of Taiwanese Associations (WFTA)
 * Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC）
 * World Trade Organization（WTO）
 * Association of Asian Election AuthoritiesAssociation of Asian Election Authorities（AAEA）
 * African-Asian Rural Development OrganizationAfrican-Asian Rural Development Organization（AARDO）
 * Advisory Centre on WTO LawAdvisory Centre on WTO Law（ACWL）
 * Asian Harmonization Working PartyAsian Harmonization Working Party（AHWP）
 * Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research InstitutionsAsia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions（APAARI）
 * Asia/Pacific Group on Money LaunderingAsia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering（APG）*Asia-Pacific Legal Metrology ForumAsia-Pacific Legal Metrology Forum（APLMF）
 * Asian Productivity OrganizationAsian Productivity Organization（APO）
 * Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of Asia/PacificAsset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of Asia/Pacific（ARIN-AP）
 * The World Vegetable Center-WorldVegThe World Vegetable Center-WorldVeg（WorldVeg）
 * Association of World Election BodiesAssociation of World Election Bodies（A-WEB）
 * Extended Commission, Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin TunaExtended Commission, Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna（CCSBT-EC）
 * Central American Bank for Economic IntegrationCentral American Bank for Economic Integration（CABEI）
 * Cospas-SarsatCospas-Sarsat（Cospas-Sarsat）
 * Egmont GroupEgmont Group（EG）
 * Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific RegionFood and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region（FFTC/ASPAC）
 * Global Financial Innovation NetworkGlobal Financial Innovation Network（GFIN）
 * International Association of Insurance SupervisorsInternational Association of Insurance Supervisors（IAIS）
 * Inter-American Tropical Tuna CommissionvInter-American Tropical Tuna Commissionv（IATTC）
 * International Council for Information Technology in Government AdministrationInternational Council for Information Technology in Government Administration（ICA）
 * International Cotton Advisory CommitteeInternational Cotton Advisory Committee（ICAC）
 * International Cooperation on Cosmetics RegulationInternational Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation（ICCR）
 * International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human UseInternational Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use（ICH）
 * International Competition NetworkInternational Competition Network（ICN）
 * International Organization of Securities CommissionsInternational Organization of Securities Commissions（IOSCO）
 * International Forum of Independent Audit RegulatorsInternational Forum of Independent Audit Regulators（IFIAR）
 * The International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tunalike Species in the North Pacific OceanThe International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tunalike Species in the North Pacific Ocean（ISC）
 * International Seed Testing AssociationInternational Seed Testing Association（ISTA）
 * North Pacific Fisheries CommissionNorth Pacific Fisheries Commission（NPFC）
 * World Organisation for Animal HealthWorld Organisation for Animal Health（OIE）
 * South East Asian Central BanksSouth East Asian Central Banks（SEACEN）
 * Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and ResearchStudy Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research（SGATAR）
 * Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries AgreementSouthern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement（SIOFA）
 * South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management OrganisationSouth Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation（SPRFMO）
 * Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, World Customs Organization （WCO）
 * Technical Committee on Rules of Origin, World Customs Organization （WCO）
 * Western and Central Pacific Fisheries CommissionWestern and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission（WCPFC）

History
Taiwan was first given a foreign name, "Ilha Formosa" or "Beautiful Island" by Portuguese/Spanish sailors passing through Asia. In the 17th century, Taiwan was split between Dutch and Spanish Rule, but later both the Netherlands and Spain were driven out by the Qing. By 1683, Taiwan was taken by the Qing (China) and would remain under its rule for over two centuries, however, the island was never important to the mainland.

In 1895, the Republic of Formosa was established, however, it would only last a few months before the island was taken by Japan. The Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan was then a part of Japan for the next 50 years. The ROC government began exercising authority over Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. The ROC government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after fighting a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party. This could be interpreted as a "fusion" between the ROC and Japanese Taiwan to create modern-day Taiwan.

After the retreat, the ROC established a period of martial law known as the "White Terror". The ROC was extremely corrupt and killed tens of thousands of people in fear of communist belligerents. The cruelty of the ROC made Taiwan grow a greater hatred for China, one that continues to exist today. In the early 1960s, Taiwan underwent spectacular growth and became one of the "Four Asian Tigers" along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Today, all four remain a few of the most developed in Asia.

Taiwan continued to be recognized over China in the United Nations until the 1970's in which worldwide recognition began to fail as the People's Republic was admitted to the UN. Today, Taiwan has few diplomatic relations, partially as a result of China's bribing of Taiwan's former diplomatic allies. However, many countries are still allied with the island informally, most notably the United States and Japan, who continue to support Taiwan unofficially.

Although the Republic of China is dead, it still lives within Taiwan as a political party, the Kuomintang (KMT), or simply "Blue"- which still favors cooperation with China.

Its rival party is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or "Green"- which favors separation from China. Due to extremely different morals, the two constantly fight, causing for Taiwan to be very bipolar sometimes. Taiwan is not fond of either party, believing that they cause nothing but chaos and confusion. Over the years, Taiwan has become more and more like Green: liberal and conscious of human rights.

Government
The government of the Republic of China was founded on the 1947 Constitution of the ROC and its Three Principles of the People. The government is divided into five branches (Yuan): the Executive Yuan (cabinet), the Legislative Yuan (Congress or Parliament), the Judicial Yuan, the Control Yuan (audit agency), and the Examination Yuan (civil service examination agency).


 * The president: the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. who is elected by popular vote for a maximum of 2 four-year terms on the same ticket as the vice-president. The president appoints the members of the Executive Yuan as their cabinet, including a premier, who is officially the President of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for policy and administration.


 * Legislative Yuan: the main legislative body is the unicameral, with 113 seats. Seventy-three are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies; thirty-four are elected based on the proportion of nationwide votes received by participating political parties in a separate party list ballot; and six are elected from two three-member aboriginal constituencies. Members serve four-year terms. Originally the unicameral National Assembly, as a standing constitutional convention and electoral college, held some parliamentary functions, but the National Assembly was abolished in 2005 with the power of constitutional amendments handed over to the Legislative Yuan and all eligible voters of the Republic via referendums.


 * The premier: is selected by the president without the need for approval from the legislature, but the legislature can pass laws without regard for the president, as neither he nor the Premier wields veto power.Thus, there is little incentive for the president and the legislature to negotiate on legislation if they are of opposing parties. After the election of the pan-Green's Chen Shui-bian as President in 2000, legislation repeatedly stalled because of deadlock with the Legislative Yuan, which was controlled by a pan-Blue majority. Historically, the ROC has been dominated by strongman single party politics. This legacy has resulted in executive powers currently being concentrated in the office of the president rather than the premier, even though the constitution does not explicitly state the extent of the president's executive power.


 * The Judicial Yuan: is the highest judicial organ. It interprets the constitution and other laws and decrees, judges administrative suits, and disciplines public functionaries. The president and vice-president of the Judicial Yuan and additional thirteen justices form the Council of Grand Justices.They are nominated and appointed by the president, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan. The highest court, the Supreme Court, consists of a number of civil and criminal divisions, each of which is formed by a presiding judge and four associate judges, all appointed for life. In 1993, a separate constitutional court was established to resolve constitutional disputes, regulate the activities of political parties and accelerate the democratization process. There is no trial by jury but the right to a fair public trial is protected by law and respected in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges.


 * The Control Yuan: is a watchdog agency that monitors (controls) the actions of the executive. It can be considered a standing commission for administrative inquiry and can be compared to the Court of Auditors of the European Union or the Government Accountability Office of the United States. It is also responsible for the National Human Rights Commission.


 * The Examination Yuan: is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants. It is based on the old imperial examination system used in dynastic China. It can be compared to the European Personnel Selection Office of the European Union or the Office of Personnel Management of the United States. It was downsized in 2019, and there have been calls for its abolition.

Diplomacy

 * Palau
 * Nauru
 * Micronesia
 * Marshall Islands
 * Eswatini
 * Belize
 * Haiti
 * Guatemala
 * Honduras
 * Kitts and Nevis
 * Lucia
 * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 * Vatican City
 * Paraguay
 * Tuvalu
 * Nicaragua (sometimes)

"Great friends! They recognize me! I give aid and trading."

Geography
Taiwan has a total area of 36,193 square kilometers (13,974 square miles), making it the 137th largest country in total area. The highest point in Taiwan is Yushan, 3,952 meters (12,966 feet) above sea level. Taiwan has more mountains and fewer plains. The crust is unstable, with many volcanoes, earthquakes, and hot springs. The climate is generally ocean tropical. The northern and central regions are subtropical, the south is tropical, and the mountains are temperate.

The main island is a tilted fault block, with the eastern two-thirds consisting mostly of five rugged mountain ranges parallel to the east coast, and the flat to gently rolling plains of the western third, where the majority of Taiwan's population reside. The tectonic boundary that formed these ranges is still active, and the island experiences many earthquakes, a few of them highly destructive. There are also many active submarine volcanoes in the Taiwan Strait. The climate ranges from tropical in the south to subtropical in the north and is governed by the East Asian Monsoon. The main island is struck by an average of four typhoons each year. The eastern mountains are heavily forested and home to a diverse range of wildlife, while land use in the western and northern lowlands is intensive.

Family

 * ​​​​​ Netherlands — Parent
 * North Korea — Sibling
 * South Korea — Sibling
 * Japan — Sibling
 * Thailand — Sibling
 * Myanmar — Sibling
 * Vietnam — Sibling
 * Laos — Sibling
 * Cambodia — Sibling
 * Bhutan — Sibling

Optional

 * Indonesia — Cousin-Sibling
 * Malaysia— Cousin-Sibling
 * Philippines — Cousin-Sibling
 * Madagascar — Cousin-Sibling
 * Brunei — Cousin-Sibling
 * Singapore — Cousin-Sibling
 * East Timor — Cousin-Nibling

Friends

 * Japan — "He sends a lot of products and help with my economics and stuff. He's my best friend! Your anime can weird me out sometimes though."
 * Palau,
 * Micronesia,
 * Nauru,
 * Tuvalu — "Great friends! They recognize me! I give aid and trading."
 * Guatemala,
 * Paraguay — "They support me more than my brother/nephew!"
 * Hong Kong,
 * Macau — "The three of us hate China. Great friends!"
 * Brazil — "He's my trading partner and a great friend! FINALLY, a country with a large land size in South America supports me."
 * Portugal — "Great friend. My people visit and have a vacation on his land."
 * United Kingdom — "You kind of scare me sometimes especially your past self but overall he’s a good friend! He supports me! Wait I mean she! Sorry haha’’
 * Netherlands — "My mother! She loves me a lot and helps me against my commie brother"
 * Saudi Arabia — "A country in middle east have showed support and helped me with my economic problems. I appreciate it!"
 * Philippines — "They're a caring person! Very sweet and funny. We both hate China. My people like hers very much and often come visit to each others land."
 * Israel — "I support you more than your Palestine, now please support me back! We help each other a lot so why won't you recognize me as a country?!"
 * Malaysia — "Lots of his people come visit my land. We get a long pretty well! But must stop being friends with China"
 * Somaliland— "A democratic republic, who cares if she's unrecognized? I know all about that."

Neutral

 * Indonesia — "He and his people are nice to me, but why do you support China more?"
 * Panama — "He doesn't recognize me anymore. WHY?"
 * Ethiopia — "Her WHO president in office hates me very much, but we have settled an alliance to get Somaliland recognized."
 * Singapore — "I see that you're dating my sister. Take good care of her but why must you be friends with this commie?!"
 * South Korea — "He broke off diplomatic relations with me!!! Why did you leave last? I don't hate you very much right now…"

Enemies

 * Pakistan — "A major supporter of China. Of course I hate him for that..."
 * Soviet Union — "I hate you! You're the reason why my brother/nephew hates me!"
 * Serbia — "Give Kosovo their independence!"
 * China — "I should be the one who's ruling the land not YOU!"
 * North Korea — "Fake Korea! South Korea is much more better!"

Past Versions

 * Republic of China

Territories

 * Taiwan Main Island/ Formosa
 * Kinmen Main Island
 * Penghu Main Island
 * Orchid Island
 * Xiyu Island
 * Waisanding Shoal
 * Green Island
 * Lesser Kinmen Island (Lieyu)
 * Baisha Island
 * Nangan Island (Matsu)
 * Cimei/Qimei Island
 * Lamay Island
 * Wang'an Island
 * Beigan Island

Past Territories

 * The Chinese mainland

Trivia

 * Taiwan is the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
 * Taiwan seems to be much more okay with Japan after WWII, unlike South Korea (who, although gets along with Japan, will never forgive their atrocities).
 * Taiwan has one of the highest average IQs in the world along with South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Singapore.
 * Taiwan has one of the most efficient health-care systems in Asia, however, cannot attend the World Health Organization.
 * Taiwan is right-handed and has blood type B, both being the most common in Central/Eastern Asia.
 * Taiwan is one of the few countries that still use traditional Chinese.
 * The garbage trucks in Taiwan play Beethoven's, Für Elise.
 * Taiwan has the world record for the longest rainbow, which was a rainbow at the Chinese Culture university that lasted 9 hours.
 * In Taiwan, white symbolizes death and white clothes are worn at funerals. Red represents love and is worn at weddings.
 * Only 2.3% of the Taiwanese population is native,the other 97.7% are ethnically Chinese.
 * Taiwanese spends a long time looking at screens, smartphones and avoiding sunlight, so Taiwan’s eyesight is a bit problematic.
 * Taiwan is a sovereign and independent state that maintains its own national defense and conducts its own foreign affairs. As enshrined in the ROC Constitution, the country aims to “cultivate good-neighborliness with other nations, and respect treaties and the Charter of the U.N. … promote international cooperation, protect international justice and ensure world peace.” The ultimate goal of the country’s foreign policy is to ensure a favorable environment for the nation’s preservation and long-term development.

Extra(s)

 * Total area: 139th
 * Total population: 57th
 * Population density: 17th
 * Birth rate: 227th
 * Death rate: 113th
 * Life expectancy: 34th
 * Net migration rate: 58th
 * Population growth rate: 186th
 * Infant mortality rate: 185th
 * Literacy rate: 37th