| National Standard Time | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 National Standard Time digital clock ofBureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI), Taiwan. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 國家標準時間 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 国家标准时间 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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National Standard Time[I] is the officialtime zone inTaiwan defined by anUTC offset of+08:00. This standard is also known asTaipei Time (臺北時間),Taiwan Time (臺灣時間) orTaiwan Standard Time (TST).[1]
| Time offset | Name | Character[clarification needed] | Romanization | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC+08:00 | Western Standard Time | 西部標準時 | Seibu Hyōjunji | 1896-01-01 | 1937-09-30 |
| UTC+09:00 | Central Standard Time | 中央標準時 | Chūō Hyōjunji | 1937-10-01 | 1945-09-20 |
| UTC+08:00 | Western Standard Time | 西部標準時 | Seibu Hyōjunji | 1945-09-21 | 1945-10-25 |
| UTC+08:00 | Chungyuan Standard Time | 中原標準時間 | Zhōngyuán Biāozhǔn Shíjiān | 1945-10-25 | Early 2000s |
| UTC+08:00 | National Standard Time | 國家標準時間 | Guójiā Biāozhǔn Shíjiān | 2000s |
The firsttime zone standard inTaiwan was enforced on 1 January 1896,[2] the second year ofTaiwan under Japanese rule. The standard was calledWestern Standard Time (西部標準時) with time offset ofUTC+08:00, based on 120°E longitude. On 1 October 1937, the Western Standard Time zone was abolished and theCentral Standard Time (中央標準時), with time offset ofUTC+09:00, was enforced in the entire country ofJapan includingTaiwan. This time was used until the end of theSecond World War. On 21 September 1945, theGovernor-General of Taiwan announced that the order issued in 1937 was revoked.[3] Time Memorial Day was observed every 10 June from 1921 to 1941, which led to an increase in the observance of an official time.[2]
After the war's end, Taiwan was annexed to thefive time zones system of theRepublic of China. It was classified in the "Chungyuan Standard Time" with a time offset ofUTC+08:00. After theChinese Civil War in 1949, theGovernment of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan and lost nearly all the territory inmainland China. Since then, the five time zones system was no longer implemented except for the Chungyuan Standard Time in Taiwan. Because the term "Chungyuan" (Zhongyuan) refers to the Central Plain of China, the government gradually phased out the name in favor of "National Standard Time". However, some radio channels continued using "Chungyuan", most notably theBroadcasting Corporation of China until 2007.[4][5] Other alternatives include "Taiwan Standard Time" (臺灣標準時間) and "Taipei Time" (臺北時間).
Daylight saving time was implemented inTaiwan after the Second World War on the summer of 1946–1961, 1974, 1975, 1979.[6]
In October 2017, a petition took place to change the offset toUTC+09:00, which was responded by an assessment of potential impact by thegovernment.[7]
| Standard time in Taiwan since 1896 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Date | Change of time | Notes | UTC offset after the Change |
| 1896 | January 1 | — | Introduction of Western Standard Time | 8:00 |
| 1937 | October 1 | +1:00 | Introduction of Central Standard Time | 9:00 |
| 1945 | September 21 | -1:00 | Introduction of Western Standard Time | 8:00 |
| 1945 | October 25 | 0:00 | Introduction of Chungyuan Standard Time | 8:00 |
| 1946 | May 15 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1947 | April 15 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| November 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1948 | May 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1949 | May 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1950 | May 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1951 | May 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1952 | March 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| November 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1953 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| November 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1954 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| November 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1955 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1956 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1957 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1958 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1959 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1960 | June 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1961 | June 1 | +1:00 | Start of summer time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of summer time | 8:00 | |
| 1974 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1975 | April 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| 1979 | July 1 | +1:00 | Start of daylight saving time | 9:00 |
| October 1 | -1:00 | End of daylight saving time | 8:00 | |
| Early 2000s | 0:00 | Introduction of National Standard Time | 8:00 | |
National Standard Time is now managed by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) under theMinistry of Economic Affairs.[8] The time is released according to the caesiumatomic clocks aggregated by National Standard Time and Frequency Laboratory underChunghwa Telecom after consulting the data provided byInternational Bureau of Weights and Measures.[9][10]
National Standard Time used inTaiwan is also the same asChina,Hong Kong,Macau, UlaanbaatarMongolia,Philippines,Malaysia,Singapore,Western Australia,Brunei and CentralIndonesia.
TheIANA time zone database contains one zone for Taiwan, namedAsia/Taipei.
| c.c.* | coordinates* | TZ* | comments* | Standard time | Summer time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TW | +2503+12130 | Asia/Taipei | tUTC+08:00 | — |
Time in Asia | |
|---|---|
| Sovereign states |
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| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
