Introduction

Taiwan, officially theRepublic of China (ROC), is a country inEast Asia. The mainisland of Taiwan, also known asFormosa, lies between theEast andSouth China Seas in the northwesternPacific Ocean, with thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest,Japan to the northeast, and thePhilippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where itshighly urbanized population is concentrated. The combinedterritories under ROC control consist of168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles). Thelargest metropolitan area is formed byTaipei (the capital),New Taipei City, andKeelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among themost densely populated countries.

Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors ofTaiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scaleHan Chinese immigration began underDutch colonial rule and continued under theKingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state inTaiwanese history. The island wasannexed in 1683 by theQing dynasty of China andceded to theEmpire of Japan in 1895. TheRepublic of China, which hadoverthrown the Qing in 1912 under the leadership ofSun Yat-sen, took control following thesurrender of Japan inWorld War II. The immediate resumption of theChinese Civil War resulted in the loss of theChinese mainland toCommunist forces, whoestablished the People's Republic of China, andthe flight of the ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effective jurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan,Penghu, and smaller islands.

From the early 1960s, Taiwan saw rapid economic growth and industrialization known as the "Taiwan Miracle". In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from aone-party state undermartial law to amulti-party democracy, with democratically elected presidents beginning in1996. Taiwan'sexport-oriented economy is the21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the20th-largest by PPP measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is adeveloped country. It is ranked highly in terms ofcivil liberties,healthcare, andhuman development.

Thepolitical status of Taiwan is contentious. Despite being a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member of theUnited Nations after UN members voted in 1971 torecognize the PRC instead. The ROC maintained its claim of being the solelegitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased toregard the Chinese Communist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its control over mainland China. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwanmaintains official diplomatic relations with 11 out of 193 UN member states and theHoly See. Many others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties throughrepresentative offices and institutions that function asde facto embassies and consulates. International organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis. Domestically, the major political contention is between thePan-Blue Coalition, who favors eventualChinese unification under the ROC and promoting apan-Chinese identity, contrasted with thePan-Green Coalition, which favors eventualTaiwanese independence and promoting aTaiwanese identity; in the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. (Full article...)

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TheNew Taiwan dollar (code:TWD;symbol:NT$, also abbreviated asNT) is the officialcurrency of theRepublic of China (Taiwan). Usually, the$ sign precedes the amount, but NT$ is used to distinguish from other currencies nameddollar. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of theisland of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced theold Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars per one new dollar. The base unit of the New Taiwan dollar is called ayuan (圓), subdivided into tenchiao (角) or 100fen (分), although in practice neither chiao nor fen are used.

There are a variety of alternative names for the units in Taiwan. The unit of the dollar is typically informally written with the simpler equivalentcharacter as元, except when writing it for legal transactions such as at the bank, when it has to be written as thehomophonous圓. Colloquially, the currency unit is called both元 (yuán, literally "circle") and塊 (kuài, literally "piece") inMandarin,箍 (kho͘, literally "hoop") inHokkien, and銀 (ngiùn, literally "silver") inHakka. (Full article...)

Selected biography

Chou in July 2023

Jay Chou Chieh-lun (traditional Chinese:周杰倫;simplified Chinese:周杰伦;pinyin:Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking world, he is often referred to as the "King of Mandopop". Chou's works, which often blend Eastern and Western styles, has been recognized for its impact on musical trends in theGreater China region.

Chou's debut studio album,Jay, was released in 2000 to runaway success, solidified by his second albumFantasy (2001), which sold over 460,000 copies in Taiwan. His subsequent albums, includingYeh Hui-Mei (2003) andNovember's Chopin (2005) went on to sell over three million copies across Asia, whileCommon Jasmine Orange (2004) is the best-selling physical album in China in the 21st century, having sold over 2.6 million copies. In 2009,CNN named Chou one of the 25 most influential people in Asia, the only Taiwanese figure to be included. (Full article...)

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You Are the Apple of My Eye (Chinese:那些年，我們一起追的女孩,lit. 'Those Years, The Girl We Went After Together') is a 2011 Taiwanesecoming of ageromance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese authorGiddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with the film. The film starsKo Chen-tung as Ko Ching-teng, a prankster and a mischievous student who eventually becomes a writer.Michelle Chen stars as Shen Chia-yi, an honor student who is very popular amongst the boys in her class.

You Are the Apple of My Eye was filmed almost entirely on location inChanghua County, including at the high school which Giddens attended. The lyrics of "Those Years", the film's main theme, were written by Giddens. The song, which was well received by the public, was nominated for Best Original Film Song at the48th Golden Horse Awards. (Full article...)

Did you know -show different entries

• ... there are thirteen officially recognizedTaiwanese aboriginal tribes(pictured) in Taiwan comprising 2% (458,000) of Taiwan's population. Did you also know that theAmi tribe are the most populous (37.5%) and that pop-singerA-mei is from thePuyuma tribe?

• ... thatKetagalan Boulevard was originally named Chiehshou Road in honor ofChiang Kai-shek but was renamed on March 20, 1996 by presidentChen Shui-bian after theKetagalan tribe in honor of aboriginal history and culture?

• ... that theSakizaya people, aTaiwanese aboriginal tribe, has been recognized by the government ofTaiwan since January 2007?

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