TAIWANOfficial Name: Republic

of ChinaCapital: Taipei

Official Name

CapitalMajor Religions

Governmental Systems

Head/s of State and Government

Importnant Notes

•Republic of China

•Taipei•Buddhism

•Daoism

•Confucianism

•Yi Guan Dao

•Christianity

•Islam

•Multiparty Democracy

•Head of State: President MA Ying-jeou

•Head of Government: Premier JIANG Yi-Huah

•The name of the state that governs the island of Taiwan is actually the Republic of China.•One China policy: "the Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."

Official Name

CapitalMajor Religions

Governmental Systems

Head/s of State and Government

Importnant Notes

•Republic of China

•Taipei•Buddhism

•Daoism

•Confucianism

•Yi Guan Dao

•Christianity

•Islam

•The central government of Taiwan consists of the Office of the President and five branches (called “Yuan”)—the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan.

•Head of State: President MA Ying-jeou

•Head of Government: Premier JIANG Yi-Huah

•Taiwan is a member country of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

TAIWAN

Chronology • DUTCH and SPANISH RULE

• Kingdom of Tunging

• Qing Dynasty Rule

• Japanese Rule

• Republic of China Rule

Dutch Rule• The island of Taiwan, known

historically as Formosa, was under colonial Dutch rule from 1624 to 1662.

• Dutch traders in search of an Asian base first arrived on the island in 1623 to use the island as a base for Dutch commerce with Japan and the coastal areas of China.

• The time of Dutch rule saw economic development in Taiwan, including both large-scale hunting of deer and the cultivation of rice and sugar by imported labour from Fujian in China.

• The Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover the island of Taiwan, and named it Formosa due to the beautiful landscape as seen from the sea.

• When Spain and Portugal formed the Iberian Union, some of their respective colonies changed possession and some Portuguese expeditions were in the service of the Spanish Crown.

• This included Portuguese Formosa, which was controlled by the Iberian Union from 1626 to 1642.

SPANISH RULE

Kingdom of Tungning

• Kingdom of Formosa was a government that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan between 1661 and 1683.

• Manchu forces broke through Shanhai Pass in 1644 and rapidly overwhelmed the Ming dynasty.

• In 1661, a naval fleet led by the Ming loyalist Koxinga arrived in Taiwan to oust the Dutch from Zeelandia and establish a pro-Ming base in Taiwan.

Qing Dynasty Rule• The Qing dynasty ruled Taiwan from 1683 to 1895.

• In 1683, following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang, one of Koxinga's father's trusted friends, Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang, surrendered to the Qing dynasty.

• From 1683, the Qing dynasty ruled the island as Taiwan Prefecture and in 1875 divided the island into two prefectures, north and south. In 1887, the island was declared as a separate Taiwan Province.

• Qing rule over Taiwan ended when Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.

Japanese Rule• Japan had sought to claim sovereignty over

Taiwan since 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi undertook a policy of overseas expansion and extending Japanese influence southward, to the west, was invaded and an attempt to invade Taiwan

• Period of Paternalistic Rule, Period to treat all people alike by Woodrow Wilson and Period of a policy to turn taiwanese as loyal subjects to the Emperor of Japan.

Republic of China Rule

• At the end of 1943 the Cairo Declaration was issued, including among its clauses that all territories of China—including Formosa (Taiwan)—that Japan had occupied would be returned to the Republic of China.

• The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) continued a state of war until 1979.

MAJOR RELIGIONS• Buddhism• Daoism• Confucianism• Yi Guan Dao• Christianity• Islam

Buddhism• Buddhism has a strong following in

China.• One of the core teachings of

Buddhism is that life is a continual cycle of suffering.

• The primary purpose of practicing Buddhism is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth and a release from the struggles of life.

Daoism• Daoism was born in China.• Daoist worship the two individuals

that founded Daoism; Laozi and Zhuangzi Immortals and Founders of religious Daoism.

• In Daoism, understanding the nature of things and acting in a moderate way to avoid the consequences of extremes is a primary key.

Confucianism• Confucius was a great philosopher and

thinker. • Confucian thought assumes that people

are basically good and that given a proper understanding of what they should do they will naturally do so.

• Confucianism places duty to the family as the center of morality, and all loyalties and virtues are an extension of this belief.

• One of the most important things one needs to do to be a good Confucian is to know one's role.

Christianity• Christianity is the up and coming

religion or way of life in many Asian countries, including Taiwan. Christianity can be found in every country, but it is most common in Western societies. There are many kinds of Christians, even in Taiwan, their beliefs differ in small and large ways.

• Below is a list of some things that Christians believe:

• 1. God created all that is seen and unseen

• 2. Jesus is the Son of God and is One with God

• 3. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary

• 4. Jesus suffered and was crucified

• 5. Jesus died and was buried

• 6. Jesus rose again (the Resurrection)

• 7. Jesus ascended into Heaven

• 8. Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead

• 9. People who repent their sins will be forgiven

• 10. Anyone can have salvation

Yi Guan Dao• Religion of the One Unity and the religion seeks

to unify and identify commonalities among the world’s major religions, including Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

Governmental Systems

• Taiwan's government is a multiparty democratic regime headed by popularly-elected president and unicameral legislature.

• Taiwan's power is distributed among five large branches of government called Yuan: the Legislative Yuan (National Assembly), Executive Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan. The Examination Yuan oversees Taiwan's difficult system of exams, controlling access to education, jobs, business licenses, the civil service and so on. The Control Yuan is a watchdog agency that tries to keep things honest.

• The president is directly elected. The president appoints the premier, who wields considerable power because they appoint the heads of Taiwan's many ministries that oversee the large bureaucracy.

Head/s of State and Government

President MA Ying-jeou

Premier JIANG Yi-Huah

TAIWAN ON APEC• Taiwan has been actively engaged in

discussions with the U.S. and other economies under the APEC 2013 theme of "Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth"

• As a member of APEC, Taiwan has been keen to support and take part in a variety of initiatives made by the U.S. and other economies to advance regional cooperation, to pursue a sound trading environment for businesses to thrive, and to contribute to regional development and well-being.

Important Notes• The name of the state that governs

the island of Taiwan is actually the Republic of China.

• There is an ongoing rivalry between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China (which governs mainland China) as to which one is “the real China.”

• The Republic of China peacefully transitioned into a true democracy in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

• The Republic of China’s constitution allows for its citizens to worship freely.

• One China policy: "the Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.