(Redirected from Taiwan province):''This article is about Taiwan Province, which is currently under the admistration of the
Republic of China (ROC). For the claimed province of the
People's Republic of China (PRC), see
Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China.
'Taiwan Province' () is one of the two
administrative divisions, referred to as
provinces, under effective control of the '
Republic of China (ROC)', after the relocation of its government to the
national capital of
Taipei following the
Chinese Civil War. The province covers most of the current territory administered by the
Republic of China, as well as all the smaller
islands surrounding it, the largest of which are the
Pescadores, the
Green Island and the
Orchid Island.
Taiwan Province excludes the
Kinmen and
Lienchiang counties, which are administered as
Fujian province, and the
centrally administered municipalities of
Taipei and
Kaohsiung. Since 1998, the Taiwan Provincial Government has been streamlined, with most of its former operations transferred to the
Executive Yuan. The '
People's Republic of China (PRC)' claims that it is the "
successor state" of the
Republic of China and has
sovereignty over all of
China and that the island of
Taiwan is part of the
People's Republic of China. The
PRC claims that the
ROC does not legitimately exist, so it
claims Taiwan Province in full. This claim is rejected by the
ROC. See also
political status of Taiwan.
History
In 1683, following a naval engagement with Admiral Shi Lang,
Cheng Ch'eng K'ung's (Koxinga) grandson submitted to the
Qing Dynasty (Ch'ing Dynasty).
From 1683 the Qing Dynasty ruled
Taiwan (including the
Pescadores) as a prefecture of
Fujian Province. In 1875
Taipei Prefecture was separated from the original prefecture. In 1887 Taiwan was made a separate province.
In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to
Japan. Under Japanese rule, the province was abolished in favour of
Japanese-style divisions. After Japan surrendered in 1945, the
Allied Powers assigned administration of Taiwan to the
Republic of China (ROC).
The ROC government did not immediately make Taiwan into a province, but put it under military occupation under Chief Executive
Chen Yi. Chen was extremely unpopular and his rule led to an uprising - the
228 incident. Chen was recalled in May of 1947 and the government-general was abolished. To assure the residents of Taiwan that they would be treated equally as other people in other parts of the country, the Taiwan Provincial Government was established
[1].
When the
Kuomintang government was relocated to Taipei in
1949, the provincial administration remained in place under the theory that the ROC was still the government of all of
China even though the opposition argued that it overlapped inefficiently with the national government. As such, Taiwan is considered to be one of the provinces under the Republic of China. Today, one of its legacies is Taiwanese today often say "all-province" in place of where many English speakers might use "national" or "country-wide".
The building of the Provincial Government of the Taiwan Province at Chunghsing Village
The seat of the provincial government was moved from
Taipei to
Chunghsing Village (Jhongsing Village) in 1956. In 1967 and 1979 respectively, the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung were separated from the province and turned into centrally-administered municipalities.
All vehicles licensed in Taiwan outside the directly administered cities of
Taipei and
Kaohsiung contain the label "Taiwan Province" (台灣省) on their license plates if the vehicle was registered before January 1, 2007. But the license plates of vehicles which were registered on or after January 1, 2007 no longer say "Taiwan Province" (台灣省).
Until 1992, the governor of Taiwan province was appointed by the ROC central government. The office was often a stepping stone to higher office.
In 1992, the post of the governor of the province was opened to election. The then-opposition
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to retain the province with an elected governor in the hopes of creating a "
Yeltsin effect" in which a popular local leader could overwhelm the national government. These hopes proved unfulfilled as then-Kuomintang member
James Soong was elected governor of Taiwan by a wide margin defeating the DPP candidate
Chen Ding-nan.
In 1997, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the administration of the province was streamlined in curtailed constitutional changes. For example, the post of provincial governor and the provincial assembly were both abolished and replaced with a nine-member special council. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, Soong and his supporters claim that it was actually intended to destroy
James Soong's power base and eliminate him from political life, though it did not have this effect. In addition, the provincial legislature was abolished while the
Legislative Yuan was expanded to include some of the former provincial legislators.
The provincial administration has been greatly streamlined in 1998, leaving
counties and
provincial cities the primary divisions in Taiwan Province. In contrast to the past where the head of Taiwan province was considered a major official, the Governor of the Taiwan Provincial Government after 1999 has been considered a very minor position.
In 2006, after the cabinet of Premier
Frank Hsieh, including Governor Lin Kuang-hua, resigned, effective
January 25, the new premier
Su Tseng-chang announced that he would not appoint a new governor for Taiwan Province, and will further seek to formally abolish the provincial government. The opposition
Pan-Blue Alliance is expected to oppose.
Government
Since the streamlining of the Taiwan Provincial Government in 1998, the government has been headed by a provincial council of nine members, led by the provincial governor. The members of the Provincial Council are all appointed by the
President of the Republic of China. The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing
provincial highways and the
Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan.
Divisions
Main articles: Political divisions of the Republic of China
Taiwan Province is divided into 16 counties (縣; hsien) and 5
provincial cities (市; shih):
Counties
Provincial municipalities
''Note'': The cities of
Taipei and
Kaohsiung are administered directly by the central government and are not part of Taiwan province, though the counties of the same name surrounding these cities are part of the province. The PRC, which does not administer Taiwan Province, does not recognize Taipei and Kaohsiung as central municipalities and lists them as provincial municipalities.
The
Senkaku Islands, which is currently administered by
Japan is disputed by both the ROC and PRC which claims them as Tiaoyutai/Diaoyutai Islands. The ROC government claims them as part of
Toucheng Township,
Yilan County.
Administrative history
Decisions by the
Executive Yuan since 1945:
★ December 25, 1945:
★
★ 8 counties of Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taitung, and Penghu
★
★ 9 provincial cities: Taipei, Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pintung.
★
★ 2 county-controlled cities: Hualien and Yilan
★ August 16, 1950:
★
★ 16 counties: all existing ones
★
★ 8 provincial cities: reduced Chiayi a county-controlled city
★ December 1, 1951: 5 provincial cities: reduced Hsinchu, Changhua, and Pintung to county-controlled cities
★ 1967: Taipei became the first Taiwanese municipality
★ November 11, 1967: All
county seats (originally towns) upgraded to county-controlled cities.
★ 1979: Kaohsiung became the second Taiwanese municipality
★ July 1, 1982: 2 new provincial cities: Hsinchu and Chiayi (approved on April 23, 1981)
List of Governors
Chief Executive
The position of Chief Executive () was temporarily part of the
Executive Yuan, the position was legalized in ''Taiwan Province Administrative Official Public Ministry Organization Statute'' (臺灣省行政長官公署組織條例 ''Táiwān-shěng xíngzhèng zhǎngguān gōngshǔ zǔzhī tiáolì'') of September 20, 1945.
Provincial Chairman
Governors (, "provincial chairperson"):
| Governor | Chinese | Tongyong Pinyin | Hanyu Pinyin | Term in office |
|---|
| Wey Daw-ming | 魏道明 | Wèi Dàomíng | Wèi Dàomíng | May 16, 1947 - January 5, 1949 |
| Chen Cheng | 陳誠 | Chén Chéng | Chén Chéng | January 5, 1949 - December 21, 1949 |
| Wu Gwo-jen (Wu Kuo-chen) | 吳國楨 | Wú Guójhen | Wú Guózhēn | December 21, 1949 - April 16, 1953 |
| Yu Horng-jiun | 俞鴻鈞 | Yú Hóngjun | Yú Hóngjūn | April 16, 1953 - June 7, 1954 |
| Yen Chia-kan | 嚴家淦 | Yán Jiagàn | Yán Jiāgàn | June 7, 1954 - August 16, 1957 |
| Chow Chih-jou | 周至柔 | Jhou Jhìhróu | Zhōu Zhìróu | August 16, 1957 - December 1, 1962 |
| Huang Chieh | 黃傑 | Huáng Jié | Huáng Jié | December 1, 1962 - July 5, 1969 |
| Shien Ta-ching | 陳大慶 | Chén Dàcìng | Chén Dàqìng | July 5, 1969 - June 6, 1972 |
| Shien Tung-min | 謝東閔 | Siè Dongmǐn | Xiè Dōngmǐn | June 6, 1972 - May 20, 1978 |
| Lin Yang-kang | 林洋港 | Lín Yánggǎng | Lín Yánggǎng | June 12, 1978 - December 5, 1981 |
| Lee Teng-hui | 李登輝 | Lǐ Denghuei | Lǐ Dēnghuī | December 5, 1981 - May 20, 1984 |
| Chiu Chuang-huan | 邱創煥 | Ciou Chuànghuàn | Qīu Chuànghuàn | June 9, 1984 - June 16, 1990 |
| Lien Chan | 連戰 | Lián Jhàn | Lián Zhàn | June 16, 1990 - February 25, 1993 |
| James Soong | 宋楚瑜 | Sòng Chǔyú | Sòng Chǔyú | March 20, 1993 - December 20, 1994 |
Governor
Governor of the Province(). The title "Governor" was first legally used in the ''Self-Governance Law for Provinces and Counties'' (省縣自治法) of
July 29,
1994.
Provincial Chairman
Since the streamlining of the Taiwan Provincial Government in 1998, the government has been headed by a provincial council of nine members, led by the provincial governor. The members of the Provincial Council are all appointed by the
president of the Republic of China. The major operations of the provincial government, such as managing
provincial highways and the
Bank of Taiwan, have been transferred to the Executive Yuan.
See also
★
Fujian Province, Republic of China
★
Politics of the Republic of China
★
Political status of Taiwan
★
Legal status of Taiwan
★
Chinese Taipei
★
Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China
Further reading
★ Bush, R. & O'Hanlon, M. (2007). ''A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America''. Wiley. ISBN 0471986771
★ Bush, R. (2006). ''Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait''. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815712901
★ Carpenter, T. (2006). ''America's Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan''. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1403968411
★ Cole, B. (2006). ''Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects''. Routledge. ISBN 0415365813
★ Copper, J. (2006). ''Playing with Fire: The Looming War with China over Taiwan''. Praeger Security International General Interest. ISBN 0275988880
★ Federation of American Scientists et al. (2006).
Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning
★ Gill, B. (2007). ''Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy''. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815731469
★ Shirk, S. (2007). ''China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195306090
★ Tsang, S. (2006). ''If China Attacks Taiwan: Military Strategy, Politics and Economics''. Routledge. ISBN 0415407850
★ Tucker, N.B. (2005). ''Dangerous Strait: the U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis''. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231135645
References
1. Formosa Valedictory
External links
★
Taiwan Provincial Government official site
★
Local government structures by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Interior, ROC
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