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Areas claimed by PRC as its Taiwan Province.

Taiwan Province (simplified Chinese: 台湾省; traditional Chinese: 臺灣省 or 台灣省; pinyin: Táiwān shěng) is an area of the Republic of China (ROC) claimed as a province by the People's Republic of China (PRC). The area includes the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including the Penghu islands.

The political status of Taiwan is complex and the area has in fact never been controlled by the PRC. Taiwan has been controlled by the Republic of China (ROC, commonly called "Taiwan") since 1945. The PRC claims that it succeeded the ROC as the sole legitimate authority in all of China upon its founding in 1949, and that therefore Taiwan is part of the PRC.

Divisions

The claimed official borders and divisions of the Taiwan Province of People's Republic of China mirror those of the ROC Taiwan Province before 1949. The PRC has not acknowledged any changes made post-1949 by the ROC. Thus, the elevation of Taipei and Kaohsiung to direct-controlled cities has not been recognized by the PRC, and both cities appear as part of Taiwan Province in publications issued by the PRC. Also, the PRC still regards Taipei as the capital city of Taiwan Province, instead of Zhongxing Village which is the capital of the ROC Taiwan Province. This is analogous to the previous practice of the ROC in producing maps depicting mainland administrative boundaries the way they were in 1949.

Both the PRC and the ROC claim the Diaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands, administered by Japan, as a part of their own respective Taiwan Provinces.

Taiwan Province is divided into 16 counties and 7 cities:

Map	#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Type
	1	Taibei (City)	台北市	Táiběi Shì	Prefecture-level city
	2	Gaoxiong (City)	高雄市	Gāoxióng Shì	Prefecture-level city
	3	Taizhong (City)	台中市	Táizhōng Shì	County-level city
	4	Tainan (City)	台南市	Táinán Shì	County-level city
	5	Jilong	基隆市	Jīlóng Shì	County-level city
	6	Xinzhu (City)	新竹市	Xīnzhú Shì	County-level city
	7	Jiayi (City)	嘉义市	Jiāyì Shì	County-level city
	8	Taibei (County)	台北县	Táiběi Xiàn	County
	9	Gaoxiong (County)	高雄县	Gāoxióng Xiàn	County
	10	Taizhong (County)	台中县	Táizhōng Xiàn	County
	11	Tainan (County)	台南县	Táinán Xiàn	County
	12	Xinzhu (County)	新竹县	Xīnzhú Xiàn	County
	13	Jiayi (County)	嘉义县	Jiāyì Xiàn	County
	14	Taoyuan	桃园县	Táoyuán Xiàn	County
	15	Miaoli	苗栗县	Miáolì Xiàn	County
	16	Zhanghua	彰化县	Zhānghuà Xiàn	County
	17	Yunlin	云林县	Yúnlín Xiàn	County
	18	Pingdong	屏东县	Píngdōng Xiàn	County
	19	Yilan	宜兰县	Yílán Xiàn	County
	20	Nantou	南投县	Nántóu Xiàn	County
	21	Hualian	花莲县	Hūalián Xiàn	County
	22	Taidong	台東县	Táidōng Xiàn	County
	23	Penghu	澎湖县	Pénghú Xiàn	County

Note 1: The Diaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands, which are currently disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China and Japan, are currently administered by Japan. Both the PRC and the ROC claim the islands as part of Toucheng Township of Yilan County. Note 2: The PRC most commonly uses the Pinyin romanization system, while the ROC used to use Wade–Giles, thus both governments write city names differently. For instance, the capital of Taiwan is written "Taibei" by China, but "Taipei" by Taiwan.

Representation

Thirteen delegates are elected to the National People's Congress to represent Taiwan Province. These delegates have Hokkien and Holo ancestry whose ancestors were in Taiwan at some point, and are elected by a constituency comprising people with Taiwanese ancestry, not by present residents of Taiwan. As the older members retire or die, newer members tend to be born in mainland China.

See also

China portal

Taiwan portal

• Taiwan
• Taiwan Province
• Taiwan Affairs Office
• Political status of Taiwan
• Legal status of Taiwan
• Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China#Offer to Taiwan

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

External links

• Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces Anhui • Fujian • Gansu • Guangdong • Guizhou • Hainan • Hebei • Heilongjiang • Henan • Hubei • Hunan • Jiangsu • Jiangxi • Jilin • Liaoning • Qinghai • Shaanxi • Shandong • Shanxi • Sichuan • Yunnan • Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi • Inner Mongolia • Ningxia • Tibet • Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing • Chongqing • Shanghai • Tianjin Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong • Macau Territorial disputes Paracel Islands • Pratas Islands • Senkaku Islands • Spratly Islands • South Tibet • Taiwan, Kinmen & Matsu Islands (see Legal status of Taiwan)

Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China Prefecture level Prefecture-level cities Taibei • Gaoxiong County level Below are the county-level divisions directly under the province, with no intermediate prefecture level Counties Gaoxiong • Hualian • Jiayi • Miaoli • Nantou • Penghu • Pingdong • Taibei • Taidong • Tainan • Taizhong • Taoyuan • Xinzhu • Yilan • Yunlin • Zhanghua County-level Cities Jiayi • Jilong • Tainan • Taizhong • Xinzhu   Note: PRC claimed official borders and divisions of the Taiwan Province of People's Republic of China mirror those of the ROC Taiwan Province before 1949