Taiwan

Taiwan, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) off the China coast, has a fertile plain along the west coast that rises to one of the highest mountain ranges in Asia. About 84 percent of the people consider themselves native Taiwanese (descendents of Chinese who migrated to the island by the 19th century).

In 1945, the Nationalist Chinese started administering Taiwan, which had been ruled by Japan for 50 years. Seen as liberators at first, the Nationalists imposed an authoritarian government favoring mainlanders, and resentment among natives grew. More than two million Chinese fled here from the mainland after Communist forces defeated the Nationalists in 1949. Formally known as the Republic of China, Taiwan made the transition from an authoritarian state to a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s. Chen Shui-bian, of the Democratic Progressive Party, won the presidential election in 2000, ending the Nationalist Party’s 55-year monopoly.

Politically most nations and the UN acknowledge the position of the People’s Republic of China that Taiwan is one of 23 provinces of China; however, most countries have commercial relations with it— including China. Taiwan is one of the world’s largest suppliers of computer technology, and its investment in China alone is estimated at 70 billion dollars. The new Taipei 101 building, considered the world’s tallest, reflects the island’s economic prosperity.