Taiwan Province of the Republic of China (in dark grey). The Tiaoyutai Islands to the northeast of the main island of Taiwan, claimed by the ROC as part fo the Ilan County of the Taiwan Province, are too small to be shown.
Taiwan Province () is one of the two provinces under effective control of the Republic of China (ROC), after the relocation of its government to Taipei following the Chinese Civil War. The province covers most of the island of Taiwan, as well as all the surrounding islets of Taiwan, the largest of which are the Pescadores, the Green Island and the Orchid Island.
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 division]s. After Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers in 1945, the administration of Taiwan was transferred 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 has led to an uprising - the 228 incident. Chen was recalled in May of 1947 and governor-generalship 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.
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 "entire province" in place of where many English speakers might use "national" or "country-wide".
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 Province contain the label "Taiwan Province" (台灣省) on their license plates.
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.
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.
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)
The position of Chief Executive (行"長官 xíngzhèng zhǎngguān) was temporarily part of the Executive Yuan, the position was legalized in Taiwan Province Administrative Official Public Ministry Organization Statute (臺灣省行"長官公署組"條例 Táiwān-shěng xíngzhèng zhǎngguān gōngsh" z"zhī tiáolì) of September 20, 1945.
Governor of the Province, 省長 shěngzhǎng). 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.
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.
