Taiwan

• tropical;
• marine;
• rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August);
• cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

• air pollution;
• water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage;
• contamination of drinking water supplies;
• trade in endangered species;
• low-level radioactive waste disposal

noun:

Taiwan (singular and plural)

note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan

adjective:

Taiwan (or Taiwanese)

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

definition:

age 15 and over can read and write

total population:

96.1%

male:

NA

female:

NA (2003)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Taiwan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Taiwan

former:

Formosa

name:

Taipei

geographic coordinates:

25 02 N, 121 31 E

time difference:

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• previous 1912, 1931;
• latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947;
• revised several times, last in 2005 (2013)

chief of state:

President MA Ying-jeou (since 20 May 2008); Vice President WU Den-yih (since 20 May 2012)

head of government:

• Premier JIANG Yi-huah (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 18 February 2013);
• Vice Premier MAO Chi-kuo (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) (since 18 February 2013)

cabinet:

Executive Yuan - ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 14 January 2012 (next to be held in January 2016);
• premier appointed by the president;
• vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier

election results:

MA Ying-jeou elected president; percent of vote - MA Ying-jeou 51.6%, TSAI Ing-wen 45.6%, James SOONG Chu-ye 2.8%

• unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats - 73 district members elected by popular vote, 34 at-large members elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 6 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members to serve four-year terms);
• parties must receive 5% of vote to qualify for at-large seats

elections:

Legislative Yuan - last held on 14 January 2012 (next to be held in January 2016)

election results:

• Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 44.6%, DPP 34.6%, TSU 9.0%, PFP 5.5%, others 6.3%;
• seats by party - KMT 64, DPP 40, PFP 3, TSU 3, NPSU 2, independent 1

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 100 judges organized into 8 civil and 12 criminal divisions, each with a division chief justice and 4 associate justices);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 13 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• both Supreme Court and Constitutional Court justices appointed by the president of the republic with the approval of the Legislative Yuan;
• Supreme Court justices appointed for life;
• Constitutional Court president, vice-president, and 8 grand justices serve 4-year terms and remaining justices serve 8-year terms

subordinate courts:

• high courts;
• district courts;
• hierarchy of administrative courts

• Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang]
• Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou]
• New Party [YOK Mu-ming]
• Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [LIN Pin-kuan]
• People First Party or PFP [James SOONG Chu-ye]
• Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [HUANG Kun-huei]

• red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays;
• the blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895;
• it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party;
• blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy;
• red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood;
• the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours)

• rice, vegetables, fruit, tea, flowers;
• pigs, poultry;
• fish

agriculture:

5%

industry:

36.2%

services:

58.8% (2012 est.)

lowest 10%:

6.4%

highest 10%:

40.3% (2010)

• electronics, flat panels, machinery;
• metals;
• textiles, plastics, chemicals;
• optical, photographic, measuring, and medical instruments

general assessment:

provides telecommunications service for every business and private need

domestic:

thoroughly modern; completely digitalized

international:

• country code - 886;
• roughly 15 submarine fiber cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US;
• satellite earth stations - 2 (2011)

• 5 nationwide television networks operating roughly 75 TV stations;
• about 85% of households utilize multi-channel cable TV;
• national and regional radio networks with about 170 radio stations (2008)

total:

1,580 km

country comparison to the world: 79

standard gauge:

345 km 1.435-m gauge (345 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,085 km 1.067-m gauge (685 km electrified); 150 km 0.762-m gauge

note: the 0.762 gauge track belongs to three entities, the Forestry Bureau, Taiwan Cement, and TaiPower (2009)

total:

41,475 km

country comparison to the world: 86

paved:

41,033 km (includes 720 km of expressways)

unpaved:

442 km (2009)

major seaport(s):

Chilung (Keelung), Kaohsiung, Hualian, Taichung

container port(s) (TEUs):

Chilung (Keelung) (1,749,388), Kaohsiung (9,363,289), Taichung (1,383,578)

• 18-35 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• service obligation is 2 years;
• women may enlist;
• women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles;
• reserve obligation to age 30 (Army);
• the Ministry of Defense is in the process of implementing a voluntary enlistment system over the period 2010-2015, although nonvolunteers will still be required to perform alternative service or go through 4 months of military training (2012)

males age 16-49:

6,183,567

females age 16-49:

6,006,676 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

5,074,173

females age 16-49:

4,951,088 (2010 est.)

male:

166,190

female:

155,306 (2010 est.)

• involved in complex dispute with Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam over the Spratly Islands, and with China and the Philippines over Scarborough Reef;
• the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants;
• Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam;
• in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

• regional transit point for heroin, methamphetamine, and precursor chemicals;
• transshipment point for drugs to Japan;
• major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin;
• rising problems with use of ketamine and club drugs