Republic of China

The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ????; Simplified Chinese: ????; Wade-Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo², Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zh?nghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that today is composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy, and Matsu. In English, as in Chinese, the name "Taiwan" is often used synonymously with the modern Republic of China, while the term "China" usually refers to the People's Republic of China (PRC), or mainland China with or without Hong Kong and Macau.

Related Topics:
Traditional Chinese - Simplified Chinese - Wade-Giles - Tongyong Pinyin - Hanyu Pinyin - Taiwanese POJ - Multiparty - Democratic - State - Taiwan - Pescadores - Quemoy - Matsu - People's Republic of China - Mainland China - Hong Kong - Macau

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The Republic of China (ROC) began on mainland China, succeeding the Qing Dynasty in 1912 and ending 2,000 years of imperial rule. Its existence on mainland China was scarred by warlordism, Japanese invasion, and civil war and ended in 1949 when the Chinese Communists overthrew the Chinese Nationalists (also known as Kuomintang). Although originally intended as a democracy, throughout its tenure on the mainland, it was mainly a dictatorship.

Related Topics:
Mainland China - Qing Dynasty - 1912 - Japanese invasion - Civil war - 1949 - Chinese Communists - Chinese Nationalists - Kuomintang

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The ROC government then evacuated to Taiwan and set up a provisional capital in Taipei where it continued to regard itself as the sole legitimate government of China. The ROC constitution does not define the location of the capital. However, the various ministries and school textbooks continue to define Nanjing as the capital of the ROC. Since the 1990s, especially after the DPP gained power in the 2000, the president, premier and mayor of Taipei have verbally expressed Taipei to be the capital of the ROC. Meanwhile, the Communists proclaimed the People's Republic of China and claimed to be the successor state to the ROC over all of China and that the Nationalist government in Taiwan was illegitimate. From its early days to its move to Taiwan, the Republic of China has been closely associated with the Kuomintang (KMT)—a party formed by the revolutionaries that originally established the Republic, though it is no longer the ruling party.

Related Topics:
Taipei - Nanjing - Kuomintang

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Although the national boundaries have never been officially redrawn, the ROC no longer pursues its claims over mainland China and Mongolia. Also, the now defunct National Assembly has passed constitutional amendments that give the people of Taiwan, Pescadores, Quemoy, and Matsu the sole right to exercise the sovereignty of the Republic through elections of the President and the entire Legislature as well as through elections to ratify amendments to the ROC constitution. For some, this suggests that the ROC implicitly admits that its sovereignty is limited to the areas that it controls. Reforms enacted by the national government in the 1980s and 1990s have transformed Taiwan from an authoritarian one-party state ruled mainly by mainland Chinese into its current form as a localized, multi-party democracy.

Related Topics:
Mongolia - 1980s - 1990s - One-party state

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While the tense standoff of the Cold War era has largely subsided, the political status of Taiwan continues to remain a contentious issue on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The ROC was one of the founding members of the UN and one of the original five Security Council members; however, in 1971, it was replaced in the UN by the PRC. Because the PRC claims sovereignty over Taiwan, the ROC's diplomatic recognition since the 1970s has suffered as a result of the One-China Policy it itself had previously insisted on and because of diplomatic maneuvers by the larger and more economically-significant PRC. Most major countries switched their recognition from the ROC to the PRC in the 1970s; currently, the ROC is officially recognized by 26 countries.

Related Topics:
Political status of Taiwan - Replaced in the UN by the PRC - One-China Policy - 1970s - Officially recognized by 26 countries

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