Taiwan with the capital city Taipei is located in Asia (Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea). It covers some 35,980 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined) with 22,894,384 citizens.

About the flag and history of Taiwan

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).

In 1895, military defeat forced China's Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China. Beginning in the 1950s, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. This process expanded rapidly in the 1980s. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia''s economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of Taiwan''s eventual status - as well as domestic political and economic reform.

National administrative regions of Taiwan

• Fukien
• Kaohsiung
• Taipei
• Taiwan
• Taiwan (general)

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List of current world heritage sites