Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is governed in a framework of a representative democratic republic under a five-power system first envisioned by Sun Yat-sen in 1906, whereby under the constitutional amendments, the President is head of state and the Premier is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Executive Yuan. Legislative power is vested primarily in the Legislative Yuan. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In addition, the Examination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, and the Control Yuan inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government. The party system is currently dominated by two major parties: the Kuomintang (KMT), which broadly favors closer links to mainland China, and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which broadly favors status quo and sovereignty.
Taiwan Province is a de jure administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Provinces remain a titular division as a part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but are no longer considered to have any administrative function practically.
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel voting system.
Taiwan is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the de jure system set out in the original constitution and the de facto system in use today.
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of Taiwan.
An autonomous municipality or city, previously provincial city, is a de jure second-level administrative division unit in the Republic of China (Taiwan).
As a result of the surrender and occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the governance of the Republic of China (ROC), ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), on 25 October 1945. Following the February 28 massacre in 1947, martial law was declared in 1949 by the Governor of Taiwan, Chen Cheng, and the ROC Ministry of National Defense. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC government retreated from the mainland as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The KMT retreated to Taiwan and declared Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC. For many years, the ROC and PRC each continued to claim in the diplomatic arena to be the sole legitimate government of "China". In 1971, the United Nations expelled the ROC and replaced it with the PRC.
Fuchien Province, also romanized as Fujian and rendered as Fukien, is a nominal province of the Republic of China without formal administrative function. It includes three small archipelagos off the coast of the Fujian Province of the People's Republic of China, namely the Matsu Islands, which make up Lienchiang County, and the Wuqiu Islands and Kinmen Islands, which make up Kinmen County. The seat of the administrative centre is Jincheng Township of Kinmen County which serves as its de facto capital. The province is also known as the Golden Horse, after the literal reading of the Chinese character abbreviation for "Kinmen-Matsu".
The free area of the Republic of China, also known as the "Taiwan Area of the Republic of China", the "Tai-Min Area " or simply the "Taiwan Area", is a term used by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to refer to the territories under its actual control. As a legal term written in the Additional articles of the ROC constitution and Cross-Strait Act.
Taiwan Province is a nominal administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC constitution defines Taiwan as part of its territories although the PRC has never controlled Taiwan since the PRC's establishment in 1949. Taiwan is currently administered by the Republic of China (ROC).
The Government of the Republic of China is the national government of the Republic of China (ROC) whose de facto territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other island groups in the "free area". Governed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since 2016, the president is the head of state. The government consists of the presidency and five branches (Yuan): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Taiwan:
Districts are administrative subdivisions of the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s special municipalities of the second level and provincial cities of the third level formerly under its provinces. There are two types of district in the administrative scheme.
A county, constitutionally known as a hsien, is a de jure second-level administrative division unit in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is with the same level of a provincial city.
Special municipality, historically known as Yuan-controlled municipality, is a first-level administrative division unit in Taiwan. Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is the highest level of division in Taiwan and is equivalent to a province. Since the streamlining of provinces in 1998, the special municipalities along with provincial cities and counties have all governed directly under the central government of Taiwan.
The administrative divisions of China between 1912 and 1949 were established under the regime of the Republic of China government.
The National Development Council is the policy-planning agency of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan.
The Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council (TPCC) was the council of the streamlined Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. In July 2018, all duties of the Taiwan Provincial Government and TPCC were transferred to the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan.
The Fujian Provincial Government was the former government that governed Fujian Province of the Republic of China. Since 2018, it has been superseded and its duties have been transferred to the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center, the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan.
