Taiwan

American  

[tahy-wahn] / ˈtaɪˈwɑn /

noun

Wade-Giles, Pinyin.

1. an island separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait: a possession of Japan 1895–1945; restored to China 1945; seat of the Republic of China since 1949. Taipei.

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Taiwan British  

/ ˈtaɪˈwɑːn /

noun

1. Former name: Formosa.  an island in SE Asia between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, off the SE coast of the People's Republic of China: the principal territory of the Republic of China; claimed by the People's Republic of China since its political separation from mainland China in the late 1940s. Pop: 23 299 716 (2013 est)

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Taiwan Cultural  

1. Island nation in the Pacific Ocean near the mainland of southern China; seat of the Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Taipei.

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With its first free elections in the 1990s, Taiwan has become a democracy. Its economy is among the strongest in the world.

The United States long supported the Nationalists but broke relations in 1979 to establish relations with the People's Republic of China.

China refuses to accept Taiwan's independence as a nation, viewing it instead as merely a renegade province of China. This issue continues to complicate relations between the United States and China.

When the Chinese communists came to power on the mainland, the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek and some of his army took refuge on Taiwan.

Etymology

Origin of Taiwan

First recorded in 1920–25; from Chinese (Mandarin) Táiwān

Example Sentences

It comes as regional rivals like Taiwan, China and Japan are investing heavily in chip factories and other technologies as the AI boom pushes up demand for semiconductors.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

At least four tankers appeared to be transiting the strait through the southern route on Tuesday, ship-tracking data showed, including a Norway-flagged ship sailing to Singapore and a Liberia-flagged vessel heading to Taiwan.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

It should also help Intel more closely compete with contract chip-making giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Chinese stocks are down 11% this year, while South Korea and Taiwan have surged on AI trends.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

One might initially wonder how a linguist, studying only modern languages whose unwritten ancestral forms remain unknown, could ever figure out whether Austronesians living on Taiwan 6,000 years ago had pigs.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond