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

See Examples For:

Taiwan

He didn’t see the Asian surge chalked up by Taiwan, Korea and Japan, while he forecast China AI stocks to rally and they have underperformed American rivals.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

The 18-member Pacific Islands Forum is being hosted by Palau, which invited its diplomatic ally Taiwan to attend as an aid partner, along with China and other non-Pacific countries.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Taiwan is among a long list of aid partners invited to the Pacific meeting along with China, Singapore, Japan, Britain and the United States.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Yet Taiwan is still making progress, including passing extra defense money this year, and President Lai has proposed another 18% boost in defense spending for next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Evidently, those first Neolithic occupants of Taiwan had watercraft adequate for deep-sea fishing and for regular sea traffic across Taiwan Strait, separating that island from the China coast.

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