Taiwan

[tahy-wahn]

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.

Taiwan

/ 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)

Taiwan

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.

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Taiwan¹

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

Example Sentences

A batch of Asian PMIs is due Monday, with surveys for Japan, Taiwan and India set to show how manufacturers are coping with tariff pressures midway through the final quarter of year.

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The study, published in BMC Medicine, examined information from over 1.5 million adults who were monitored for more than ten years across several countries, including the UK, Taiwan, China, Denmark and the United States.

Read more on Science Daily

This “strategic ambiguity”—backed by aid for Taiwan’s self-defense and a robust military presence in the Pacific—has been key to deterring Beijing.

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But before Lo can help restore America’s semiconductor champion to its former glory, he must deal with a criminal investigation in Taiwan that has turned his job switch into a case with geopolitical implications.

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Speaking to lawmakers on Nov. 7, Takaichi warned that Japan could deploy its military with other nations if China were to attack Taiwan.

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