TAIWAN
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| (See reference map VIII) |
LAND
32,260 km2 (Taiwan and Pescadores); 24% cultivated, 6% pasture, 55% forested, 15% other (urban, industrial, denuded, water area)
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 3 nm (fishing 12 nm)
Coastline: 990 km Taiwan, 459 km offshore islands
PEOPLE
Population: 18,456,000, excluding the population of Quemoy and Matsu Islands and foreigners (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.8%
Nationality: noun—Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective—Chinese
Ethnic divisions: 84% Taiwanese, 14% mainland Chinese, 2% aborigines
Religion: 93% mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist; 4.5% Christian; 2.5% other
Language: Chinese Mandarin (official language); Taiwanese and Hakka dialect also used
Literacy: about 90%
Labor force: 6.51 million (1979); 21.5% primary industry (agriculture), 41.8% secondary industry (including manufacturing, mining, construction), 36.7% tertiary industry (including commerce and services), 1979; 1.3% unemployment (1979)
Organized labor: about 15% of 1978 labor force (government controlled)
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Taiwan
Type: one-party presidential regime
Capital: Taipei
Political subdivisions: 16 counties, 3 cities, 2 special municipalities (Taipei and Kaosiung)
Legal system: based on civil law system; constitution adopted 1947, amended 1960 to permit Chiang Kai-shek to be reelected, and amended 1972 to permit President to restructure certain government organs; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: 10 October
Branches: five independent branches (executive, legislative, judicial, plus traditional Chinese functions of examination and control), dominated by executive branch; President and Vice President elected by National Assembly
Government leaders: President CHIANG Ching-kuo; Premier SUN Yün-hsüan
Suffrage: universal over age 20
Elections: national level—legislative yuan every three years but no general election held since 1948 election on mainland (partial elections for Taiwan province representatives in December 1969, 1972, 1975, and 1980); local level—provincial assembly, county and municipal executives every four years; county and municipal assemblies every four years
Political parties and leaders: Kuomintang, or National Party, led by Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo, had no real opposition; lately a loosely organized anti-Kuomintang opposition has emerged; two insignificant parties are Democratic Socialist Party and Young China Party
Voting strength (1981 provincial assembly elections): 59 seats Kuomintang, 18 seats independents; 1981 local elections, with 72% turnout of eligible voters Kuomintang received 59% of the popular vote, non-Kuomintang 41%
Other political or pressure groups: none
Member of: expelled from UN General Assembly and Security Council on 25 October 1971 and withdrew on same date from other charter-designated subsidiary organs; expelled from IMF/World Bank group April/May 1980; member of ADB and seeking to join GATT and/or MFA; attempting to retain membership in ICAC, ISO, INTELSAT, IWC—International Wheat Council, PCA; suspended from IAEA in 1972 but still allows IAEA controls over extensive atomic development
ECONOMY
GNP: $32.2 billion (1979, in 1979 prices), $1,830 per capita; real growth, 8% (1979)
Agriculture: most arable land intensely farmed—60% cultivated land under irrigation; main crops—rice, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, citrus fruits; food shortages—wheat, corn, soybeans
Fishing: catch 854,784 metric tons (1977)
Major industries: textiles, clothing, chemicals, plywood, electronics, sugar milling, food processing, cement, shipbuilding
Electric power: 9,147,000 kW capacity (1980); 41.0 billion kWh produced (1980), 2,280 kWh per capita
