Taiwan Province

Taiwan Province (台灣省) is an administrative subdivision of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. It contains all of the areas under the administrative control of the Republic of China except for Kinmen and Lienchiang Counties (including the islands of Quemoy and Matsu), which are adminstered as part of Fujian Province. (See Political divisions of Taiwan) As a result of constitutional changes in 1999, the administration of Taiwan Province has been curtailed (e.g., the post of provincial governor and the provincial assembly were both abolished and replaced with a special council). The capital of Taiwan Province is Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un[?].

It is also used sometimes by persons in the People's Republic of China to refer to Taiwan and depending on the context (if referring to the entire ROC government as "provincial") can provoke a bad reaction by some people from Taiwan, especially supporters of Taiwan independence.

Taiwan Province was established in 1885. In 1895, it was transferred to Japan, and in 1945, the province was reconstituted. When the Kuomintang (KMT) fled to Taiwan, the provincial administration remained in place under the theory that the ROC was still the government of all of China.

In the early 1990s, the status of Taiwan Province was reopened. The then opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to retain the province with an elected governor in the hopes of creating a Yeltsin effect in which a popular local leader could overwhelm the national government. These hopes proved unfulfilled as Kuomintang member James Soong was elected governor of Taiwan by a wide margin.

In 1999, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the administration of the province was streamlined. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, many believe that it was actually intended to destroy James Soong's power base and eliminate him from political life.

List of Governors

1. Chen Yi [?] (Oct 1945-May 1947)
2. Wei Tao-ming[?] (May 1947-Jan 1949)
3. Chen Cheng[?] (Jan 1949-Dec 1949)
4. Wu Gwo-jen[?] (Dec 1949-Apr 1953)
5. Yu Horng-jiun[?] (Apr 1953-Jun 1954)
6. Yen Chia-kan (Jun 1954-Aug 1957)
7. Chow Chih-jou[?] (Aug 1957-Dec 1962)
8. Huang Chieh[?] (Dec 1962-Jul 1969)
9. Shien Ta-ching[?] (July 1969-Jun 1972)
10. Shien Tung-min[?] (Jun 1972-May 1978)
11. Lin Yang-kang[?] (Jun 1978-Dec 1981)
12. Lee Teng-hui (Dec 1981-May 1984)
13. Chiu Chuang-huan[?] (Jun 1984-Jun 1990)
14. Lien Chan (Jun 1990-Feb 1993)
15. James Soong (Mar 1993-Dec 1998)

List of Chairpersons

1. Chao Shou-po (Dec 1998-May 2000)
2. Chang Po-ya (May 2000-Feb 2002)
3. Fan Kuang-chun (Feb 2002-present)

See also: Politics of Taiwan

External links

• Taiwan Provincial Government official site (http://www.tpg.gov.tw)