Situated off the coast of mainland China, the tiny but mountainous island of Taiwan swarms with people in immense urban developments, but simultaneously conceals some picture-perfect breathtaking landscapes behind the scenes. Go straight into the airport at the capital, Taipei, and the island below welcomes you with magnificent peaks, rolling hills and plains, basins and coves, tropical beaches and rainforests.

Brief History

Taiwan is the island which has, for all practical purposes, been independent for half a century but which China regards as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland.

Legally, most people acknowledge the position of the Chinese government that Taiwan is a province of China, and as a result Taiwan has formal diplomatic relations with only 26 countries and no seat at the UN.  

Taiwan has long had an uneasy relationship with its larger neighbor, China. In 1684, the island became the refuge for the remnants of the deposed Ming Dynasty and when Mao’s Communists forces took control of China in 1949 the nationalist leaders, and over one million supporters, fled to Taiwan.

Economy

Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities and partial government ownership of some large banks and industrial firms. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 8.5% a year during the past three decades. Export growth has been even faster and has provided the impetus for industrialization. Inflation and unemployment are low, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from "the Asian crisis" in 1998 mainly because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths. The island quickly became an Asian success story but its independence from China was never recognized by many governments. This is due to the Republic's greater political and military power. Many Taiwanese would like an eventual reuniting with mainland China, but not on the terms suggested by their communist and major trading partners.

Significant trading partners are Japan, US, Hong Kong and European countries, exports include electrical machinery, electronic products, textiles, footwear, and wood products. Significant imports include chemicals, iron and steel, crude oil, and food. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

At present, Taiwan is considered to have achieved an economic miracle, becoming one of the world's top producers of computer technology. In the early 1990s it made the transition from an authoritarian one-party state to a democracy. It is now a Newly Industrializing Economy (NIE). Moreover, Taiwan is a highly export-oriented involved in consumer as well as industrial products manufacturing.  

Pinoys in Taiwan

Presently, some 35,000 (as of August 2002) Filipinos are employed in Taiwan. In 2000, Taipei imposed a ban on absorbing more foreign labor as industries reeled under the economic slowdown in Southeast Asia. Most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) employed in Taiwan work in electronics assembly plants. 

Currency/ Exchange Rate
 

• Unit of Currency:  New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)
• 1USD = 32.334NT$
• 1NT$ = 1.69PHP (as of Feb. 23, 2004)

Geographic Profile

The island about 100 miles off the coast of mainland China is about the size of Maryland (USA), but supports more than 23,000 temples and churches, mostly radiantly colorful temples. And although it's small and densely populated, Taiwan is blessed with a diverse landscape: 970 miles of coastline, lakes, waterfalls, beaches and craggy mountains dotted with hot springs. The north is semi-tropical, the south tropical, and the mountaintops occasionally get snow. 

The Government

Government Type:Constitutional Democracy

President: CHEN SHUI-BIAN

5 Government Branches(Yuan): 

1.       Executive

2.       Legislative

3.       Judicial

4.       Examination

5.       Control 

Transportation System

• Taxis
• Buses
• Trains
• Motorcycles 

Communication System

• PublicPhones
• Cellularphones
• Internet