Taiwan is a country. Here's why:

1/8/2025

Is Taiwan a country? Yes, Taiwan is a country. Here is why.
Taiwan is a country because it has its own government, free elections, its own military, and the people of Taiwan consider themselves Taiwanese, and not part of China.
Sadly, the status of Taiwan as a country is often disregarded or ignored due to pressure from China which claims Taiwan as its territory.
In this blog, we will explain why Taiwan is a country in simple terms for all those who are truly curious regarding the geopolitical status of Taiwan.

Taiwan meets the dictionary definition of a country.
(臺灣符合字典中對國家的定義.)

According to the Merrium-Webster Dictionary, the definition of a country is a political state or nation or its territory. In this blog, we will point out how Taiwan meets this definition.

Taiwan has its own constitution and government.
(臺灣有自己的憲法和政府.)

Taiwan has its own government, constitution, and a full range of governmental institutions that function independently from those of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan's government is officially called the Republic of China (ROC).

Historical Timeline of Government in Taiwan:
To answer most questions concerning politics in Taiwan, please see the following brief history of Taiwan:
  1912: The Republic of China (ROC, current government of Taiwan), led by the KMT party (Kuomintang) took control of all of mainland China after the Qing dynasty fell.
            1945: Japan gave up control of Taiwan, and Taiwan was trusted to the ROC by the Allies.
  1949: The ROC was defeated by the communist party in mainland China (PRC), and retreated to the island of Taiwan. The ROC protected the islands of Kinmen and Matsu (part of Fujian province) and other surrounding islands from communist invasion. The ROC was considered the true ruler of China by the UN, and the PRC was not allowed membership in the UN.
  1947: The February 28th Incident occurred, which spurred the White Terror Movement, military repression, unjust imprisonment and execution of innocent civilians, lack of freedoms, and martial law which lasted until 1987. The February 28 massacre had a major and long-lasting shift in Taiwanese people's attitudes toward the KMT and "mainland" Chinese. Not only were thousands of Taiwanese killed, many were jailed for many years, Taiwanese were purged from leadership positions in all sectors of public administration and academia, and many families had their land and homes confiscated. Besides that, the KMT government prohibited Taiwanese children from learning anything about all of that for decades until the first DPP president in 2000.
  1952: Japan handed “de facto control” of Taiwan and Penghu over to the ROC on April 28th, 1952 as part of the Treaty of Taipei. This document was signed on the same day as the Treaty of San Francisco which re-established peace relations between Japan and the Allies, but neither the ROC nor the PRC signed this treaty because of disputes over the true government of China, hence the need for the additional Treaty of Taipei.
            1971: The ROC (Taiwan) was removed from the UN in favor of the PRC. The PRC was not a member of the UN before 1971. Most nations broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan at this time.
  1987: Martial law was lifted in Taiwan, paving the way for free democracy and elections.
  1992: A meeting between the KMT and the Communist Party of the PRC occurred in Hong Kong, which created a diplomatic basis for dialogue, although officially no consensus was officially reached between the ROC and the PRC. The KMT believed the consensus meant "one China with different interpretations," while the PRC took it to mean that the PRC was the sole legitimate government of China. The DPP denies the existence of a 1992 consensus.
  1996: Lee Teng-hui became the first popularly elected ROC president.
  2000: The first opposition party president (from the DPP), Chen Shui-bian, was elected.
  2014: The Sunflower Student Movement happened, which was a protest movement against the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement which the KMT tried to push through the legislature without review. The legislative Yuan was occupied by citizens for the first time, and the KMT ended up backing down on the legislation.
Current Day: The ROC (and KMT party) still claim mainland China as its territory, but the current ruling DPP party recognizes Taiwan and surrounding islands as an independent nation separate from China.

Also please note in the above timeline that the People's Republic of China never had control of Taiwan.

For more information, check out our Taiwan politics FAQ here.

Taiwan is a free and vibrant democracy.
(臺灣是一個自由且充滿活力的民主國家。)

Taiwan conducts its own democratic elections for its president and legislature, which is a hallmark of its sovereignty and political independence. Taiwan was also the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and Taiwan leads East Asia in gender equality in the legislature with 42.5% women legislatures.

Taiwan was not always a free democracy. Martial law was enacted in Taiwan until 1987, during which time Taiwan was under a one-party dictatorship. It began free elections in the 1990s and has sprouted into one of the world's most vibrant democracies.

Taiwan has its own military.
(臺灣有自己的軍隊。)

Taiwan's Military, officially known as the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF), consists of an army, navy, air force, and military police force. Their mission is to defend Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, especially from a threat from the PRC. The ROCAF has strong cooperation with the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Singapore. Taiwan's military budget is 2.5% of GDP and has more than 169,000 active personnel and over a million reserve personnel. In addition, every fit male over age 18 is required to serve in the military and Taiwan has the third-largest military reserve force in the world, and the sixth-largest military in the world per capita.

Taiwan has effective control over its territory.
(臺灣對其領土有有效的控制。)

The government of Taiwan exercises effective control over its territory, including maintaining its own military, police force, and administrative structures on the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Taiwan has maintained its current territory since 1955 during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, specifically when the ROC lost the Yijiangshan Islands to China. Since the nearly 70 years since that event, Taiwan ROC has not lost any territory to China.

Taiwan has its own passport, and it says "Taiwan."
(臺灣有自己的護照，上面寫著「臺灣」。)

Taiwan has its own passport for its citizens, which now prominently uses the name "Taiwan" on the cover (new passport version on the right) to differentiate the country from China. Taiwan's passport has ranked in the top 30 worldwide in terms of power and ease of travel (China is ranked in the top 50).

Taiwan has economic independence.
(臺灣擁有經濟獨立。)

Taiwan has a robust and self-sustaining economy, which operates independently of mainland China. It has the 21st largest economy in the world by GDP and is the United State's 9th largest trading partner. It is a significant player in global trade and technology, particularly in the semiconductor industry.

Taiwan's 23 million people can decide their own destiny.
(台灣的兩千三百萬人可以決定自己的命運。)

According to Merriam-Webster, another definition of a country is the people of a state. Taiwan has a lot of people. It has 649 people per square kilometer (1,680 per square mile), making it the 17th most densely populated country in the world. Considering two thirds of Taiwan is mostly mountainous and uninhabited, this makes Taiwan's population density stand out even more. As discussed earlier, the people of Taiwan have fought hard for free elections which began in the 1990s. Taiwanese people have been able raise their voice and vote for their elective representatives in a multi-party system, and enjoy freedom of speech and religion. They also should deserve the right to determine Taiwan's future.

Taiwan has a distinct identity and culture that is not the same as Mainland China.
(台灣擁有與中國大陸不同的獨特身份和文化。)

Taiwan has many distinct cultures and identities, the most distinct being Taiwan's aboriginal culture. There are more than a million Taiwanese people with Aboriginal ancestry and 16 nationally recognized tribes. These people have been living in Taiwan for thousands of years and have their own customs and traditions separate from China.

The Majority of People in Taiwan identify as Taiwanese, not Chinese.
(台灣大多數人認同自己是台灣人，而不是中國人。)

As per an annual study performed by NCCU in Taiwan, most people in Taiwan consider themselves Taiwanese (61.7%) emphasizing a distinct national identity that is separate from that of the mainland. Only 2.4% of people would consider themselves as only Chinese.

Most Taiwanese people want to keep the status quo with China.
(大多數台灣人希望保持與中國的現狀。)

The current status quo, where both China and the Republic of China claim sovereignty over China, don't have official ties, but keep economic and cultural ties, is considered ideal by most Taiwanese. According to a study by NCCU in Taiwan, 82% of Taiwanese people want to keep the current status quo, among them 21.5% want to move toward independence, 27.9% want to decide the status quo question at a later date, and 33.2% want to keep the status quo indefinitely.
Only 6.2% of people want to unify with China eventually, and only 1.2% of people want to unify with China immediately.

Taiwan has formal or informal relations with most countries in the world.
(台灣與世界上大多數國家有正式或非正式的關係。)

Taiwan has the 33rd largest diplomatic network in the world with over 110 diplomatic offices worldwide. Even though it only has formal diplomatic relations with 11 countries, it is still able to spread economic and cultural influence worldwide through soft power.

Taiwan is a member of over 60 international and intergovernmental organizations.
(台灣是超過60個國際及政府間組織的成員。)

Even though Taiwan is not a member of the U.N. due to pressure from China it is still a member of many other meaningful and important intergovernmental institutions. Often because of pressure from China it must use alternate names such as "Chinese Taipei," but also uses the name "Taiwan," "Taiwan (ROC)," or "Republic of China."

Below is a short list of some of the most important intergovernmental organizations that Taiwan is a part of:

Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN)
International Air Transport Association
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Olympic Committee (competes as Chinese Taipei)
NASA
Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
13 different United Nations institutes or organizations
World Trade Organization (WTO)

You can see a full list on Wikipedia here.

Wikipedia states that Taiwan is a country.
(維基百科指出台灣是一個國家。)

If you check the Wikipedia article on Taiwan, the first line states that Taiwan is a country, and its official name is the Republic of China.

Chat GPT says that Taiwan is a country.
(Chat GPT 說台灣是一個國家。)

Yes, we asked Chat GPT if Taiwan was a country, and it said yes. See the full answer above.

Jensen Huang said that Taiwan is a Country.
(黃仁勳表示台灣是一個國家。)

Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), CEO and Co-founder of Nvidia, said “Taiwan is one of the most important countries in the world. It is the center of the electronics industry. The computer industry was built because of Taiwan, so it’s a very, very important country.”

How can you support Taiwan?

Taiwan is under constant attack from online Chinese armies (Wumao or 50 cent army) that try to smear or undermine Taiwan's sovereignty.
You can help support Taiwan by doing the following:

Tell your friends and family Taiwan is a country.
Tell your local government officials that Taiwan is a country, and encourage intergovernmental ties.
Visit Taiwan (Taiwan is one of the best vacation destinations in Asia). Check out our travel guide to Taiwan here for more information.
Join the Taiwan is a Country Facebook group.
Follow us on social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon)
Use the following memes against the endless Wumao (50 cent) online Chinese armies:

Meme showing the Wumao army's exasperation that Jensen Huang called a country:

Meme showing facts about differences between Taiwan and China:

Meme shaming people that think Taiwan is a part of China:

Meme showing a patch for the ROCAF punching China in the face:

Meme about China getting mad that Taiwan is a country:

Meme showing the reunification flag for Taiwan and China:

Meme showing the claimed territory of the Republic of China (West Taiwan):

Let me know if I forgot any memes. If you have any new memes to share, please share them with us in the Taiwan is a Country Facebook group here and be sure to join the group.

You can also follow us on social media here: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon

If you want to understand more about Taiwan, check out our Taiwan FAQ section here.

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.