| Basic data | |
| Capital | Taipei |
| Population | 2.60 |
| Language | Standard Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, Aboriginal languages |
| Religion | Buddhism (35%), Taoism (33%), Christianity (3%) |
| State system | A semi-presidential republic |
| Head of State | Tsai Ing-wen |
| Head of government | Su Tseng-chang |
| Currency name | New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) |
| Travel | |
| Time shift | +7 hours (in summer +6 hours) |
| Economy | 2021 |
| Nominal GDP (billion USD) | 1,512.10 |
| Economic growth (%) | 5.7 |
| Inflation (%) | 2 |
| Unemployment (%) | 4.4 |
So a basic summary for a general idea of the country: who has executive power and a brief description of the state establishment, legislation (briefly), the economy and opportunities for Czech companies, or problems when entering the market, if any. If the specific business culture can be described in a maximum of two sentences. Add a view into the future.
Basic information about the territory
Subchapters:
- System of governance and political tendencies in the country
- Foreign policy of the country
- Population
The system of governance and political tendencies in the country
A decade of democratic development (since 1987, when the state of emergency declared in 1949 ended) made it possible to form and consolidate one of the most stable democracies in the region. Today’s Taiwan (the official name used is the Republic of China) is a democratic society whose highest representative is the president. There are three levels of administration in Taiwan – central, provincial/municipal and district. The central power is represented by the Office of the President of the Republic and five so-called courts (Yuan). Elected bodies of public power include the Legislative Yuan. It is the highest legislative body in the country (essentially a unicameral parliament) whose job it is to pass laws that are confirmed by the president. Another elected body is the Control Yuan, which approves candidates for the position of president, vice president, senior judges of the Court of Justice and candidates for members of the Court of Review. The Examination Yuan follows the Confucian tradition of official examinations. He is responsible for ensuring that positions in public administration are filled by people who are morally and professionally qualified. In addition, he is also responsible for the level of experts holding leading positions in selected scientific, technical and cultural workplaces. The Executive Yuan is the de facto government. It is headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President of the Republic. The Judicial Yuan is responsible for upholding the law, ensuring the safety of citizens and the inviolability of their property. The Taiwanese political scene is dominated by two main parties known as the Blue Camp and the Green Camp. Blue symbolism is used by the Kuomintang (KMT – Chinese National Party). Check equzhou to learn more about Taiwan political system.
Composition of the Taiwanese administration:
TSAI President Ing-wen
Prime Minister SU Tseng-chang
Deputy Prime Minister SHEN Jong-chin
Ministry of Foreign Affairs WU Jaushieh (Joseph WU)
Ministry of Economy WANG Mei-hua
WU Tsung-Tsong Ministry of Science and Technology
Ministry of Finance SU Jain-rong
Ministry of Education PAN Wen-chung
Home Ministry HSU Kuo-yung
Ministry of Justice TSAI Ching-hsiang
Ministry of Labor HSU Ming-Chun
Ministry of Health and Welfare CHEN Shih-Chung
Ministry of Culture LEE Yung-te
Ministry of Transport and Communications WANG Kwo-tsai
Ministry of National Defense CHIU Kuo-Cheng
KUNG Ming-hsin National Development Council
Foreign policy of the country
Taiwan has established diplomatic relations with 14 countries. A clear priority is relations with the USA and then especially with countries in the region (e.g. Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, ASEAN states). An important moment is the development of cooperation with the EU and its member states. Since March 2003, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) has been providing mutual relations between the EU and TW in Taipei. The focus of EETO’s activities is the development of cooperation in the areas of economy, investment, science, education, culture and information exchange. Check recipesinthebox for Taiwan defense and foreign policy.
Population
Up to 95% of Taiwan’s population is made up of members of China’s largest ethnic group, the Han (of which the Hoklo ethnic group 70%, Hakka 20%), mainland Chinese 14%. Indigenous people make up 2% of the total population (16 officially registered indigenous tribes, the most numerous being the Amis, Paiwan and Atayal tribes). There are 21 registered religions in Taiwan (2015). The main religious groups in Taiwan are Buddhism (35%) and Taoism (33%), a Taiwanese specialty is the blending of these two religions together with the beliefs of the indigenous people. The third most widespread is I-Kuan Tao (number of believers 800 thousand). Since the late 1980s, the religious movement has entered a new phase hand in hand with Taiwan’s transition to full democracy. The official language is Standard Chinese (unlike mainland China, traditional characters are used here). Other official languages are Taiwanese Hoklo (Minnanese) and the language of the Hakka ethnic group. In addition, each of the original ethnic groups has its own language. The population of Taiwan was 23,319,776 in 2021. The average population density in 2021 was 644 inhabitants per km2, the rate of natural population increase is 0.06%. The ratio of men to women is 98.4:100.