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“Chinese Taipei” is shown
in black. Note that we do not have the Chinese name for “Chinese Taipei” since
the name has not yet appeared on official documents in Chinese. |
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Capital: Taipei Average temperatures: January
temperatures average about 18° C; warm,
humid summers extend from May until September with temperatures averaging
about 28° C. Physical features: The land
area is 36,188 square kilometres, the length of which is about 360 kilometres and a
forested mountain range extends through most of it. The highest peak, Yu Shan, reached nearly 4,000 metres above
sea level. East of this central chain
of mountains is a sharp drop to the coast, while the west has a broad,
fertile plain sloping gently to the Taiwan Strait. Rivers: All
rivers originate in the mountains and travel relatively short distances. The longest rivers are the Choshui,
Kaoping, Tsengwen, and Tanshui, which is the only navigable stream. Administrative divisions:
“Chinese Taipei” is divided into 16
counties, five municipalities, and two special municipalities (Taipei, the
capital, and Kaohsiung). Each county
is subdivided into townships, rural districts or groups of villages, and
precincts. Cultural significance: The
population comprises three main groups: the Taiwanese (about 84 per cent),
who are descendants of the Chinese who emigrated from Fujian and Guangdong provinces
during the 18th and 19th centuries; the Chinese (about 14 percent), who moved
to the island after World War II (1939-1945); and the aborigines (2 percent),
who are related linguistically to the people of the Philippines and Indonesia
(the Malayo-Polynesian language group, which is also known as
Austronesian). The society traditionally has been agrarian, but by the late 1980s
only about 15 percent of the labor force worked in agriculture. |
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Coal: Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu,
Miaoli, Nantau and Chiayi Gold:
Juifang, Chinkuashih (Taipei prefecture), Copper: Juifang,
Chinkuashih (Taipei prefecture), Chimei (Hwalien) Pyrites: Chihsingshan, Chinkuashih (Taipei
prefecture), Tananao (Yilan), Tungmeng (Hwalien) Placer Magnetite:
Chinshan, Tanshui (Taipei prefecture), Chuwei (Taoyuan), Chaiyi (Tainan) Limonite: Yaoyuan,
Hsinchu, Taichung, Chihsingshan (Taipei prefecture) Manganese:
Simaoshan (Yilan) Ilmenite (10%):
Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chihsingshan (Taipei
prefecture) Zircon Ore (40%): Tainan, Chiayi, Hsinchu Monazite (2%): Tainan, Chiayi, Hsinchu Sulphur:
Chihsingshan (Taipei prefecture), Chinshan, Peitou (Yangmingshan) Asbestos:
Fengtien (Hwalien) Dolomite: Hwalien Marble: Yilan,
Hwalien, Taitung Talc: Yilan,
Hwalien Bauxite:
Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung Limestone: Yilan,
Hwalien, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Hsinchu Petroleum: Miaoli,
Hsinchu, Pachangchi, Chiayi, Shinnying, Tainan Natural gas: Miaoli,
Hsinchu, Pachangchi, Chiayi, Shinnying, Tainan |
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Notes: *in real terms |
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A brief summary is as follows: Transport: The
growth rate of transport was 8.8 per cent in 1998 and 4.1 per cent in
1999. Total rail track length is
2,639 kilometres; roadways total 19,699 kilometres, of which 88 per cent is
paved. More than 16 million motor
vehicles were registered in 1999. A
total of 616,322 air flights occurred in 1999, of which nearly 80 per cent
were domestic flights. Communications: The
growth rate of communications was 50.3 per cent in 1998 and 64.2 per cent in
1999. The telephone penetration rate
is 55 per cent for Taiwan Island, 84 per cent for Taipei,
83 per cent for Taichung, 82 per cent for Tainan, 61 per cent for Kaohsiung
and 52 per cent for Keelung. Power stations: 70 with
a total installed capacity of 28.5 million kW, of which 39 (4.4 million kW)
are hydro, 28 (18.9 million kW) are thermal and 3 (5.1 million kW) are
nuclear. |
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A variety of other crops are grown, including sweet
potatoes, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, tea, bananas, pineapples, citrus fruit,
sugarcane, asparagus, mushrooms and watermelon. Livestock consisted of 7.2 million hogs, 165,248
cattle, 237,295 goats, 121.5 million chickens, and 11.6 million ducks. |
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v
chemical materials, v
chemical products, v
rubber products, v
plastic products, v
basic metals, v
fabricated metal products, v
machinery and equipment, v
electrical and electronic machinery, v
transport equipment, and v
precision instruments. These industries account for more than 75 per cent of
manufacturing output. |
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v
Taipei, situation on the northern part of the Taiwan
Island, but not quite at the northern tip.
Its population is approximately 3 million and it is considered to be
the main administrative, commercial, manufacturing, and cultural centre of
the island. Major products from the area
include textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, wood and metal goods,
chemicals, machinery, refined petroleum, and processed food. v
Taichung, a city in the central part of Taiwan Island, near
the west coast. Its population is
about 900,000 and it is mainly a distribution and processing centre for the
agricultural region that surrounds it.
Agricultural products in that
region include rice, sugar cane and bananas.
Manufacturing in Taichung includes textiles, machinery and chemicals. v
Tainan, located about 45 kilometres north of
Kaohsiung. It is a major economic and
cultural centre since the late 16th century.
It became the capital of Taiwan under the rule of Cheng Cheng-kung,
also known as Koxinga during the 17th century. Its population is over 700,000. Industries include rice mills,
sugar mills as well as iron and steel. v
Kaohsiung, located at the southern end of the island. It is
considered to be a major commercial centre of that region, with a port that
was developed by the Dutch in the middle of the 19th century. The population of Kaohsiung is about
350,000. Major industries include
aluminium smelting, oil refining, shipbuilding, rice and sugar milling, and
fish and fruit processing and canning. v
Keelung, situated in the north part of the island, about
25 kilometres east of Taipei. It is
the port city for Taipei, having been developed during the colonial period by
the Japanese. The city has a
population of slightly under 400,000. Industries include shipbuilding
and fish-processing industries, as well as coal, gold, and silver deposits
nearby. |
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Hong Kong Trade Development Council (http://www.tdctrade.com). Council for Economic Planning and Development, Taiwan Statistical Data Book. |
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