Taiwan (Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān, /ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN), also known, especially in the past, as Formosa (from Portuguese: Ilha Formosa, "Beautiful Island"), is an island or island group in the western Pacific Ocean located off the southeast coast of mainland China. The main island has constituted over 99% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) after its defeat during the Chinese Civil War in 1950, and the country is no...
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Taiwan (Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān, /ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN), also known, especially in the past, as Formosa (from Portuguese: Ilha Formosa, "Beautiful Island"), is an island or island group in the western Pacific Ocean located off the southeast coast of mainland China. The main island has constituted over 99% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) after its defeat during the Chinese Civil War in 1950, and the country is now commonly known as "Taiwan". (See also Names of the Republic of China.)
Separated from the Asian continent by the 160 km (99 mi) wide Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is 394 km (245 mi) long and 144 kilometres (89 mi) wide. To the northeast are the main islands of Japan and the East China Sea, and the southern end of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan is directly to the east; the Batanes Islands of the Philippines lie to its south across the Bashi Channel. The mountainous island spans the Tropic of Cancer and is covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation....
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