Colors and the Meaning of the Taiwan Flag
The Taiwan Flag was used as a party symbol of the Kuomintang, which was created during the Chinese revolution and later established in Taiwan. The flag consists of a blue rectangle positioned on the upper left corner of a red background and covered by a quarter of the flag. There is a white sun with 12 beams in the rectangle.
The colors in the flag were determined based on Sun Yat-sen’s Three Peoples Principles. According to this principle, blue color represents democracy (Min Chuan), red color nationalism (Min Tzu), and white color fertility (Min Sheng). According to Sun Yat-sen, the red ground, also called the Red World, marks the bloodshed for the establishment of the Republic of China by ending the Qing Dynasty.
The blue ground represents the sky, while the sun’s 12 rays represent 12 months of the year. Although the use of this flag is forbidden in this country due to the ‘Single China Policy’ adopted by China today, this flag is not included in the international organizations of the People’s Republic of China for the same reason.
History of the Taiwan Flag
The flag that fluctuated in Taiwan today was first used in 1919 in China.
In 1624, the Netherlands established a southern colony in Formosa, called Formosa, the old name of Taiwan. The flag, which fluctuated in the region, consisted of three colors of red-white-blue horizontal stripes. Two years later, in 1826, the Spanish established their own colonies, the Spanish Formosa.
In 1642, the Netherlands took control of most of the land of Formosa. The Netherlands lost control in 1662 and the land became the Tungning Kingdom and no flag was used at this point. In 1683, the Qing Dynasty undertook the management of Taiwan. The flags that are most related to the Qing Dynasty are the yellow triangle dragon flag and the rectangular yellow dragon flag with a red sun disk.
In 1895 the Republic of Formosa was established and the new flag was accepted. New flag consisted of red fire with dragon and blue cloud on a gray-blue background. This republic was short-lived with the Japanese seizing the country in the same year. The red solar disk was accepted with the white Japanese flag and the Japanese flag fluttered in the region until the Japanese surrendered their territory to the Allied forces in 1945. The country was the Republic of China, unofficially known as Taiwan in 1945.
Neighboring Countries of Taiwan
Taiwan is an island country located in East Asia, north of China and Japan, north of the Philippines.
Main Characteristics of Taiwan
Taiwan is a Far East country known for its history, nature and advanced economy. It is not officially recognized by many countries around the world. Taipei is the country’s largest city and capital. The official language is China. Taiwan dollars are used as currency.
The north has an astrophic climate, while the south has a tropical climate. The average temperature between October and March is 15 degrees and rainy. Between June and September, the average temperature is around 30 degrees. Due to northeastern monsoons, there is plenty of rainfall. It is similar to Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine. Taiwan sausage and rice are very consumed foods. The traditional dishes are succulent noodle soup.
| Country | Taiwan |
| Code | TW (TWN) |
| Calling Code | 886 |
| Capital City | Taipei |
| Currency | renminbi (CNY) |
| Emoji Symbol | 🇹🇼 |
| Highest Point | Yu Shan (3.952 m) |
| Internet TLD | .tw |
| Population(2017) | 23,659,762 |
| Total Area | 36.188 km2 |