Taiwan is an important economic partner of Japan, with 1.8 to 1.9 million Japanese visiting the island annually.

In order to maintain good relations with the Taiwanese people, we Japanese need to know Taiwan better. In this issue, we will explain about the Taiwanese flag, which you may be surprised to learn about.

Taiwanese who cannot name their country

Have you ever seen the country name Taiwan in the Olympics?

In fact, the name Taiwan does not exist in the list of participating countries for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

Similarly, the country name Taiwan does not appear in international sports tournaments such as tennis and baseball.

Because Taiwanese players are part of China, i.e.Chinese TaipeiThis is because they are participating as

And flying the flag.Plum Blossom Flag(The flag is called the Méi Huā Qí (Méi Huā Qí) and is used for international competitions.

Plum Blossom Flag of Chinese Taipei (Chinese Taipei) flown at an international convention
*November 24, 2018. A referendum was held in Taiwan on whether to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics under the name "Taiwan" instead of "Chinese Taipei". The result was that the "no" votes far outnumbered the "yes" votes, and participation in the Olympics under the name "Taiwan" was decided not to take place. The name "Taiwan" has a direct impact on relations with China and is therefore controversial even within Taiwan.

Back to Table of Contents

Taiwan, a famous but not a nation

Taiwanese companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry (Hon Hai), which acquired Sharp Corporation; Giant, a world-class manufacturer of sports bicycles; TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the world's leading semiconductor chip manufacturer; and EVERGREEN, which is involved in the shipping, aviation, and hotel industries, are active worldwide. Taiwanese companies are active around the world.

However, Taiwan is not recognized as a country in the international community.

This is because in 1971, the United Nations (General Assembly of the United Nations) passed a resolution allowing China (People's Republic of China) to join the United Nations, and in response, Taiwan withdrew from the UN and UN agencies.

As you know, China has been trying to make TaiwanPart of China (Taiwan Province)Therefore, UN member states, including Japan, cannot ignore the wishes of China, a member of the UN, and recognize Taiwan as a country.

Some may think that it is no big deal for China, a superpower with a population of 1.3 billion, to recognize Taiwan, with only 23 million people, as an independent country, but it is unacceptable for China to have a state possessing U.S. arms right next to Guangdong and Fujian provinces, which support the Chinese economy.

Also, if Taiwan becomes independent, it may lose control of Tibet and other areas in China that want to become independent.

Countries that recognize Taiwan as a country
As of 2019, 15 countries recognize Taiwan as a country.
Vatican City in Europe, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Palau, Tuvalu, Kingdom of Eswatini, Belize, Republic of Guatemala, Republic of Honjaras, Republic of Nicaragua, Republic of Paraguay, Republic of Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
*Solomon Islands and the Republic of Kiribati have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan due to the decision to establish diplomatic relations with China in September 2019.

Incidentally, if a Japanese national loses his/her passport while traveling in Taiwan, he/she will ask Taiwan to reissue it.There is no Japanese consulate (embassy).Instead, it undertakes the paperwork between Japan and Taiwan.Japan-Taiwan Exchange AssociationThere is a specialized agency, called "Passport Re-issuance Agency", which will re-issue your passport there.

Back to Table of Contents

What is the official flag of Taiwan?

Taiwan (Republic of China) has an official national flag called the Qingtian Báirì Mǎndì Hóngqí (青天白日満地紅旗).

Taiwanese flag: Blue sky, white sun, full land, red flag

Because of its red base, it resembles the flag of China (People's Republic of China), but the Chinese flag is marked with a yellow star, while the Taiwanese flag is marked with a white sun.

The official name of the national flag of China (People's Republic of China) is the Five-Star Red Flag (Wǔxīng Hóngqí). The largest star represents the Communist Party of China, and the four smaller stars represent the workers, peasants, and the small property class, as well as patriotic capitalists and intellectuals.

Back to Table of Contents

Taiwan FlagThe origin of the "Mere Old Man," in fact.Is it Chinese?

Who made the Taiwanese flag and when?

In 1894, at the end of the Qing Dynasty in China, a political association led by Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yat-sen Zhongshan)Kouchukai (political faction of the LDP)was formed.

Sun Yat-sen and his comrades used it as a marker to help distinguish comrades from each other.Blue sky, white sun flag (Seiten Hakuhi Tsuki)to be made.

This is the origin of the current Taiwanese flag (blue sky, white sun, full earth, and red flag). In other words, the Taiwanese flag was originallyFlag of the Chinese Revolutionary ArmyIt was.

Blue sky, white sun flag (Seiten Hakuhi Tsuki)

The actual designer of the blue-and-white flag was Sun Yat-sen's childhood friend and comrade-in-revolution Lu Haodong.

Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yat-sen Zhong-shan)
Chinese politician and revolutionary. First Provisional President of the Republic of China. Also known as "Father of the Nation" as the father of the Chinese Revolution. Currently depicted on the Taiwanese $100 bill. He is also famous for having defected to Japan twice and married a Japanese woman.

Meaning of "Blue Sky, White Sun" (Seiten Hakujitsu-ki Banner)

The blue part (blue sky) isrightThe white sun (shirohi) isfraternityThe 12 beams of light emanating from the sun are the 12 hours of the day.immortalitysymbolizes the

Until the blue-and-white flag became the national flag of Taiwan

In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution took place in China, which led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a new nation, the Republic of China (ROC) by revolutionary forces.
Sun Yat-sen was elected the first Provisional President of the Republic of China, but he was soon deprived of power by Yuan Shikai, the warlord general.

After losing his real power, Sun Yat-sen left China and founded the Chinese Revolutionary Party in 1914 in Tokyo, Japan, where he had been exiled.

Then, in 1919, it was reorganized and the Chinese Nationalist Party(Roots of the current Taiwanese Kuomintang government)and was a landmark of the revolutionary era.being cleared of all the charge (brought against one)as the party flag.

Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, but Chiang Kai-shek, the new leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party, established a new government of the Republic of China (the Nanjing Nationalist Government) in Nanjing, China in 1928.

At this time, the red flag representing the blood of those who devoted themselves to the revolution was added to the Chinese Kuomintang's blue-and-white sun symbol.Blue sky, white sun, full sun, full earth, red flagas the new flag of the Republic of China.

On December 7, 1949, the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek lost the battle against the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong and moved the capital of the Republic of China from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan, to replace the departing Japanese troops.

Since then, it has been the national flag of the Republic of ChinaBlue sky, white sun, full sun, full earth, red flagis the official flag of Taiwan.

Some Taiwanese are resistant to the flag of the Republic of China (ROC), which was originally a mainland Chinese nation, and believe that the Taiwanese flag should be created as a truly independent country. Even Taiwanese people have different opinions depending on the historical background.
Taiwanese flag flown by the pro-independence faction

Back to Table of Contents