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| Taiwan |
The island of Taiwan and the adjacent islands located in the southern part of the East China Sea are one of the provinces of the People's Republic of China. Territory - 36 thousand sq. km. The population is 17 million, mainly Chinese (about 97%), as well as Aboriginal people of Gaoshan nationality. The administrative center is Taipei (over 2 million inhabitants). In 1590, the Portuguese colonialists conquered Taiwan, calling it Formosa (Beautiful). In 1641 the Dutch conquerors took possession of the island. In 1661 the population rose to fight and drove out the Dutch colonialists. At first, the island was administratively part of the Chinese province of Fujian, and in 1887 it was set aside as a separate province. In 1895, the Japanese aggressors annexed Taiwan to Japan. In 1945, after the defeat of Japan in World War II, Taiwan was returned to China. In 1949, after the victory of the people's revolution and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, the remnants of the overthrown reactionary Kuomintang regime fled to Taiwan, where they continue to act under the guise of the "Republic of China" under the protection of the US armed forces. In 1971, thanks to the efforts of the USSR and other socialist and developing states, the PRC took its rightful place in the UN, which until that time had been occupied by the representative of Taiwan. Industry and agriculture are well developed in Taiwan (two or three harvests of rice are harvested a year), as well as fishing. Taiwan is the largest camphor manufacturer. Railway length networks - about 5 thousand km. highways - 17 thousand km. The monetary unit is the Taiwanese yuan. 36 Taiwanese yuan = 1 am. dollars (1980).
