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Taiwan

American  
[tahy-wahn] / ˈtaɪˈwɑn /

noun

Wade-Giles, Pinyin.
  1. an island separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait: a possession of Japan 1895–1945; restored to China 1945; seat of the Republic of China since 1949. Taipei.


Taiwan British  
/ ˈtaɪˈwɑːn /

noun

  1. Former name: Formosa.  an island in SE Asia between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, off the SE coast of the People's Republic of China: the principal territory of the Republic of China; claimed by the People's Republic of China since its political separation from mainland China in the late 1940s. Pop: 23 299 716 (2013 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Taiwan Cultural  
  1. Island nation in the Pacific Ocean near the mainland of southern China; seat of the Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Taipei.


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With its first free elections in the 1990s, Taiwan has become a democracy. Its economy is among the strongest in the world.

The United States long supported the Nationalists but broke relations in 1979 to establish relations with the People's Republic of China.

China refuses to accept Taiwan's independence as a nation, viewing it instead as merely a renegade province of China. This issue continues to complicate relations between the United States and China.

When the Chinese communists came to power on the mainland, the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek and some of his army took refuge on Taiwan.

Etymology

Origin of Taiwan

First recorded in 1920–25; from Chinese (Mandarin) Táiwān

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He said she had cut off contact with him and refused to bring their son back to Taiwan.

From BBC

There is a certain humility in his approach that likely stems from his time as a missionary in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From The Wall Street Journal

Taiwan faces similar risks because it relies on Qatar for a large chunk of its helium supplies, Fitch said.

From The Wall Street Journal

A string of Japanese islands stretches across the East China Sea and stops less than 70 miles from Taiwan.

From The Wall Street Journal

The conflict, Phillips-Robins explained, is twofold, with countries like South Korea and Taiwan, two major semiconductor manufacturing hubs, also being reliant on oil and natural gas from the Middle East.

From Salon