The "Free Area of the Republic of China" (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國自由地區) is a legal and political description referring to the territories of the Republic of China under the control of its government. It corresponds generally to the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. "Free Area" is synonymous with the term "Taiwan Area" (台灣地區), which is used in the contexts of economic, trade and exchanges of people. Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Vice President Annette Lu Premier Su Tseng-chang Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... This is a list of islands under the Republic of China administration (all claimed by the Peoples Republic of China). ... The Pescadores Islands (Chinese: 澎湖群島; Wade-Giles: Peng-hu; Pinyin: Pénghú, from Portuguese, fishermen) are an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. ... Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... The Matsu Islands (馬祖列島 or less frequently, 馬祖群島 Pinyin: MÇŽzÇ”) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (連江 Pinyin: Liánjiāng), Fukien Province of the Republic of China (ROC, now based on Taiwan). ...

Background

The term "Free Area" was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War to describe the territories under the control of the Nationalist Government in Chongqing (as opposed to the parts of China under Japanese occupation). Combatants National Revolutionary Army、Republic of China Imperial Japanese Army、Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek、Yan Xishan、Feng Yuxiang、Zhu De、He Yingqin Tojo Hideki、Matsui Iwane、Minami Jiro、Kesago Nakajima、Toshizo Nishio、Neiji Okamura. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Pinyin: Zhōng huá mín guó) succeeded the Qing Dynasty in 1912, ending 2,000 years of imperial rule. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: 重庆; Traditional Chinese: 重慶; Pinyin: Chóngqìng; Wade-Giles: Chung-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ...

This term came into usage again amid the Cold War. Following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the People's Republic of China was established in control of mainland China while the ruling Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan (and its surrounding islands) and declared Taipei to be the provisional capital of the Republic of China. The KMT viewed the Communist-declared People's Republic of China as an illegitimate entity and regarded its government to be the sole legitimate government of China. Mainland China was declared to be in a state of "Communist Rebellion" (the "Period of Communist Rebellion" would be officially terminated by the ROC government in 1991). The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name) or Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; Pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Combatants Chinese Nationalist Party Chinese Communist Party Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 3,600,000 circa June 1948 2,800,000 circa June 1948 The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; Pinyin: guógòng neìzhàn; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: 中国大陆; Traditional Chinese: 中國大陸; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhōngguó GuómíndÇŽng), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. ... City nickname: the City of Azaleas Capital District Xinyi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 16 of 25 271. ... The Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (Chinese: 動員戡亂時期臨時條款; Hanyu Pinyin: ) was a series of temporary constitutional provisions passed by the National Assembly of the Republic of China on May 10, 1948 and gave President Chiang Kai-Shek extended powers amid the height of the Chinese Civil War... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

To support this view, the KMT referred to the territories under its control as the "Free Area" to distinguish itself from the territories under the Communists, whom the KMT tried to portray as oppressive and totalitarian.

Legal use

The term "Free Area of the Republic of China" has persisted to the present day in the ROC legislation. The additional articles (amendments) of the Constitution of the Republic of China delegates numerous rights to exercise the sovereignty of the state, including that of electing the president and legislature, to citizens residing in the "Free Area of the Republic of China." This term was first used in the Constitution with the promulgation of the first set of amendments to the Constitution in 1991 and has been retained in the most recent revision passed in 2005. The Constitution of the Republic of China (traditional Chinese: 中華民國憲法; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Xiànfǎ; Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó SiànFǎ) is currently the basic governing document for the areas controlled by the Republic of China, namely all of Taiwan Province, Taipei and Kaohsiung municipalities, and Kinmen county and part of... The Office of the President of the Republic of China is located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. ... The Legislative Yuan building in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City (the view is blocked by the childrens hospital building of the National Taiwan University Hospital). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An election for the National Assembly will be held in the Republic of China on Taiwan on Saturday 2005-05-14, from 07:30 to 16:00 local time. ...

The need to use the term "Free Area" in the Constitution arose out of the discrepancy between the notion that the Republic of China was the sole legitimate government of China and the pressures of the popular sovereignty movement. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were demands, particularly by the Tangwai movement and other groups opposed to one-party authoritarian KMT rule, to restructure the ROC government, long dominated by mainlanders, to be more representative of the Taiwanese people it governed. For example, until 1991, members of the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan elected in 1948 to serve mainland constituencies remained in their posts indefinitely and the President of the Republic of China was to be elected by this same "thousand year parliament" dominated by aging KMT members. However, more conservative politicians, while acquiescing to the need for increased democracy, feared that constitutional changes granting localized sovereignty would jeopardize the ROC government's claims as the legitimate Chinese government and thereby promote Taiwan independence. According to the Constitution, promulgated in 1947 prior to the fall of mainland China to the Communists, the national borders of the Republic of China could only be changed through a vote by the National Assembly (amendments passed in 2005 transferred this power to the electorate through the method of referendum). In the absence of such constitutional changes, the Republic of China's official borders were to be regarded as all of mainland China (including Tibet) and Outer Mongolia (including Tannu Uriankhai) in addition to the territories it controlled. (Until the mid-2000s, maps published in Taiwan depicted mainland provincial and national boundaries as they were in 1949, disregarding changes by the Communist administration post-1949.) As a result of these concerns, while the 1991 revisions granted the sovereignty rights to the Taiwanese people, it did not explictly name Taiwan and instead used the term "Free Area" to maintain the notion that the Republic of China encompassed much more than the "Free Area." Popular sovereignty is the doctrine that the state is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... The Tangwai (黨外; pinyin: dăng wài; literally, outside the party) movement was a political movement in the Republic of China on Taiwan in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. ... Mainlanders are Chinese people who live, or were born, in mainland China as opposed to Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, or Taiwan. ... Taiwan independence (Traditional Chinese: 台灣獨立; Pinyin: , Pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan (out of the lands currently administered by the... The National Assembly (Traditional Chinese: 國民大會; Simplified Chinese: 国民大会; Pinyin: ) refers to several parliamentary bodies that existed in the history of the Republic of China. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, Pinyin: XÄ«zàng or Chinese: 藏区, Pinyin: ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Outer Mongolia makes up Mongolia (presently a sovereign state) and Tannu Uriankhai (the majority of which is the modern-day Tuva Republic, a federal subject of the Russian Federation), while Inner Mongolia (内蒙古; Nèi MÄ›nggÇ”) is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Tuva or Tyva (Russian: Республика Тыва [Тува], Respublika Tyva [Tuva]) (pop. ... 2000s - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

In ordinary legislation, the term "Taiwan Area" is usually used, especially in contexts of trade and exchange. In contrast to the "Free Area" is the "Mainland Area", which Act Governing the Relations Between Peoples of The Taiwan Area and The Mainland Area defines as "the territory of the Republic of China outside the Taiwan Area." However, on more practical grounds, the "Mainland Area" refers simply to mainland China. The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: 中国大陆; Traditional Chinese: 中國大陸; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ...

In addition, there are two other acts defining other "areas". The "Hong Kong Area" and the "Macau Area". The hand-over of these former European colonies to the People's Republic of China necessitated laws governing the relations between the Taiwan Area with them. The acts make no direct claim of control over these areas but are worded in a manner that may or may not assume the right to make such claims. This article refers to a colony in politics and history. ...

See also

• political status of Taiwan
• legal status of Taiwan
• history of the Republic of China

Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial, and hinges on whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of... The legal question of which legal entity holds de jure sovereignty over Taiwan is a controversial issue. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Pinyin: Zhōng huá mín guó) succeeded the Qing Dynasty in 1912, ending 2,000 years of imperial rule. ...

External links

• Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau
• Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area