Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was initially developed from several scattered hamlets helmed by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. It was constructed to be the new capital of Taiwan Province and renamed as "Taiwan-fu" in the late Qing dynastic era between 1887 and 1894. During the Japanese era from 1895, the urban planning of present-day city of Taichung was performed and developed by the Japanese. From the start of ROC rule in 1945, the urban area of Taichung was organized as a provincial city up until 25 December 2010, when the original provincial city and Taichung County were merged into a new special municipality. (Full article...)
, and led an ambitious foreign policy agenda to gain allies around the world. Nicknamed "Mr. Democracy", Lee was credited as the president who completed Taiwan's democratic transition.
After leaving office, he remained active in
Taiwanese politics. Lee was considered the "spiritual leader" of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and recruited for the party in the past. After Lee campaigned for TSU candidates in the 2001 Taiwanese legislative election, he was expelled by the KMT. Other activities that Lee engaged in included maintaining relations with former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and Japan. (Full article...
, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
A THSR 700T train running Taiwan High Speed Rail line
Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately 350 km (217 mi) along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a private company, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), which also operates the line, the total cost of the project was NT$513.3 billion in 1998. The system's technology is based primarily on Japan's Shinkansen.
The railway opened for service on 5 January 2007, with trains running at a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), currently running from Nangang to Zuoying in as little as 1 hour and 45 minutes, reaching almost 90% of Taiwan's population. Most intermediate stations on the line lie outside the cities served; however, a variety of transfer options, such as free shuttle buses, conventional rail, and metros have been constructed to facilitate transport connections. (Full article...)
... that the Formosan black bear(pictured) is an endangered and endemic species of bear that can only be found in Taiwan?
... that Jade Mountain, at 3,952 meters (13,114 feet), is the tallest mountain in Taiwan. Did you also know that it stands 176 meters taller than Mount Fuji in Japan, and that it was named Niitakayama, or 'new tall mountain' during Japanese rule?
... that
Gueishan Island
is an islet formed by the only active volcano in Taiwan?
Image 18Mid-17th century portrait of Koxinga (Guoxingye or "Kok seng ia" in southern Fujianese), "Lord of the Imperial Surname" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 231901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 32Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 33Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1734 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 34Map of Taiwan with the western coast pointed downwards, c. 1640 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 36Original geographic distributions of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples (from History of Taiwan)
Image 37Taiwan in the 17th century, showing Dutch (magenta) and Spanish (green) possessions, and the Kingdom of Middag (orange) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 44The Qing Empire in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange. (from History of Taiwan)