2 History

Taiwan Province was established in 1887 by the Qing Empire. Previously, the Qing Empire had administered Taiwan as part of Fujian province - as one prefecture from 1680 to 1875 and two prefectures (north and south from 1875 to 1887).

In 1895, Taiwan and the Pescadores was transferred to Japan. Under Japanese rule, the Province was abolished in favor of Japanese-style divisions. After the islands were ceded to the Republic of China in 1945, the ROC government did not immediately make Taiwan into a province and put it under military occupation under Chief Executive Chen Yi. Chen was extremely unpopular and under his administration, there was an uprising known as the 228 incident. Chen was recalled in May of 1947 and the Taiwan Provincial Government was established.

When the Kuomintang (KMT) central government fled to Taiwan in 1949, the provincial administration remained in place under the theory that the ROC was still the government of all of China even though critics argued that it overlapped inefficiently with the national government. Until 1992, the governor of Taiwan province was appointed by the ROC central government, and this office was often a stepping stone to higher office.

In the early 1990s, the status of Taiwan Province was reopened. The then opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agreed to retain the province with an elected governor in the hopes of creating a Yeltsin effect in which a popular local leader could overwhelm the national government. These hopes proved unfulfilled as then-Kuomintang member James Soong was elected governor of Taiwan by a wide margin defeating the DPP candidate Chen Ding-Nan .

In 1997, as the result of an agreement between the KMT and the DPP, the administration of the province was streamlined in curtailed constitutional changes. For example, the post of provincial governor and the provincial assembly were both abolished and replaced with a nine-member special council. Although the stated purpose was administrative efficiency, many believe that it was actually intended to destroy James Soong's power base and eliminate him from political life. In addition, the provincial legislature was abolished while the Legislative Yuan was expanded to include some of the former provincial legislators. In contrast to the past where the head of Taiwan province was considered a major official, the chairperson of Taiwan province after 1999 has been considered a very minor position.

Administrative history
The Executive Yuan decisions:

• December 25, 1945:
  • 8 counties of Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taitung, and Penghu
  • 9 provincial cities: Taipei, Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pintung.
  • 2 county-controlled cities: Hualien and Yilan
• August 16, 1950:
  • 16 counties: all existing ones
  • 8 provincial cities: reduced Chiayi a county-controlled city
• December 1, 1951: 5 provincial cities: reduced Hsinchu, Changhua, and Pintung to county-controlled cities
• 1967: Taipei became the first Taiwanese municipality
• November 11, 1967: All county seats (originally towns) upgraded to county-controlled cities.
• 1979: Kaohsiung became the second Taiwanese municipality
• July 1, 1982: 2 new provincial cities: Hsinchu and Chiayi (approved on April 23, 1981)

3 List of Governors

Chief Executive (行政長官 xingzheng zhangguan):

1. Chen Yi (Oct 25, 1945 - May 1947)

Temporarily part of the Executive Yuan, the position was legalized in Taiwan Province Administrative Official Public Ministry Organization Statute (臺灣省行政長官公署組織條例) of September 20, 1945.

Chairpersons (省主席 shengzhuxi):

1. Wey Daw-ming (May 16, 1947 - Jan 5, 1949)
2. Chen Tsyr-shiou (Jan 5, 1949 - Dec 21, 1949)
3. Wu Gwo-jen (Dec 21, 1949 - Apr 16, 1953)
4. Yu Horng-jiun (Apr 16, 1953 - Jun 7, 1954)
5. Yen Chia-kan (Jun 7, 1954 - Aug 16, 1957)
6. Chow Chih-jou (Aug 16, 1957 - Dec 1, 1962)
7. Huang Chieh (Dec 1, 1962 - Jul 5, 1969)
8. Shien Ta-ching (Jul 5, 1969 - Jun 6, 1972)
9. Shien Tung-min (Jun 6, 1972 - May 20, 1978)
10. Lin Yang-kang (Jun 12, 1978 - Dec 5, 1981)
11. Lee Teng-hui (Dec 5, 1981 - May 20, 1984)
12. Chiu Chuang-huan (Jun 9, 1984 - Jun 16, 1990)
13. Lien Chan (Jun 16, 1990 - Dec 21,1998)
14. James Soong (Mar 20, 1993 - Dec 20, 1994):

    James Soong (Dec 20, 1994 - Dec 21, 1998, as a governor, 省長 shengzhang). The title "governor" was first legally used in the Self-Governance Law for Provinces and Counties (省縣自治法) of July 29, 1994

15. Chao Shou-po (Dec 21, 1998 - May 20, 2000)
16. Chang Po-ya (May 20, 2000 - Feb 1, 2002)
17. Fan Kuang-chun (Feb 1, 2002 - Oct 14, 2003)
18. Lin Kuang-hua (Oct 14, 2003 - present)

4 See also:

• Politics of Taiwan

5 External links

• Taiwan Provincial Government official site
• maps
• Data by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Interior, ROC

Administrative divisions of the Republic of China

Central Municipalities: Kaohsiung City | Taipei City Counties: Taiwan Province: Changhua County | Chiayi County | Hsinchu County | Hualien County | Kaohsiung County | Miaoli County | Nantou County | Penghu County | Pingtung County | Taichung County | Tainan County | Taipei County | Taitung County | Taoyuan County | Yilan County | Yunlin County Fujian Province : Kinmen County | Lienchiang County Provincial Cities: Taiwan Province: Chiayi City | Hsinchu City | Keelung City | Taichung City | Tainan City

<Hide>