Chen Shui-bian
President

(pronounced "SHEN shoo-EE BEE-on")

"We should insist on Taiwan's independent sovereignty. This is not our job; it is our mission."

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) since 1949, is a semitropical island about 145 km (90 mi) off the southeastern coast of mainland China. With a total land area of 35,203 sq km (13,592 sq mi), Taiwan has an estimated 22,603,000 inhabitants (February, 2003.) The P'eng-hu (Pescadores) Islands and 13 scattered offshore islands, including Quemoy and Matsu, are also part of Taiwan. Approximately 98% of the population is ethnically Chinese and the remainder consist of nine aboriginal tribes of Mayalo-Polynesian ancestry. The Chinese are divided into three groups: the majority Amoy Fukienese; the minority Hakkas; and the "mainlanders" who fled the mainland when the Communists seized power in 1949. Mandarin Chinese is the official language and Taiwan's main religions are a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism...