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Fujian Province (Republic of China)
Encyclopedia
Fujian Province is a province on the coast of southeastern China
. Since 1949, Fujian has been split between two separate governments
: the vast majority of Fujian
province has been governed by the People's Republic of China
(PRC); while a number of offshore islands have been governed by the Republic of China
(ROC) government in Taiwan
. The PRC and ROC have each maintained its own respective Fujian provincial government to administer the portions that it controls. This article describes the specific portion of Fujian governed by the Republic of China. See Fujian
for a description of the entire province, especially the part currently governed by the People's Republic of China.
The seat of the provincial government of ROC-controlled Fujian is Chincheng Township
of Kinmen County
.
, the ROC lost control of mainland China
, including most of Fujian
province, and was forced to relocate to Taiwan, while the victorious communist forces established the PRC in 1949. In the Battle of Kuningtou
, however, ROC forces were able to defend the island of Quemoy just off the coast of Fujian from communist attack. As a result, the ROC has been able to hold on to a number of offshore islands of Fujian, and has continued to maintain a separate Fujian provincial government to govern these islands, parallel to the province of Fujian in mainland China.
In 1956, due to heightened potential for military conflict with the PRC, the ROC central government moved the Fujian provincial government out of Fujian to within Taiwan Province
in Xindian
(now part of New Taipei), and the islands were placed under an extraordinarily tight military administration due to their extreme proximity to mainland China. This was an unusual situation where the government of a province is located and operating in a different province. With the easing of cross-Strait relations
between the PRC and ROC and the democratization of the ROC in the 1990s, the islands were returned to civilian government in 1992. On January 15, 1996, the provincial government moved back to Kinmen
, on Fujian soil.
Recently, the ROC has significantly diluted the powers of the two provinces it governs, namely Taiwan
and Fujian. Most of the authority at the Fujian province level has been delegated to the two county governments of Kinmen
and Lienchiang
.
.
The situation of Lienchiang County is a smaller analogy of Fujian: like Fujian, it is split between the PRC government, which governs the vast majority of it as Lianjiang County (spelled according to the Hanyu Pinyin romanization system), and the ROC government which governs a few offshore islands of it, namely the Matsu Islands
and some surrounding island groups. Kinmen County, on the other hand, is entirely within the jurisdiction of the ROC government.
The following are the islands of Fujian under the administration of the ROC, given by county:
These islands have a total area of 182.66 km² and a total population of 71,000 (2001).
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Since 1949, Fujian has been split between two separate governments
Two Chinas
The term Two Chinas refers to the two states with "China" in their official names: People's Republic of China , commonly known as "China", established in 1949, controlling mainland China and two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau...
: the vast majority of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province has been governed by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC); while a number of offshore islands have been governed by the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(ROC) government in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The PRC and ROC have each maintained its own respective Fujian provincial government to administer the portions that it controls. This article describes the specific portion of Fujian governed by the Republic of China. See Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
for a description of the entire province, especially the part currently governed by the People's Republic of China.
The seat of the provincial government of ROC-controlled Fujian is Chincheng Township
Chincheng
Jincheng is an urban township on the southwestern corner of the island of Kinmen . It is the county seat of Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China. It also served as the capital of Republic of China's Fujian Province from 1949 to 1956. From 1956 to 1996, the capital of Fujian Province...
of Kinmen County
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
.
History
During the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, the ROC lost control of mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, including most of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province, and was forced to relocate to Taiwan, while the victorious communist forces established the PRC in 1949. In the Battle of Kuningtou
Battle of Kuningtou
The Battle of Guningtou , also known as the Battle of Jinmen , was a battle fought over Kinmen in the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese Civil War in 1949...
, however, ROC forces were able to defend the island of Quemoy just off the coast of Fujian from communist attack. As a result, the ROC has been able to hold on to a number of offshore islands of Fujian, and has continued to maintain a separate Fujian provincial government to govern these islands, parallel to the province of Fujian in mainland China.
In 1956, due to heightened potential for military conflict with the PRC, the ROC central government moved the Fujian provincial government out of Fujian to within Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...
in Xindian
Xindian
Xindian District is a district in the southern part of New Taipei City in northern Republic of China .- History :Xindian's name originated during the Qing Dynasty close to 300 years ago. According to legend, a person named Lin and others came from Quanzhou, Fujian Province...
(now part of New Taipei), and the islands were placed under an extraordinarily tight military administration due to their extreme proximity to mainland China. This was an unusual situation where the government of a province is located and operating in a different province. With the easing of cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between People's Republic of China and the Republic of China , which lie to the west and east, repectively, of the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean....
between the PRC and ROC and the democratization of the ROC in the 1990s, the islands were returned to civilian government in 1992. On January 15, 1996, the provincial government moved back to Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
, on Fujian soil.
Recently, the ROC has significantly diluted the powers of the two provinces it governs, namely Taiwan
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...
and Fujian. Most of the authority at the Fujian province level has been delegated to the two county governments of Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
and Lienchiang
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
.
Subdivisions
The ROC governs its portion of Fujian province under two counties: Kinmen County and Lienchiang CountyMatsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
.
The situation of Lienchiang County is a smaller analogy of Fujian: like Fujian, it is split between the PRC government, which governs the vast majority of it as Lianjiang County (spelled according to the Hanyu Pinyin romanization system), and the ROC government which governs a few offshore islands of it, namely the Matsu Islands
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
and some surrounding island groups. Kinmen County, on the other hand, is entirely within the jurisdiction of the ROC government.
- Kinmen County (金門縣)
- Quemoy (金門島)
- Lesser QuemoyLesser QuemoyLieyu Township , commonly known as Lesser Kinmen is located to the Southwest of main Kinmen Island in between main Kinmen and Xiamen. It is situated outside the mouth of mainland China's Jiulong river and inside Xiamen's harbor...
(小金門島) - Wuciou (烏坵嶼)
- Daqiu (大坵)
- Xiaoqiu (小坵)
- Dongding (東碇)
- Dadan (大擔) and Erdan (二擔)
- Lienchiang CountyMatsu IslandsThe Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
(連江縣)- NanganNanganNangan is one of the Matsu Islands and the capital township of the Lienchiang County of the Republic of China....
(南竿島) - Beigan (北竿島)
- Juguang (莒光列島), called Baiquan Islands (白犬列岛) by the PRC
- DongyinDongyinDongyin is an island in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Fujian. The Dongyin Township , composed of Dongyin and Siyin, is a township of the Lienchiang County, Fukien Province, Republic of China ....
(東引島) - Minor islands: Liang (亮島), Gaodeng (高登)
- Nangan
These islands have a total area of 182.66 km² and a total population of 71,000 (2001).
List of Governors
| Governor | Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Term in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tai Chung-yu | 戴仲玉 | Dài Zhòngyù | 1945 - May 1986 |
| Wu Chin-tzan | 吳金贊 | Wú Jīnzàn | June 1986 - February 9, 1998 |
| Yen Chung-cheng | 顏忠誠 | Yán Zhōngchéng | February 10, 1998 - May 2007 |
| Chen Chin-jun | 陳景峻 | Chén Jǐngjùn | December 28, 2007 - May 19, 2008 |
| Hsueh Hsiang-chuan | 薛香川 | Xūe Xiāngchuān | May 20, 2008 - September 10, 2009 |
| James Cherng-tay Hsueh | 薛承泰 | Xūe Chéngtài | September 10, 2009 - |
See also
- Taiwan ProvinceTaiwan ProvinceTaiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...
- Politics of the Republic of ChinaPolitics of the Republic of ChinaThe politics of the Republic of China ,takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the premier is head of government, and of a dominant party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative...
- Battle of KuningtouBattle of KuningtouThe Battle of Guningtou , also known as the Battle of Jinmen , was a battle fought over Kinmen in the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese Civil War in 1949...
- First Taiwan Strait CrisisFirst Taiwan Strait CrisisThe First Taiwan Strait Crisis was a short armed conflict that took place between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China . The PRC seized the Yijiangshan Islands, forcing the ROC to abandon the Tachen Islands...
- Second Taiwan Strait CrisisSecond Taiwan Strait CrisisThe Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...
- Third Taiwan Strait CrisisThird Taiwan Strait CrisisThe Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21, 1995 to March 23, 1996...
- Chekiang Province, Republic of ChinaChekiang Province, Republic of ChinaChekiang Province, Republic of China was abolished after the Republic of China Army, Republic of China government officials and local residents were evacuated from Tachen to Taiwan in 1955 following the ROC's military defeat to People's Liberation Army forces during the Battle of Dachen...