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Taiwan
is claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) although
the PRC has never controlled Taiwan or any of the current
ROC territory commonly referred to as "Taiwan". The
PRC claims that Taiwan has been a part of China for
hundreds of years, and was returned by Japan to China
in 1945 after fifty years of Japanese occupation of
Taiwan since 1895. According to the PRC, the KMT was
the de facto government of Republic of China and that
the PRC is the successor of the ROC and is therefor
entitled to all ROC holdings, including Taiwan.
The
main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa (from Portuguese
(Ilha) Formosa, meaning "beautiful (island)"), is located
in East Asia off the coast of mainland China, southwest
of the main islands of Japan but directly west of the
end of Japan's Ryukyu Islands, and north-northwest of
the Philippines.
Separated
from the Asian continent by the 120 kilometres (75 mi)
wide Taiwan Strait, the main island of the group is
394 kilometres (245 mi) long and 144 kilometres (89
mi) wide. To the northeast are the main islands of Japan
and the East China Sea, and the southern end of the
Ryukyu Islands of Japan is directly to the east; the
Batanes Islands of the Philippines lie to its south
across the Bashi Channel. The mountainous island spans
the Tropic of Cancer and is covered by tropical and
subtropical vegetation. Other minor islands and islets
of the group include the Pescadores, Green Island, and
Orchid Island as well as the Diaoyutai Islands (Senkaku-shoto)
which have been controlled by Japan since the 1970s.
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