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Asia Taiwan

Guide to Taiwan, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Welcome to the TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA) Page


---LOCATION---

The island of Taiwan lies some 180 kilometers (110 mi) off the southeastern coast of mainland China, which lies across the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,883 km2 (13,855 sq mi). The East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait directly to the south, and the South China Sea to the southwest. All are arms of the Pacific Ocean.

The island is characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges from the northern to the southern tip of the island, and the flat to gently rolling Chianan Plains in the west that are also home to most of Taiwan's population. Taiwan's highest point is Yu Shan (Jade Mountain) at 3,952 meters (12,966 ft);[83] Taiwan is the world's fourth-highest island.

---HISTORY---

Taiwan was historically called Formosa until recent times.

The island of Taiwan (formerly known as "Formosa") was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines until the Dutch and Spanish settlement during the Age of Discovery in the 17th century, when Han Chinese began immigrating to the island.

The Qing dynasty of China later defeated the kingdom and annexed Taiwan. By the time Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, the majority of Taiwan's inhabitants were Han Chinese either by ancestry or by assimilation.

After Japan's surrender in 1945, the Republic of China (ROC) assumed its control of Taiwan.

Following the defeat of the nationalists on the mainland, the ROC relocated its government to Taiwan, and its jurisdiction became limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands.

---RELIGION---

The Constitution of the Republic of China protects people's freedom of religion and the practices of belief.

The CIA World Factbook reports that over 93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of the polytheistic ancient Chinese religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism; 4.5% are adherents of Christianity, which includes Protestants, Catholics, and other, non-denominational, Christian groups; and less than 2.5% are adherents of other religions.

The Taiwanese aborigines comprise a notable subgroup among professing Christians: "...over 64% identify as Christian... Church buildings are the most obvious markers of Aboriginal villages, distinguishing them from Taiwanese or Hakka villages.

---ECONOMY---

East Timor has a market economy that previously depended upon exports of a few commodities such as coffee, marble, oil, and sandalwood. East Timor's economy grew by about 10% in 2011 and at a similar rate in 2012.

This occurred because Timor now has revenue from offshore oil and gas reserves, but little of it has gone to develop villages, which still rely on subsistence farming. Nearly half the population lives in extreme poverty. East Timor is labelled by the International Monetary Fund as the "most oil-dependent economy in the world".[

---RECORDS---

At present all Birth, Marriage, and Death records in East Timor are almost non-existent. What records that did exist during the Portuguese occupation have either been destroyed or lost.

DILI, East Timor, 22 February 2011 – Children in East Timor get a further boost in claiming their rights with the launch of the National Birth Registration Campaign. East Timor, one of the youngest nations in the world, launched the campaign which runs from 21 to 25 February 2011. It aims to cover over 200,000 children under the age of five who have not yet been registered.

The following links can provide a start:

Geneanet east Timor

Forbears UK Myheritage.com