Flags, Symbols & Currency of Taiwan

The National flag of Taiwan (Republic of China) was adopted on May 5, 1921. The flag has been designed by Lu Haodong and Sun Yat-sen.

The National Flag of Taiwan features a red background with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays. The design of the white sun on the blue field (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates back to 1895 and was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party. The three colors correspond to the fundamental principles of the people of Taiwan. The blue color signifies liberty, justice, and democracy. The red color symbolizes fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism. The white color represents equality, frankness, and people’s livelihood. The twelve white rays represent the twelve months in a year and the twelve shichens (traditional Chinese hours) where each ray corresponds to about two hours of each day. The flag has a width-to-length proportion ratio of 2:3.

History of the Flag of Taiwan

The first flag of this region was flown during the Tungning Kingdom in 1663. It was a plain white flag with the word “zhéng” written on a red-bordered circle. The Qing Dynasty flag was flown from 1683 to 1895 when Formosa was formed. The Flag of Formosa was a blue banner with a tiger and Azure clouds. Under the Japanese rule, the island used the Japanese flag from 1895 to 1945. The Taiwan government was created on January 1, 1912, and they selected a 5-colored flag as their provisional flag. The army used the 18-star flag, while their navy adopted the current flag. After Taiwan was transferred to China from Japan in 1945, the government approved the naval ensign as their flag in article 6 of their 1947 constitution. The official flag of Taiwan is red with a blue canton which has a white sun and twelve triangular rays. In Chinese, it is described as a wholly red earth, white sun, and blue sky to reflect the country’s attributes. The Red Earth was added to the flag to symbolize the blood of all the people who helped to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish the Republic of China. The flag of Taiwan was used for the first time as a navy flag in 1912 in mainland China, before becoming their official flag in 1928.

National Anthem

• Anthem Title: “National Anthem of the Republic of China”
• Music Composer: Cheng Maoyun          
• Lyricist: Hú Hànmín, Dài Jìtáo and Liáo Zhòngkǎi
• Date of Adoption: September 27, 1949

“National Anthem of the Republic of China” is the national anthem of Taiwan (Republic of China). The music of the anthem have been composed by Cheng Maoyun . The lyrics have been written by Hú Hànmín, Dài Jìtáo and Liáo Zhòngkǎi. The anthem was officially adopted for its use in Republic of China (Taiwan) on September 27, 1949. 

The current official currency of Taiwan is the New Taiwan dollar (TWD, NT$). The New Taiwan dollar was initially issued by the Bank of Taiwan. Since 2000, the NT$ has been issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of China.

Coins

Currently, coins of denominations ½, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 dollars are in circulation.

Banknotes

Currently, banknotes in denomination 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 dollars are in circulation.

Historical currencies of Taiwan

On June 15, 1949, the New Taiwan dollar was issued to replace the old Taiwanese dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old Taiwanese dollar = 1 New Taiwan dollar. The New Taiwan dollar was issued to reduce the hyperinflation caused due to the Chinese civil war. In 1949, the gold reserve of China was moved to Taiwan and according to Temporary provisions, it was declared that the dollar issued by the Bank of Taiwan was to be used as the provincial currency. For several years, the silver yuan remained as the legal currency while the New Taiwan dollar was the de facto currency of Taiwan. In 1991, these temporary provisions became ineffective and the Republic of China had lacked an official currency till 2000. From July 2000 onwards, the NT$ became the official currency of Taiwan (Republic of China).  The Central Bank of the Republic of China started issuing banknotes and coins. The old coins and banknotes that had been issued by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out from circulation.