View source for Administrative divisions of Taiwan

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}

{{Administrative divisions of Taiwan sidebar}}
{{Politics of Taiwan}}

The [[Taiwan|Republic of China (Taiwan)]] is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1465&CtNode=1347 | work=Taiwan Review | title=Gone with the Times | date=October 1999 | access-date=2012-01-11 | last=Hwang | first=Jim | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226030251/http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1465&CtNode=1347 | archive-date=2012-02-26 }}</ref> Due to the complex [[political status of Taiwan]], there is a significant difference in the ''de jure'' system set out in the original constitution and the ''de facto'' system in use today.

The Republic of China (ROC) government defines the [[Taiwan Area|Taiwan Area (Free Area)]] as its actual controlled territories, which is constitutionally divided into two [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (1912–1949)#Administrative divisions published after 1949|provinces]] and six [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]], with each province subdivided into [[provincial city (Taiwan)|cities]] and [[county (Taiwan)|counties]]. After a [[Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China|constitutional amendment]] in 1997, the provinces became non-self-governing bodies and remained as nominal divisions under the constitution, with no governing powers. The provincial governments were abolished in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tpg.gov.tw/|title=Taiwan Provincial Government Official Website|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=29 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129130923/http://www.tpg.gov.tw/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Provincial borders remained for statistical purposes.<ref>[https://www.ris.gov.tw/documents/data/5/2/DemographicQuarterly_Winter2022.pdf Demographic Quarterly] Winter 2022</ref>

With provinces non-functional in practice, Taiwan is divided into 22 subnational divisions (6 special municipalities, 3 cities, and 13 counties), each with a local government led by an elected head and a local council. Special municipalities and cities are further divided into districts for local administration. Counties are further divided into [[township (Taiwan)|townships]] and [[county-administered city|county-administered cities]]; these divisions have a degree of autonomy with elected leaders and local councils, which share responsibilities with the county governments. Matters for which local governments are responsible or partially responsible include social services, education, urban planning, public construction, [[water resource management|water management]], environmental protection, transport and public safety.

When the ROC retreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed territory consisted of 35 provinces, 12 special municipalities, 1 special administrative region (Hainan) and several autonomous regions ([[Tibet Area (administrative division)|Tibet]], reclaimed [[Outer Mongolia]] in [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 505 (VI)|1953]]). However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled only [[Taiwan Province]] and some islands of [[Fujian Province, Republic of China|Fujian Province]]. The ROC also controls the [[Pratas Island]] and [[Taiping Island]] in the [[Spratly Islands]], which are part of the disputed [[South China Sea Islands]]. They were placed under [[Kaohsiung]] administration after the retreat to Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite news|title=World: Asia-Pacific Analysis: Flashpoint Spratly |date=14 February 1999 |publisher=BBC |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/279170.stm}}</ref>

Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control. [[Taipei]] became a special municipality in 1967 and [[Kaohsiung]] in 1979. The two provincial governments were "streamlined", with their functions transferred to the central government (Fujian in 1956 and Taiwan in 1998).<ref>{{cite news | url=http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1465&CtNode=1347 | work=Taiwan Review | title=Gone with the Times | date=1 October 1999 | access-date=13 April 2012 | last=Hwang | first=Jim | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226030251/http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1465&CtNode=1347 | archive-date=26 February 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2010, [[New Taipei City|New Taipei]], [[Taichung]], and [[Tainan]] were upgraded to [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]]. And in 2014, Taoyuan County was also upgraded to [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan]] special municipality. This brought the top-level divisions to their current state:<ref name="GIO-government">{{cite web|url=http://info.gio.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=19878&ctNode=2840&mp=21 |title=中華民國國情簡介 政府組織 |publisher=Government Information Office |location=Taipei |access-date=13 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514012002/http://info.gio.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=19878&ctNode=2840&mp=21 |archive-date=14 May 2012 }}</ref>

According to Article 4 of the Local Government Act, laws pertaining to special municipalities also apply to counties with a population exceeding 2 million. This provision does not currently apply to any county, although it previously applied to Taipei County (now [[New Taipei City]]) and Taoyuan County (now [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan City]]).

==History==
{{See also|Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)|History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–49)}}

===Territory===
After the [[World War II]] in 1945, the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)]] received Taiwan (Formosa) and [[Penghu]] (the Pescadores) from the [[Empire of Japan]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} After the [[Chinese Civil War]] in 1949, the ROC was reduced to mainly the [[Geography of Taiwan|island of Taiwan]] and some [[List of islands of Taiwan|offshore islands]], with the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) controlling the mainland. However, it continued to formally claim all 35 provinces (including those that no longer form part of the area of the People's Republic of China) in official maps by the ROC government and ignored the changes imposed by the PRC. After 1953, the authorities in Taiwan once claimed that Mongolia was ROC territory, but this claim was abolished under the [[Chen Shui-bian]] administration in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237 |title = Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year |work = [[Taipei Times]] |date = 2002-10-11 |access-date = 2009-05-28|quote=In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory. {...} Long a province of China, Mongolia declared its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. After the Ministry of the Interior's recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official ROC map, on Oct. 3, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan recognizes Mongolia as an independent country -- 81 years after Mongolia declared its independence.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192036/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|archive-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> By 1967 and 1979, the ROC set up [[Taipei]] and [[Kaohsiung]] as its special municipalities, with three more added in 2010 and one in 2014. As of {{currentyear}}, the ROC has not officially renounced claims in [[mainland China]] ruled by the [[Chinese Communist Party|CCP]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Laws and Regulations Regarding Mainland Affairs |url=https://www.mac.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=4F2E0C155DF44564&sms=2C46F5E37DC2E1D2&s=4597A146F5AF7D3C |website=[[Mainland Affairs Council]] |access-date=30 May 2018 |quote=Article 3: The enforcement areas of Subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act shall refer to areas under control of the Chinese Communists.}}</ref> though the ROC has also not recently published official maps depicting mainland China as part of its territory.<ref>{{cite web|title=編印臺灣全圖及各級行政區域圖|url=https://www.land.moi.gov.tw/chhtml/content/68?mcid=3224|language=zh-tw|website=中華民國內政部地政司|date=2021-04-05|access-date=14 September 2024|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417025412/https://www.land.moi.gov.tw/chhtml/content/68?mcid=3224|url-status=dead}}</ref>

This history gives two different sources of the current Taiwanese administrative divisions on the [[free area of the Republic of China]] or Taiwan Area.
* [[Taiwan Province]]: The island of Taiwan (Formosa) and [[Penghu]] (the Pescadores): inherited from the divisions of [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]] under the [[Empire of Japan]].
* [[Fuchien Province, Republic of China|Fuchien Province]]: [[Kinmen]] (Quemoy) and the [[Matsu Islands]] – offshore islands inherited from the ROC's Fuchien divisions. The original province was partitioned between the PRC and the ROC following the [[Battle of Guningtou]] in 1949.  In addition, the ROC still controls over [[Pratas Island]] and part of the [[Spratly Islands]] in the [[South China Sea]]. These were originally part of the [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (1912–1949)|Hainan Special Administrative Region]], but were transferred to the special municipality of [[Kaohsiung]] in 1996. These provinces were streamlined in 1998 and their governments became non-functional in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2018/06/29/2003695750|title=Provincial-level agencies to be defunded next year|author= Sherry Hsiao|website=Taipei Times|date= 29 June 2018|access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref>

===Changes to divisions===
In 1945, the ROC replaced the [[Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)|Japanese prefectures]] with eight counties (Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Penghu, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taitung) and nine cities (Changhwa, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei).<ref name="Chao2011">{{cite news |url=https://taiwantoday.tw/Politics/Taiwan-Review/6187/Rezoning-Taiwan |title=Rezoning Taiwan |author=Chao Yung-mao |work=Taiwan Today |date=1 February 2011 |access-date=28 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="Edmonds2001">{{cite journal |author=Richard Louis Edmonds |year=2001 |title=Aspects of the Taiwanese Landscape in the 20th Century |journal=The China Quarterly |url=https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/11241652.pdf |page=4}}</ref>

On 16 August 1950, a law reorganizing [[Taiwan Province]] was passed by the [[Executive Yuan]].<ref>{{cite book |title=台灣省參議會運作功能之研究 |chapter=第五章 台灣省參議會在行政區劃政策之功能評析 |chapter-url=http://api.lib.ntnu.edu.tw:8080/server/api/core/bitstreams/2a12f35f-baf1-4003-b083-8a93865a3d7b/content |page=130 |language=zh}}</ref> In September 1950, the Taiwan Province County and Municipal Administrative District Modification Proposal reorganized [[Taiwan Province]] into 16 counties (Changhwa, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Ilan, Kaohsiung, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taitung, Taoyuan, Yunlin) and five cities (Kaohsiung, Keelung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei).<ref name="Edmonds2001"/> The ROC also retained control of [[Kinmen|Kinmen County]] and [[Matsu Islands|Lienchiang County]], bringing the total number of administrative divisions to 23.<ref name="Chao2011"/>

In 1967, [[Taipei]] became a [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipality]],<ref name="Chao2011"/> separate from Taiwan Province, which gave the central government more direct control of the city.<ref name="Edmonds2001"/> Taipei was followed by [[Kaohsiung]] in 1979. In 1982, [[Hsinchu]] and [[Chiayi]] were separated from their counties to become [[Provincial city (Taiwan)|provincial cities]].<ref name="Chao2011"/>

Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control. The two provincial governments were downscaled and much of their functions transferred to the central or county governments. Six [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]] have been created.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

Since 1949, the most controversial part of the political division system has been the existence of [[Taiwan Province]], as its existence was part of a larger controversy over the [[political status of Taiwan]]. Since 1998, most of the duties and powers of [[Taiwan Provincial Government]] have been transferred to the [[government of the Republic of China|central government]], through amendments to the constitution. The much smaller [[Fujian Province, Republic of China|Fukien province]], [[Fujian Provincial Government]] has been downsized since 1956.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

There has been some criticism of the current administrative scheme as being inefficient and not conducive to regional planning.<ref name="Chao2011"/> In particular, most of the administrative cities are much smaller than the actual metropolitan areas, and there are no formal means for coordinating policy between an administrative city and its surrounding areas.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} The 1980s and 1990s saw proposals to merge Kaohsiung and Taipei cities with their counties of the same name, although these proposals did not end up being implemented.<ref name="Edmonds2001"/>

Before 2008, the likelihood of consolidation was low. Many of the cities had political demographics which were very different from their surrounding counties, making the prospect of consolidation highly politically charged. For example, while the [[Kuomintang]] argued that combining [[Taipei|Taipei City]], [[New Taipei City|Taipei County]], and [[Keelung|Keelung City]] into a metropolitan Taipei region would allow for better regional planning, the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] argued that this was merely an excuse to eliminate the government of Taipei County, which it had at times controlled, by swamping it with votes from [[Taipei|Taipei City]] and [[Keelung|Keelung City]], which tended to vote Kuomintang.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

On 1 October 2007, Taipei County was upgraded to a quasi-municipality ({{lang|zh-hant|準直轄市}}) on the same level as Kaohsiung City and Taipei City.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://web.ner.gov.tw/culturenews/culture/culture-detail.asp?id=84927 |work= 國立教育廣播電台新聞 |access-date= 2016-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127040144/http://web.ner.gov.tw/culturenews/culture/culture-detail.asp?id=84927 |date= 2007-10-01 |script-title=zh:歷時28年 臺北縣今升格為準直轄市 |trans-title=After 28 years, Taipei County today is promoted to quasi-municipality status |url-status=dead|archive-date= 2008-01-27 }}</ref> This allowed the county to have the organizational and budgetary framework of a ''de jure'' municipality, but it was still formally styled as a county. Taichung County and Tainan City lobbied the central government for similar status. [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan County]] was also upgraded to a quasi-municipality on 1 January 2011, as its population was above 2 million on the date of elevation.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/dec/7/today-p3.htm|work=Liberty Times|date=2010-12-07|script-title=zh:升格為準直轄市 / 元旦改制日 桃園人口須維持200萬)}}</ref>

Under President [[Ma Ying-jeou]]'s administration, the central government has reorganized more counties and cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/dec/27/today-p3.htm |work=Liberty Times |date=2008-12-27 |script-title=zh:三都十五縣 馬指示漸進推動 |trans-title=Ma directs gradual progression towards 3 municipalities and 15 counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430210555/http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/dec/27/today-p3.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2009 }}</ref> Four mergers and promotions were approved in 2009 and became effective on 25 December 2010 and one more became effective on 25 December 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/jun/24/today-t1.htm |work=Liberty Times |date=2009-06-24 |script-title=zh:縣市升格 北中高過關 南縣市補考 |trans-title=Promotion of Cities and Counties: Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung approved; Tainan awaits further examination |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626001634/http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/jun/24/today-t1.htm |archive-date=June 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://zh.wikinews.org/wiki/%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E5%86%8D%E6%B7%BB%E7%9B%B4%E8%BD%84%E5%B8%82 | newspaper=Wikinews | date=2009-06-29 | script-title=zh:臺灣再添直轄市}}</ref>

The summary of changes on administrative divisions are shown below.

{|class=wikitable
!width=120|Name!!Notes
|-
|[[Fujian Province, Republic of China|Fujian Province]]||The provincial capital was moved from [[Fuzhou]] to [[Jincheng, Kinmen|Jincheng]], [[Kinmen]] in 1949. The provincial government was downscaled in 1956 and dissolved in 2019.
|-
|[[Taiwan Province]]||The provincial capital was moved from [[Taipei]] to [[Zhongxing New Village]] in 1956. The provincial government was downscaled in 1998 and dissolved in 2018.
|-
|[[Kaohsiung]] City||Formerly a provincial city, elevated to a special municipality in 1979. In 2010, a new Kaohsiung special municipality was established by merging former [[Kaohsiung County]] with the existing Kaohsiung City.
|-
|[[New Taipei City]]||Formerly [[New Taipei City|Taipei County]], elevated to a special municipality in 2010.
|-
|[[Taichung]] City||Elevated to a special municipality by merging Taichung City and [[Taichung County]] in 2010.
|-
|[[Tainan]] City||Elevated to a special municipality by merging Tainan City and [[Tainan County]] in 2010.
|-
|[[Taipei]] City||Formerly a provincial city, elevated to a special municipality in 1967.
|-
|[[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan]] City||Formerly [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan County]], elevated to a special municipality in 2014.
|}

This brought the top-level divisions of Taiwan (ROC) to its current state: 2 nominal provinces without administrative function and 6 [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]]; and under the provinces, 13 [[county (Taiwan)|counties]] and three [[provincial city (Taiwan)|cities]].<ref>[http://info.gio.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=19878&ctNode=2840&mp=21 中華民國國情簡介 政府組織] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514012002/http://info.gio.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=19878&ctNode=2840&mp=21 |date=2012-05-14 }}</ref>

== Current system ==
{{Administrative divisions of Taiwan|map=show}}

===Special municipalities, counties, and cities ===
{{Main|Special municipality (Taiwan)|Provincial city (Taiwan)|County (Taiwan)}}
{{See also|List of administrative divisions of Taiwan|List of cities in Taiwan}}

Currently there are three types and in total 22 administrative divisions are directly governed by the central government ([[Executive Yuan]]). According to the ''Local Government Act'' of [[Taiwan]], a place with population more than 1.25 million may become a [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipality]], a place with population between 0.5 and 1.25 million may become a [[provincial city (Taiwan)|city]]. Counties with population more than 2 million may grant some extra privileges in local autonomy that was designed for special municipalities.

{|class=wikitable
!!!Name!![[Chinese characters|Chinese]]!![[Pinyin]]!![[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]]!!Count
|-
|bgcolor=f5c3c4|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||[[Special municipality (Taiwan)|Special municipality]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|直轄市}}</span>
|align=center|zhíxiáshì||align=center|ti̍t-hat-chhī||align=center|6
|-
|bgcolor=e3edc3|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||[[County (Taiwan)|County]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|縣}}</span>
|align=center|xiàn||align=center|koān||align=center|13
|-
|bgcolor=ceb2cd|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||[[Provincial city (Taiwan)|City]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|市}}</span>||align=center|shì||align=center|chhī||align=center|3
|}

These 22 divisions are also regulated by the ''Local Government Act'' as local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "city/county government" and own legislature called "city/county council". The city mayors, county magistrates and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. Geographically, 
* Six special municipalities, three provincial cities, and ten counties are on the main [[geography of Taiwan|island of Taiwan]]

:{|class=wikitable
!Special municipalities!!colspan=2|Counties!!Cities
|-
|valign=top|[[Kaohsiung]] City<br>[[New Taipei City]]<br>[[Taichung]] City<br>[[Tainan]] City<br>[[Taipei]] City<br>[[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan City]]
|valign=top|[[Changhua County]]<br>[[Chiayi County]]<br>[[Hsinchu County]]<br>[[Hualien County]]<br>[[Miaoli County]]
|valign=top|[[Nantou County]]<br>[[Pingtung County]]<br>[[Taitung County]]<br>[[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan County]]<br>[[Yunlin County]]
|valign=top|[[Chiayi]] City<br>[[Hsinchu]] City<br>[[Keelung]] City
|}

* [[Penghu]] County administers the Penghu Islands.
* [[Kinmen]] County administers the Kinmen Islands and the [[Wuqiu, Kinmen|Wuqiu Islands]].
* Lienchiang County administers the [[Matsu Islands]].
* [[Kaohsiung]] also administers [[Pratas Island]] (Tungsha Island or Dongsha Island) and [[Taiping Island]] of the [[South China Sea Islands]].

===Townships, county-administered cities and districts===
{{main|Township (Taiwan)|County-administered city|District (Taiwan)}}
{{see also|List of townships/cities and districts in Taiwan}}
The 22 main divisions in the country are further divided into 368 subdivisions. These 368 divisions can be categorized as the following.
{|class=wikitable
!Name!![[Chinese characters|Chinese]]!![[Pinyin]]!![[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]]!!Administered by!!Self-gov.!!No.
|-
|Mountain indigenous [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|山地鄉}}</span>||align=center|shāndì xiāng||align=center|soaⁿ-tē hiong||align=center|[[County (Taiwan)|County]]||align=center|Yes||align=center|24
|-
|Rural [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|鄉}}</span>||align=center|xiāng||align=center|hiong||align=center|[[County (Taiwan)|County]]||align=center|Yes||align=center|122
|-
|Urban [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|鎮}}</span>||align=center|zhèn||align=center|tìn||align=center|[[County (Taiwan)|County]]||align=center|Yes||align=center|38
|-
|[[County-administered city]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|縣轄市}}</span>||align=center|xiànxiáshì||align=center|koān-hat-chhī||align=center|[[County (Taiwan)|County]]||align=center|Yes||align=center|14
|-
|Mountain indigenous [[District (Taiwan)|district]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|原住民區}}</span>||align=center|yuánzhùmín qū||align=center|gôan-chū-bîn khu||align=center|[[Special municipality (Taiwan)|Special municipality]]||align=center|Yes||align=center|6
|-
|[[District (Taiwan)|District]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|區}}</span>||align=center|qū||align=center|khu
|align=center|[[Special municipality (Taiwan)|Special municipality]]<br>[[Provincial city (Taiwan)|City]]||align=center|No||align=center|164
|}

According to the ''Local Government Act'', a [[County (Taiwan)|county]] is divided into [[Township (Taiwan)|townships]] and [[County-administered city|county-administered cities]]. The county seat or place with population between 100,000 and 500,000 may become a [[county-administered city]]. A [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipality]] or a [[Provincial city (Taiwan)|city]] is divided into [[District (Taiwan)|districts]].

The [[Township (Taiwan)|townships]], [[County-administered city|county-administered cities]] in [[County (Taiwan)|counties]], and mountain indigenous [[District (Taiwan)|district]] in [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]] are also local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "township/city/district office" and own legislature called "township/city/district council". The city mayors, township/district chiefs and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The normal [[District (Taiwan)|districts]] in [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]] and [[Provincial city (Taiwan)|cities]] are governed as branches of the municipality/city government and do not hold any local self-governance power.

The mountain indigenous [[Township (Taiwan)|township]] and [[District (Taiwan)|districts]] are created for its significant population of [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples]], in these divisions, only Taiwanese indigenous peoples may be elected to be the township/district chiefs.

===Lower-level administrative divisions===
{{main|Village (Taiwan)}}
The 368 divisions are further divided into [[Village (Taiwan)|villages]] and neighborhoods.
{|class=wikitable
!Name!![[Chinese characters|Chinese]]!![[Pinyin]]!![[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]]!!Administered by!!No.
|-
|Rural [[Village (Taiwan)|village]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|村}}</span>||align=center|cūn||align=center|chhun||align=center|Mountain indigenous [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]<br>Rural [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]||rowspan=2 align=center|7,835
|-
|Urban [[Village (Taiwan)|village]]||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|里}}</span>||align=center|lǐ||align=center|lí||align=center|Urban [[Township (Taiwan)|township]]<br>[[County-administered city]]<br>Mountain indigenous [[District (Taiwan)|district]]<br>[[District (Taiwan)|District]]
|-
!colspan=6|
|-
|Neighborhood||align=center|<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|鄰}}</span>||align=center|lín||align=center|lîn||align=center|Rural [[Village (Taiwan)|village]]<br>Urban [[Village (Taiwan)|village]]||align=center|147,877
|}

The village chiefs are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The neighborhood chiefs are appointed by the village chief.

== Other issues ==
===Joint Service Centers of Executive Yuan===
The central government operates five regional Joint Service Centers (JSC, {{lang|zh-tw|[[:zh:行政院聯合服務中心|區域聯合服務中心]]}}) outside [[Taipei]] as outposts of the government ministries in the [[Executive Yuan]], similar to the cross-departmental mode of working in the former [[Government Offices for the English Regions|Government Offices in England]]. These regions, laid out the Comprehensive National [[Spatial planning|Spatial Development]] Plan for Taiwan ({{lang|zh-tw|臺灣地區國土綜合開發計劃}}), can be considered a [[de facto]] level of government, perhaps equivalent to the [[English region]]s or the [[federal districts of Russia]].

{|class=wikitable
!Name!!Chinese!!Date of creation!!Service area
|-
|Southern Taiwan JSC||<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|南部聯合服務中心}}</span>||Jun. 1, 1998||[[Kaohsiung]], [[Penghu]], [[Pingtung County|Pingtung]]
|-
|Central Taiwan JSC||<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|中部聯合服務中心}}</span>||May 14, 2003||[[Changhua County|Changhua]], [[Miaoli County|Miaoli]], [[Nantou County|Nantou]], [[Taichung]]
|-
|Eastern Taiwan JSC||<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|東部聯合服務中心}}</span>||Sep. 29, 2007||[[Hualien County|Hualien]], [[Taitung County|Taitung]]
|-
|Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan JSC||<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|雲嘉南區聯合服務中心}}</span>||Mar. 27, 2012||[[Chiayi]] (city and [[Chiayi County|county]]), [[Tainan]], [[Yunlin County|Yunlin]]
|-
|Kinmen-Matsu JSC||<span style="font-size:125%;">{{lang|zh-tw|金馬聯合服務中心}}</span>||Jan. 18, 2017||[[Kinmen]], [[Matsu Islands|Lienchiang]]
|}

The divisions of northern Taiwan are not covered by any JSC, including [[Hsinchu]] (city and [[Hsinchu County|county]]), [[Keelung]], [[New Taipei City|New Taipei]], [[Taipei]], [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan]] and [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan]]. They are served directly by the headquarter of [[Executive Yuan]] in [[Taipei]].

=== Romanization ===
{{Main|Chinese language romanization in Taiwan}}

The [[romanization]] used for Taiwanese [[placename]]s above the county level is a modified form of [[Wade–Giles]], ignoring the apostrophes and hyphens of the original, thus yielding "Taipei" instead of "T'ai-pei" and "Yilan" instead of "I-lan", for example. Some [[postal romanization]]s also exist, like "Keelung" and "Kinmen".
In 2002, the ROC adopted [[Tongyong Pinyin]] as its national standard for romanization. Most [[Township (Taiwan)|townships]] and [[County-administered city|county-administered cities]] changed their romanization to Tongyong Pinyin at that time. However, some local administrations, like [[Taipei]] and [[Taichung]], decided to use [[Hanyu Pinyin]]. In 2009, Tongyong Pinyin was replaced by [[Hanyu Pinyin]] as the ROC government standard.<ref name="taipei_times_2008-09-18">{{cite news|publisher=Taipei Times|date=2008-09-18|title=Hanyu Pinyin to be standard system in 2009|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/09/18/2003423528}}</ref><ref name="china_post_2008-09-18">{{cite news|publisher=The China Post|date=2008-09-18|title=Gov't to improve English-friendly environment|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/18/175155/Gov%27t-to.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919054355/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/18/175155/Gov%27t%2Dto.htm|archive-date=2008-09-19}}</ref> Currently, most of the divisions are romanized by [[Hanyu Pinyin]] system, but some local governments still use [[Tongyong Pinyin]], like [[Kaohsiung]]. In 2011, the ROC Ministry of the Interior restored historical romanizations for two towns, [[Lukang, Changhua|Lukang]] and [[Tamsui District|Tamsui]].

== See also ==
* [[List of administrative divisions of Taiwan]]
* [[List of administrative divisions of Fujian]]
* [[History of Taiwan]]
* [[History of the Republic of China]]
* [[Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)]]
* [[Provinces of China]]
* [[History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–1949)]]
* [[Mainland China]]
* [[Free area of the Republic of China]]
* [[Indigenous Area (Taiwan)]]
* [[ISO 3166-2:TW]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist-lr}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikibooks|Annotated Republic of China Laws/Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China/Article 9}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite web |url = http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=A0040003 |trans-title=Local Government Act |script-title=zh:地方制度法 |publisher=Ministry of Justice, Republic of China |access-date=2017-01-01 }}
* {{cite web |url = http://gn.moi.gov.tw/GeoNames/DataFile/%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E5%9C%B0%E5%8D%80%E9%84%89%E9%8E%AE%E5%B8%82%E5%8D%80%E7%B4%9A%E4%BB%A5%E4%B8%8A%E8%A1%8C%E6%94%BF%E5%8D%80%E5%9F%9F%E5%90%8D%E7%A8%B1%E4%B8%AD%E8%8B%B1%E5%B0%8D%E7%85%A7%E8%A1%A8.pdf |title = Romanizations for county-level and township-level entities |publisher=Department of Land Administration, Ministry of the Interior, Republic of China |access-date = 2017-01-01 }}

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