Taiping IslandTaiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being in length and in width, with an area of . It is located on the northern edge of the Tizard Bank (Zheng He Reefs; 鄭和群礁). The runway of the Taiping Island Airport is easily the most prominent feature on the island, running its entire length. The island is administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan), as part of Cijin, Kaohsiung.
Spratly IslandsThe Spratly Islands (Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; Mandarin ; Kepulauan Spratly; Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than .
Matsu IslandsThe Matsu Islands (UKˌmætˈsuː or USˌmɑːtˈsuː), officially Lienchiang County (ljɛnˈdʒjɑːŋ), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China (Taiwan), situated alongside the southeastern coast of mainland China. The archipelago forms the smallest county in the ROC-controlled territories by area and population, as well as one of two counties that is a part of the nominal Fuchien Province.
Geography of TaiwanTaiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territories under ROC control. The main island measures and lies some across the Taiwan Strait from the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The East China Sea lies to the north of the island, the Philippine Sea to its east, the Luzon Strait directly to its south and the South China Sea to its southwest.
Political status of TaiwanThe controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War. The basic issue hinges on whom the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should be administered by. The main options include: Maintain the current ROC/PRC (Taiwan/Mainland) status quo. Taiwan as a de facto separate self-governing entity. Become part of China as a province or special administrative region of the PRC under a one country, two systems framework (as Hong Kong and Macau did).
XiamenXiamen (UKʃ(j)ɑːˈmɛn , US-ˈmVn ; ), also known as Amoy (əˈmɔɪ ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, , ɛ˨˩ muĩ˩˧), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang, and Xiang'an. All together, these cover an area of with a population of 5,163,970 as of 2020 and estimated at 5.308 million as of 31 December 2022.
HainanHainan (UKhai'naen, US-nɑːn; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, the largest and most populous island in China, makes up the vast majority (97%) of the province. The name means "south of the sea", reflecting the island's position south of the Qiongzhou Strait, which separates it from Leizhou Peninsula and the Chinese mainland.
GuangdongGuangdong (UKgwæŋˈdʊŋ, USgwɑːN-), formerly romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.84 million (as of 2021) across a total area of about , Guangdong is the most populous province of China and the 15th-largest by area as well as the second-most populous country subdivision in the world (after Uttar Pradesh in India).
TaiwanTaiwan,tw officially the Republic of China (ROC),tw is a country in East Asia. It is located at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands with a combined area of . The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, has an area of , with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated.