Question #1 Is Taiwan an island or a mainland?

Taiwan (臺灣) is an island (島).

(Satellite view of Taiwan island)

Taiwan is both an island and a Chinese province (省). Here is Taiwan Province (臺灣省) in red below.

(Taiwan Province)

If you notice the province does not cover the whole island. So technically it is incorrect to say Taipei, Taiwan Province.

Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, New Taipei and Taoyuan are independent special municipalities (直轄市) meaning they do not belong to any province. But in terms of culture and geography, these renown cities are obviously from Taiwan.

[Free Area of the Republic of China (ROC controlled territory today) - Counties (13) + Municipalities (6) + Provinces (2)]

As you can see from above, the whole island of Taiwan makes up 99% of the ROC controlled territory today even though there are currently 2 provinces under ROC control today: 1) Taiwan (臺灣省) and Fukien (福建省).

Question #2 If it is an island, then why does the government call itself “Republic of China” instead of “Republic of Taiwan”?

The government ruling the island does not call it self the “Republic of Taiwan” because Taiwan is not a country.

(The “Republic of Taiwan” or ROT is an aspiration for separatists who support dissolving the the ROC. But we’re not here to talk political opinions. Let’s get back to the facts!)

The misconception is that many delusional, ignorant and/or politically indifferent folks think the “country of Taiwan” is officially called the Republic of China (中華民國). Taiwan, both the island AND the province are ruled by the country called the Republic of China or the ROC for short.

(Flag of the Republic of China)

The ROC is the current government political entity that de facto rules all of Taiwan and parts of Fukien Province today.

This is not an opinion, this is a fact…..

Taiwan was returned to the ROC after Japan lost World War II. The ROC was the first and only “China” at the time so it is a fact that Taiwan currently belongs to China.

(Taiwan Retrocession Day in 1945)

The ROC is was the legitimate government of China before the People’s Republic of China (中華人民共和國) took control of the Mainland.

(The flag and territory the PRC controls today)

The ROC at its greatest extent once ruled all of Mainland China (including Outer Mongolia, more parts of Sinkiang, Manchuria and Yunnan) before it has reduced to MOSTLY Taiwan and fragments of Fukien Province today after losing most of its land to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War. Despite all of this, the ROC on Taiwan still claims its lost territory on the Mainland within its constitution.

Basically the ROC claimed territory today is still officially the same (de jure) as when it once ruled.

(The ROC at its full extent.)

To answer the second question again, why does the government that rules Taiwan call itself the ROC or the Republic of China?

Because the Republic of China (ROC) IS China!

Once you understand the diagrams above, you are set for understanding the basics of Chinese politics.