Introduction of Taiwan
Taiwan’s Geography
Physical Geography
Taiwan is an island country located in East Asia that consisted unique variety of physical geography. The location of the island on the edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and the Philipine Sea plates result in the frequently occurring earthquakes. The collision of those tectonic plates causes earthquakes and is also the creator of 5 rugged mountain ranges that runs parallel in the East of Taiwan. The terrain of the island changes a lot, most population crowds in the West, where plains and grasslands are common. The East of Taiwan are very mountainous with thick forests, home of the native animals such as Formasan Black bear and many endangered species.
Human Geography
A small amount of aboriginies used to live in Taiwan before the Han Chinese moved in. Those early residents were not many in numbers, so Han dominated the population of Taiwan ever since. Dispite the limited land in Taiwan, the population growth continues from only 50,000 at the end of Dutch rule in 1650 to 6 million people at the end of Japanese rule at 1942. Ever since, the population has increases even faster resulting taiwan to be one of the most densly populated country with an average of 688 people per square km. Similar to some other countries, Taiwan leaned towards an “aging society”. It is infered that in 2034, 50% of the population would be above 50 as the elderly lives longer lives and less birth rate.
Weather
Taiwan is a small chain of island that runs through the Tropic of Cancer that have a wide variety of weather throughout the year. Due to the fact that the islands are closely surrounded by ocean, the climate here is overall very humid which adds up to the brutally hot summer. The Tropic of Cancer divided Taiwan into halfs, tropical in the South and subtropical in the North. The average temperature of both sides distinct by only 2 degree celcius. Moreover, Taiwan consisted the 4 seasons with 5 months of long Summer (May to September) and winter (November to March), April as Spring, and October as Autumn.
Biology
Dispite the fact that Taiwan is pretty small in size, its location consisting both tropical and subtropical climates with variety of terrain result in a rich ecosystem. Taiwan’s diverified forest and the mountain ranges contains more over 15 thousand different species of plants and animals. Moreover, since Taiwan is an island and is closed surrounded by island on all sides, our coastal topography vary from place to place containing lots of coral reefs, rocky shores, and beautiful beaches for scubadiving and marine lifes.
Marine Life
Taiwan has one of the riches marine resource, the ocean around the island is home to more than one tenth of world’s marine species. Even the coral reefs, which makes up less than 0.3% of world’s ocean, can be found not only in the Southern and Northern tip of Taiwan, but also around the coast of Green Island, Penghu, and Lanyu. Coral reef system as the richest in marine life surrounds Taiwan and offcoast islands, it supports more than half of Taiwan’s fish species.
Wildlife in Taiwan
Taiwan is home to more than 120 species of mammals and 650 species of birds. One of the most famous animal is the Formosan Bear or Taiwanese black bear. It is one of the largest land animals and the only native bear in Taiwan. Taiwan blue magpie is also one of the more famous widelife.
Economic activities
Taiwan’s economic has experienced large periods of growth and fall. The start of Taiwan’s economic growth mainly start from the Dutch rule at mid 1600s. Taiwan’s agriculture bloomed and industrial development released labour and result in more citizens to be able to participate in Taiwan’s industrialization. Taiwan’s original industrialization is flourished by the developement of small aplicances, footwear, and athletic equipments. But overtime, companies slowly moves towards the contruction of semiconductors and electronic equipments. Taiwan soon became one of the world’s largest computer producer. They decreased taxes towards foriegn companies, increased the quality of architecture, and established a great education system which promotes new companies and created the uniquely balanced economy in present Taiwan.