TAIWAN - Republic of China / 中華民國 / Zhōnghuá Mínguó

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. Neighbouring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the north-west, Japan to the north-east, and the Philippines to the south. The island of Taiwan has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. Taipei is the capital and largest metropolitan area. Other major cities include Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan. With 23.7 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated states, and is the most populous state and largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations (UN).

Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island of Taiwan around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, Dutch rule opened the island to mass Han immigration. After the brief Kingdom of Tungning in parts of the southern and western areas of the island, the island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China, and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Republic of China, which had overthrown and succeeded the Qing in 1911, took control of Taiwan on behalf of the World War II Allies. The resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the loss of the mainland to the Communist Party of China and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. Although the ROC government continued to claim to be the legitimate representative of China, since 1950 its effective jurisdiction has been limited to Taiwan and numerous smaller islands. In the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialisation called the "Taiwan Miracle". In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-party military dictatorship to a multi-party democracy with a semi-presidential system. 

The political status of Taiwan remains uncertain. The ROC is no longer a member of the UN, having been replaced by the PRC in 1971. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official ties with 14 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See. International organisations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate only on a non-state basis. Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Asian Development Bank under various names. Nearby countries and countries with large economies maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. Domestically, the major political division is between parties favouring eventual Chinese unification and promoting a Chinese identity contrasted with those aspiring to independence and promoting Taiwanese identity, although both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal.

In 1886 Taiwan was upgraded from a prefecture to a province. A postal service was organised by Governor Liu Mingchuan, and postage stamps were issued the same year. In 1895 China ceded Taiwan to Japan. The Taiwanese reacted by establishing the short-lived Republic of Formosa, which issued its own stamps. Under Japanese rule, Taiwanese mail was handled as part of the Japanese postal system. After the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the postal system continued to operate locally, and on 21 October 1945, it issued 3-sen and 5-sen stamps, the design consisting of a large numeral and the imperial chrysanthemum. Despite the official transfer of Taiwan to the Republic of China on 25 October, on the 31st a 10-sen stamp of the same design was issued. (An additional five values were printed but never issued.) The locally printed stamps, both issued and unissued, were immediately overprinted with "Chinese Republic" and "Taiwan Province" and went on sale 4 November. Two Japanese stamps, the 5-yen and 10-yen values of the 1937 pictorial series, were also overprinted, serving as the high values. Throughout 1946, stocks of Chinese stamps were overprinted with new values in sen and "for use in Taiwan only". This was followed by an issue in March 1947 marking Chiang Kai-shek's 60th birthday; four small characters in the background say "for Taiwan only". Subsequent stamp issues followed the same pattern through 1948.  With the loss of mainland China, there was no longer any purpose in separate issues for Taiwan.

The Ju Guang Lou tower on Kinmen was featured on several of the definitive series of the 1960s. Since 2008, stamps are inscribed "Republic of China (Taiwan)".  Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. is the official postal service of Taiwan (also known as the Republic of China). Chunghwa Post was a government agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications until 2003, when it was reorganized into a government-owned corporation. Its affiliation with the Universal Postal Union began in 1914, but ended in 1972 when it was replaced by China Post shortly after China's seat in the United Nations was handed over to the People's Republic of China.

The cover posted on July 05, 2013 and I received on July 15, 2013.