Taiwan has been controlled by various governments and has been associated with various flags throughout its history. Since 1945, Taiwan has been governed by the Republic of China (ROC), and since 1949, it has served as the ROC's principal territorial base. Accordingly, the flag most commonly associated with Taiwan today is the Flag of the Republic of China.

The first national flag of Taiwan was first used in 1663 during the Kingdom of Tungning, which had a plain white flag with the character (zhèng) on the red bordered circle. The flag of the Qing dynasty was also used from 1862 until 1895, when the Republic of Formosa was declared. The Formosan flag had a tiger on a plain blue field with azure clouds below it.

During Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was governed as part of the Japanese Empire, and the national flag of Japan was used by the colonial administration.

Following the transfer of the control of Taiwan from Japan to China in 1945, the national flag was specified in Article Six of the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the government of Chiang Kai-shek relocated the Republic of China (ROC) to the island of Taiwan.

Current flag FlagDurationUseDescription 1945–Present Flag of the Republic of China A red field, with a blue canton containing a 12-ray white sun.

Historical flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1624–1662 Flag of Dutch Formosa Same as the Flag of the Dutch East India Company 1626–1642 Flag of Spanish Formosa Same as the Flag of the Spanish Empire 1661–1683 Flag of the Kingdom of Tungning The Han character "" (zheng) in a red circle outline on a plain white field. 1890–1895 Flag of the Qing Dynasty Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red sun of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. 1895 Flag of the Republic of Formosa Tiger on a plain blue field with azure clouds below it. 1895–1945 Flag of Japan for use in Taiwan White field with red disc in the centre.

Royal flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1626–1642 Royal Flag of the House of Habsburg in Spain. (Inescutcheon of Portugal in the Royal arms) 1863–1895 Standard of the Qing Emperor Azure Dragon on a plain right triangle yellow field with the red sun of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. 1895-1945 Imperial Standard of the Japanese Empire Red field with the golden 16-petal chrysantemum in the centre.

Political divisions

Below are the flags used in the political divisions of Taiwan.

Provinces FlagDurationUseDescription 1945-2018 Taiwan Province A bright yellow background with a light blue circular seal with a map of Taiwan the same color of the background & the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s flag in the center with the nation's nation flowers, the plum blossoms, and a black ring surrounding it. There is red text on the bottom that says "Taiwan Provincial Government" in Traditional Chinese.

Special municipalities FlagDurationUseDescription 2009–Present Kaohsiung City Stylized "". Colors symbolizing sunshine, vitality, environmental protection, & ocean. 2009–Present New Taipei City Highly stylized "" in the form of four hearts arranged to resemble a four-leaf clover. 2009–Present Tainan City 2009–Present Taipei City 2014–Present Taoyuan City

Provincial cities FlagDurationUseDescription Chiayi City Keelung City

Counties FlagDurationUseDescription Changhua County Chiayi County Hsinchu County Hualien County Kinmen County Lienchiang County Miaoli County Nantou County Penghu County Pingtung County Taitung County Yilan County Yunlin County

Military flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1945– present Flag of the Republic of China Army (formerly National Revolutionary Army) The Blue Sky with a White Sun with a red border. Republic of China Navy Identical to the Kuomintang flag (see below). Republic of China Air Force Republic of China Marine Corps Republic of China Military Police Armed Forces Armed Forces Reserve Republic of China Military Academy Combined Logistics Command ROCA General's Flag Coast Guard Administration Chairman of the ROC Military Affairs Commission National Defense University

Other state flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1929– Commander-in-chief flag of the Republic of China, also known as standard of the president of the Republic of China 1930– Standard of the vice president of the Republic of China (abolished) 1947–1986 Standard of the vice president of the Republic of China Abolished with Act of Ensign of the Republic of China Navy () on Jan. 3rd, 1986. 1929–1966 Civil ensign of the Republic of China Four serrated yellow stripes are added to the flag of the Republic of China for use as a civil ensign at sea. Present civil ensign is national flag.

Political party flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1894– Kuomintang flag (shared as the Naval Jack of the nation) The "Blue Sky with a White Sun", 12 rays of the sun represent progressive ideals. 1923- Young China Party flag 1927–1931 Taiwanese People's Party flag 1952– China Youth Corps flag 1986– Democratic Progressive Party flag 1989– Labor Party (Taiwan) flag 1993- New Party (Taiwan) flag 1996–2020 Taiwan Independence Party flag 2000– People First Party flag 2009–2020 Taiwan Democratic Communist Party flag 2015–2019 Minkuotang flag 2017– Taiwan People's Communist Party flag

Chinese Taipei sports flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1981–1986 Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. 1986–2010 Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. 2010– Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. The ROC is recognized as "Chinese Taipei" in the Olympics, due to the political status of Taiwan. 1994-2004 Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag 2004-2019 Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag 2019-Present Chinese Taipei Paralympic flag 1997-2019 Chinese Taipei Deaflympics flag 2019-Present Chinese Taipei Deaflympics flag 2014-Present Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association flag Pre-2006 Chinese Taipei football flag 2006-2012 Chinese Taipei football flag The Chinese Taipei Olympic flag replaced this flag as the football flag in 2012 2012-Present Chinese Taipei football flag 2009-Present Chinese Taipei Universiade flag 2013-Present Chinese Taipei WorldSkills flag 2019-Present Chinese Taipei FIRST Robotics Competition flag 2016-Present Chinese Taipei electronic sports flag used in Blizzard competitions.

Other historical flags FlagDurationUseDescription 1981–2010 Flag of Taipei City Previous flag used by Taipei City, with its seal on top of 16 horizontal stripes of white and blue. 1999-2006 Old flag of New Taipei City 1980s-1999 Old flag of New Taipei City 2006-2010 Old flag of New Taipei City ?-20102018-2019 Old flag of Hsinchu County 2010-2018 Old flag of Hsinchu County 1951-2010 Old flag of Taichung County 1978-2010 Old flag of Tainan City ?-2010 Old flag of Tainan County 1974-2009 Old flag of Kaohsiung City ?-1999 Old flag of Kaohsiung County 1999-2010 Old flag of Kaohsiung County 1984-2014 Old flag of Taitung County

Ethnic groups flags

Indigenous FlagDurationUseDescription 2018–present Flag of Tao people A white flag with the traditional "boat's eye" symbol and traditional triangular ornaments on the top and bottom. 2017–present Flag of Rukai people The "Lily Flag" composed of three colors: red, yellow and green, representing hope, love and peace. The lilies and eagle feathers represent the purity and fairness of the Rukai tribe, was designed by Jin Shaohua. 2017–present Flag of Taiwanese indigenous peoples in Taichung 2016–present "National flag" of Amis people in the Amis Music Festival. ?–present Flag of Amis people in Taidong (Falangaw tribezh) 1984–1998 Flag of Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Aboriginal Rightszh

See also List of Chinese flags Proposed flags of Taiwan

References