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aiwan (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; Simplified Chinese: 台湾; Hanyu Pinyin: Táiwān; Wade-Giles: T'ai-wan; Taiwanese: Tâi-oân) is the common name used in both Chinese and English to refer to the territories governed by the Republic of China (ROC), which include the Taiwan island group (including Lanyu (Orchid Island) and Green Island), the Pescadores in the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen and Matsu off the coast of mainland Fujian, and Taiping and the Pratas in the South China Sea, and more informally and controversially, it is the ordinary name used for the state and government called the Republic of China. The main island of Taiwan is located in East Asia off the coast of mainland China, south of Japan and north of the Philippines. Also known as Formosa (Portuguese sailors called it Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island"), it is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89 miles) wide and consists of steep mountains covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation. The legitimacy of the independence enjoyed by Taiwan is contested by the People's Republic of China (PRC), which considers Taiwan to be part of its own territory, though the PRC government does not and has never exercised control over Taiwan.
