Government Structure

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

The ROC government is divided into central, provincial/municipal, and county/city levels. Each of these three levels of government has specifically defined powers. The central government consists of the Office of the President, the National Assembly, and five branches (called "yuan"). The five yuans are the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination Yuan, and the Control Yuan.

At the provincial level, the provincial governments exercise administrative authority. Since the ROC government administers only Taiwan Province and two counties in Fuchien Province, only two provincial governments are currently operational -- the Taiwan Provincial Government and the Fuchien Provincial Government. The Fuchien Provincial Government oversees the regional affairs of Kinmen County and Lienchiang County. Likewise, the Taiwan Provincial Government exercises full jurisdiction over Taiwan's 16 counties and all cities except for Taipei and Kaohsiung, which are special municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the central government.

At the local level and under the Taiwan Provincial Government, there are five cities -- Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan -- and 16 counties. Under each county there are county municipalities.

The following figure shows the organization of the ROC's central government: