County and Provincial Municipality Governments

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

Taiwan Province has 16 counties: Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Nantou, Yilan, and Penghu; and five provincial municipalities: Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan. Each county/city has a county/city government, and a county/city council to check and balance the county/city government.

County governments are headed by magistrates, and city governments are headed by mayors who are directly elected for up to two four-year terms. County and city councilors are elected for four-year terms. The number of county or city councilors is determined by the population of each county, and several county and city council seats are reserved for women and aborigines.

City Ranking

There are three levels of cities in the Taiwan area: special municipalities, which, like provinces, fall under the direct jurisdiction of the central government; provincial municipalities, which are under direct provincial jurisdiction; and county municipalities, which are under direct county jurisdiction.

Taiwan currently has two special municipalities: Taipei City, which was elevated to this status in 1967; and Kaohsiung City, which gained similar status in 1979, when its population exceeded one million. The Act on Local Government System raised this population requirement to 1.25 million.

Under Article 4 of the Act on Local Government System, an area with a population of over 500,000, which is politically, economically, and culturally important, shall be considered a provincial municipality. There are five such cities directly under Taiwan Province: Keelung City, Hsinchu City, Taichung City, Chiayi City, and Tainan City. These cities are equivalent to counties in status.

There are 29 county municipalities in Taiwan. According to the Act on Local Government System, an area with a population of over 150,000 may become a county municipality if it is industrially and commercially developed and has sufficient financial resources, convenient transportation links, and complete public facilities.

Special and provincial municipalities are subdivided into districts. Each district has an office headed by a chief administrator, who is appointed by the mayor. Districts and county municipalities are subdivided into villages, which are the basic units of governance.

Cities and Townships under County Governments

Counties are subdivided into county municipalities/townships. Each city and township has a mayor and a magistrate respectively. They are popularly elected for up to four-year terms. Taiwan currently has 29 county municipalities and 280 townships under county jurisdiction.