ROC National Flag

As introduced by the Yearbook of Republic of China:

The National Flag of the Republic of China --

The "white sun in a blue sky" portion of the Republic of China's national flag was originally designed by Lu Hao-tun, a martyr of the Chinese revolution. Lu presented his design upon the founding of the Hsing-chung Hui (Society for Regenerating China) in Hong Kong on February 21, 1895. It was redesigned to include a crimson background during the years just prior to the revolution. This design is still used today as the national emblem.

Before the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, the revolutionary armies in different provinces had different flags: the one used in the Wuhan area had 18 yellow stars, representing the 18 administrative divisions of China at the time; the Shanghai army adopted a five-color flag of red, yellow, blue, white and black, representing the five main ethnic groups of China; and Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Yunnan, and Kweichow provinces used the "white sun in a blue sky."

When the Provisional Government was first established, the five-color flag was adopted as the national flag, the 18-star flag was used by the army, and the "white sun in a blue sky" by the navy. The ROC national flag was adopted by the national government on December 17, 1928, following the successful completion of the Northern Expedition and the unification of China.

The 12 points of the white sun in the emblem represent the 12 two-hour periods of the day, symbolizing unceasing progress. At one level, the three colors of blue, white, and crimson stand for the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and social well-being. At another level, the colors embody qualities that evoke other concepts enumerated in the Three Principles: the blue signifies brightness, purity , freedom, and thus a government that is of the people; the white-honesty, selflessness, equality, and thus a government that is by the people; and the crimson-sacrifice, bloodshed, brotherly love, thus a government that is for the people.