Taiwan (People's Republic of China province)

Taiwan Province is a de jure administrative division claimed by the People's Republic of China with no actual control. Its claimed jurisdiction includes the island of Taiwan and its affiliated islands, the Penghu Islands, and the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islands. The claimed territory of the hypothetical province is neither coextensive with the effective territory currently administered by the Republic of China (ROC), nor with the ROC division of Taiwan Province. The islands of Kinmen and Matsu, as well as some outlying islands in the South China Sea, despite being administered by the ROC and forming parts of Taiwan Area, are not legally regarded as part of Taiwan province.

The political status of Taiwan is complex. The People's Republic of China considers itself the successor state to the pre-1949 ROC and the sole legitimate government of "China" since the end of Chinese Civil War, and thus it claims Taiwan as part of China under its One China principle. However, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan since its establishment in 1949. The Taiwan Area, including those territories claimed by PRC as a province, has been continuously administered by the government of the Republic of China (ROC) since the Japanese surrender of World War II. The PRC proposed that under a peaceful deal of unification, Taiwan would become a special administrative region under the "one country, two systems" framework rather than a province.

The PRC constitution asserts Taiwan as part of its territories. In spite of its claims, the PRC recognises that Taiwan is outside its actual territory of control and does not maintain a government in exile for the province. However, the National People's Congress reserves a position for legislators who are appointed by the PRC government to represent Taiwan, most of whom are of Taiwanese descent but were born in and are residents of mainland China. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China is currently responsible over Taiwan-related matters, but it is neither tasked with, nor presented as, a shadow administration for Taiwan. Instead, the PRC government referred the ROC government in Taiwan as the "Taiwan authorities".