The island of Taiwan, governed by the Republic of China (ROC), lies about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait

By Plane. After 2008, there are direct flights from 25 major mainland cities to Taipeis Taoyuan airport or Kaohsiung airport. By Boat. There are ferries from Xiamen that arrive at Kinmen, 3 km off the coast of China. From there, its by plane again, through domestic flights to Taiwan Proper. After the 2008 election president Ma Ying-jeou introduced a new policy to allow masses of tourists from the mainland to visit Taiwan so there are now direct flights Pre-2008: Theres no direct flight. Most common transfer points are Hong Kong and Cheju Island (Korea) then on to Taoyuan (CKS) Intl. Airport.

There is an abundance of educated labor. Taiwan s quick industrialization and rapid growth during the latter half of the 20th century has been called the Taiwan Miracle (台灣奇蹟) or Taiwan Economic Miracle. As Taiwan has developed alongside Singapore, South Korea , and Hong Kong , they are collectively known as the Four Asian Dragons (or Four Asian Tigers).

The northern hemisphere

The southernmost Island of the Japanese district of Okinawa (Okinawa-ken) is situated only 125 miles off Taiwan .