Free Area of the Republic of China

Free area of the Republic of China
Taiwan Area of the Republic of China
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá Mínguó Zìyóu Dìqū Bopomofo ㄓㄨㄥ ㄏㄨㄚˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄉㄧˋ ㄑㄩ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jonghwa Min'gwo Tzyh'you Dihchiu Wade–Giles Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo² Tzŭ⁴-yu² Ti⁴-chü¹ Tongyong Pinyin Jhonghuá Mínguó Zìhyóu Dìcyu MPS2 Jūnghuá Mínguó tz̀yóu Dìchiū Hakka Romanization Chûng-fà Mìn-koet Tsṳ-yiu Ti-ki Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Tsū-iû Tē-khu Tâi-lô Tiong-hûa Bîn-kok Tsū-iû Tē-khu Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-huà Mìng-guók
Taiwan area
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Dìqū Bopomofo ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄉㄧˋ ㄑㄩ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Tair'uan Dihchiu Wade–Giles T'ai²-wan¹ Ti⁴-chü¹ Tongyong Pinyin Táiwan Zìhyóu Dìcyu MPS2 Táiwān Dìchiū Hakka Romanization Thòi-vàn Ti-ki Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tâi-oân Tē-khu Tâi-lô Tâi-uân Tē-khu Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dài-uăng
Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tái Péng Jīn Mǎ Bopomofo ㄊㄞ´ ㄆㄥ´ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄇㄚˇ

The Free area of the Republic of China is a legal and political description referring to the territories under the actual control by the government of the Republic of China (ROC), consisting of the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands. As the island of Taiwan is the main component of the whole area, it is therefore also referred to as the "Taiwan Area of the Republic of China" or simply the "Taiwan Area". The term "Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma" is also essentially equivalent except that it only refers to the four main islands of the region - Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, to the exclusion of the South China Sea area possessions.

The term is opposed to "mainland area of the Republic of China", which reflects the territory that was lost to the Chinese Communist Party following the Chinese Civil War and on which a separate state, the People's Republic of China (now commonly known as "China") was founded in 1949. This term is used in the "Additional Articles to the Constitution of the Republic of China".

The term "free area" or "Free China" was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) to describe the territories under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT) government in Chongqing (at the time romanised as Chungking) (as opposed to the parts of China under Japanese occupation, including Nanjing (Nanking) the capital of the Republic of China until the Japanese invasion in 1937).