National Standard Time

National Standard Time
National Standard Time digital clock of Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guójiā Biāozhǔn Shíjiān Bopomofo ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄅㄧㄠ ㄓㄨㄣˇ ㄕˊ ㄐㄧㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Gwojia Biaujuun Shyrjian Wade–Giles Kuo²-chia¹ Piao¹-chun³ Shih²-chien¹ Tongyong Pinyin Guójia Biaojhǔn Shíhjian MPS2 Guójiā Biāujǔn Shŕjiān IPA [kwǒtɕjá pjáuʈʂwə̀n ʂɻ̩̌tɕjɛ́n] Hakka Romanization Koet-kâ Phêu-chún Sṳ̀-kiên Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kok-ka Piau-chún Sî-kan Tâi-lô Kok-ka Piau-tsún Sî-kan

National Standard Time (Chinese: 國家標準時間; pinyin: Guójiā Biāozhǔn Shíjiān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kok-ka Piau-chún Sî-kan, see below) is the official time zone in Taiwan defined by an UTC offset of +08:00. This standard is also known as Taiwan Time (臺灣時間), Taipei Time (臺北時間) and historically as Chungyuan Standard Time (中原標準時間) until the early 2000s.

The first time zone standard in Taiwan was enforced in January 1, 1896, the second year of Taiwan under Japanese rule. The standard is called Western Standard Time (西部標準時^?) with time offset of UTC+08:00, based on 120°E longitude. In October 1, 1937, the Western Standard Time zone is abolished and the Central Standard Time (中央標準時^?), with time offset of UTC+09:00, was enforced in the entire country of Japan including Taiwan. This time was used until the end of the Second World War. In September 21, 1945, the Governor-General of Taiwan announced to revoke the order in 1937.