Politics of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

The politics of the Republic of China take place in a framework of a representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the Premier (Chef of the Executive Yuan) is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in primarily with the parliament and limited by government. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The party system is dominated by the Kuomintang (KMT, "Chinese Nationalist Party"), which favours closer links to mainland China, and the Democratic Progressive Party, which favors Taiwanese independence.

The ROC currently consists of Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) as well as portions of the Fujian Province (Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu) and several smaller islands. Taiwan's six major cities, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan, are special municipalities. The rest of the territories are divided into 3 cities and 13 counties.