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Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation Business Information, Profile, and History

No. 4, Nanchang Road, Section 1
Taipei
Taiwan

Company Perspectives:

Business Mission: To create a dignified working environment for emplo yees; To protect the health of the consumption of tobacco and liquor; To insist on innovation, assertiveness, responsibility, honesty and faith.

History of Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation

Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation (TTL) is Taiwan's leading man ufacturer and distributor of beer, wine, and tobacco products. The co mpany, the operational arm of the former Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Bo ard monopoly, has retained control of more than 80 percent of the isl and's beer market, 53 percent of the liquor and wine market, and 45 p ercent of the tobacco market since the total abolition of the governm ent's monopoly on these markets in 2002. TTL's leadership is based on popular and dominant brands such as Taiwan Beer, Long Life cigarette s, YuSan Kaoliang, and other traditional alcoholic beverages. The com pany operates nine wineries and distilleries and three breweries, as well as cigarette production facilities. TTL also operates its own 13 5-branch retail chain, and distributes its product through more than 50,000 sales outlets, including other retailers, vending machines, st reet sellers, and the like. Formed in 2002, TTL is slated to be priva tized as part of the Taiwan government's commitment to meeting condit ions imposed by its acceptance into the World Trade Organization (WTO ). The company public offering is expected to be completed by 2006, b ut has been slowed by labor union disputes. Although most of TTL's sa les remain focused on the Taiwan market, the company also ships a num ber of its brands, including flagship Taiwan Beer, worldwide, with ma jor markets including Japan and the United States. TTL has begun an a ttempt to enter the mainland Chinese market, but has met resistance f rom the Chinese government.

From Colonial Monopoly to State-Owned Treasure Chest in the 1940s< /B>

The Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation stemmed from the Japanese occupation of the island at the end of the 19th century. The colonia l governor quickly set up a monopoly controlling the island's lucrati ve opium production through the establishment of the Taiwan Pharmaceu tical Factory. By the beginning of the 20th century, the colonial gov ernment had extended its monopoly to include salt and camphor as well . Initially, these products were placed under separate bodies, includ ing the Taiwan Salt Bureau and the Taiwan Camphor Bureau. In 1901, ho wever, these, together with the opium factory, were placed under a si ngle body, the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor's Office.

Taiwan developed its own tobacco industry in the early years of the 2 0th century, as a large number of Taiwanese farmers converted their l ands to growing tobacco. The rise of tobacco use on the island create d a lucrative and, in large part, captive revenue stream, and the Mon opoly Bureau quickly extended its range, taking control of Taiwan's t obacco monopoly in 1905.

Taiwan's alcoholic beverage market, at least among the native Chinese population, remained dominated by traditional Chinese wine and liquo r varieties, such as the rice-based Shaohsing, and Kaoliang, distille d from sorghum. The Japanese taste for beer, imported from Japan, soo n began to spread among the Taiwanese, however. By the end of World W ar I, demand for beer had grown sufficiently to necessitate the const ruction of a brewery in Taiwan itself. By 1919, the island's first br ewery, in Chienguo, had launched production.

Initially, the Chienguo brewery's production was rather limited, at j ust 1.5 million bottles per year. Yet Chienguo Beer, as it was origin ally known, became an instant hit among the island's beer drinkers, a nd especially among the Japanese, who brought the beer brand home wit h them. Before long, the Chienguo factory had begun to export its bee r to Japan, where the brand rivaled even that market's dominant beer brand, Sapporo. Soon, beer exports had exceeded beer imports.

The popularity of the Chienguo brewery's beer provided the colonial g overnment with a new and fast-growing revenue stream. In 1922, theref ore, the Monopoly Bureau extended its reach again, to include product ion and sale of alcoholic beverages. Throughout the remaining two dec ades of Japanese occupation, the Monopoly Bureau continued to add new monopolies, including matches and even the standardization of weight s and measures used on the island. In 1943, the Monopoly Bureau added petroleum products to complete the scope of its monopoly holdings.

The end of Japanese occupation following World War II spelled the end of the Monopoly Bureau. Yet control of the various sectors under tha t bureau offered a strong source of revenue for the newly installed T aiwan Government Executive Administration Office. In 1945, the Chiang Kai-shek-led government created a new body, the Taiwan Provincial Mo nopoly Bureau, which took over the monopolies on tobacco, liquor, cam phor, matches, and weights and measures. That body was reformulated a s the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board in 1947. At this time the board's oversight was reduced to just three monopolies: camphor, wine, and t obacco. In 1951, the board, previously a self-standing entity, was pl aced under the control of the Finance Department. In 1968, the board' s role was further streamlined to its two major revenue streams, alco holic beverages and tobacco.

Throughout the decades of military dictatorship in Taiwan, the Tobacc o and Wine Board played an important role as a financial motor for th e country's rapidly evolving economy. The strong revenue stream and c onsistent profits enabled the government to invest in developing new industries, particularly Taiwan's thrust into the electronics sector in the late 1970s and 1980s. The Tobacco and Wine Board also develope d an extensive sales network around Taiwan, setting up its own retail stores (more than 135 by the mid-2000s) and developing a network of more than 50,000 sales outlets throughout Taiwan.

As the sole producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and tobac co products for Taiwan, the board was responsible for ensuring that p roduction levels met consumer demand. As such, and as Taiwan's popula tion grew, the board added new factories, breweries, and other produc tion sites around the island. The board also built up a portfolio of brand names, not least of which was its Taiwan Beer brand, based at t he original Chienguo brewery. Over time the Taiwan Beer brand became the board's international spearhead, following the Taiwanese expatria te community to the United States in particular, but also rebuilding a following among Japanese consumers as well. Another brand created b y the board at this time was the incongruously named, but highly popu lar, Long Life brand of cigarettes. Other brands included Prosperity Island, Triumph, and President. At the same time, the board oversaw p roduction of the group's other alcoholic beverages. This segment, how ever, remained limited, in large part, to the traditional Chinese spi rits, Shaohsing and Kaoliang.

Free Market Competitor in the 2000s

The end of military dictatorship in Taiwan in the mid-1980s brought a bout the first steps toward a liberalization of the state's alcoholic beverages and tobacco minority. The creation of a democratic structu re led to the creation of a liberalized, market-driven economic polic y, and to Taiwan's aspirations for joining the World Trade Organizati on (WTO). As part of that effort, the government began lowering trade barriers, including abolishing its monopoly over tobacco and alcohol ic beverages. In 1987, the government took the first step toward full liberalization of both of these markets by allowing the first import s of wine into Taiwan. Under pressure from the U.S. government, Taiwa n also accepted the first imports of U.S. cigarette brands that year. These were followed by imports of European tobacco products soon aft er.

Consumer acceptance of grape-based and other fruit-based wines was sl ow; as such the board's control over the Taiwanese alcoholic beverage market remained solid. Nonetheless, as wine drinking grew in popular ity in Taiwan, entering a boom phase in the mid-1990s, the board dive rsified its production as well, adding its own wine varieties.

The Taiwanese consumer responded more quickly to the arrival of the f irst foreign whiskey imports, authorized in 1991. By 1992, the countr y had widened its spirits imports to include brandy, gin, and other s pirits. Into the 1990s, the board saw its market share shrink rapidly , and by 1998, imports represented nearly 25 percent of the alcoholic beverage market. Helping to offset the board's dwindling market shar e was a steady increase in Taiwanese alcoholic beverage consumption. At the same time, the board remained relatively protected by a system of tariffs on imports. Although some imports, particularly those fro m Japan, were less heavily taxed than others, the system nonetheless helped buffer the board from full-scale competition into the late 199 0s.

Taiwan's commitment to meeting the requirements of WTO membership by 2002 brought a new effort by the government to liberalize its markets . In 1999, the government implemented a new Tobacco & Alcohol Adm inistrative Law (or TAAL). The new legislation provided the blueprint for the conversion of the board into a private enterprise and the in troduction of full-fledged competition in both the tobacco and alcoho lic beverage markets. As part of that process, the board was split in to two parts. The board's administrative function was regrouped into a new bureau, placed under the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, the bo ard's production and distribution units were regrouped into a new sta te-owned corporation. At the same time, the government leveled import taxes and duties.

The restructuring of the board lasted into the early 2000s. Finally, in 2002, the breakup was completed, and a new corpo- ration, Taiwan T obacco & Liquor Corporation, was formed. The creation of TTL also marked the launch of full-scale competition, including the admittanc e of the production of alcoholic beverages by private companies. That process had been started in 1999, with the production of wine and ot her fermented beverages. Production of distilled spirits was permitte d in 2001. The brewing of beer followed in 2002, and signaled the sta rt of TTL's own move toward private control.

TTL began preparing for a future public offering, targeting 2005 as t he date of its transformation into a private enterprise. That process was hampered, however, by the need to reach agreement with the compa ny's labor union, particularly involving projected cuts of more than 1,000 workers from the company's payroll. TTL also was burdened by it s obligation to purchase tobacco from Taiwan's tobacco farmers, despi te the fact that the company's warehouses were already overstocked.

In the meantime, the appearance of new domestic producers had begun t o take a toll on TTL's sales. By 2005, the group's grip on the local liquor and wine market had slipped to 53 percent. The company's share of the tobacco market also had suffered, dropping to 45 percent. Onl y the group's Taiwan Beer subsidiary appeared to withstand the tide o f competition, but the group's control of the Taiwan beer market had slipped back to 80 percent by 2005.

To shore up its sagging sales at home, TTL began instituting its own international expansion strategy. While continuing to target the U.S. , Japanese, and European markets, TTL's main target became the Chines e market. The company chose its Long Life brand as the spearhead for its entry into the Chinese market, sending over a first shipment in l ate 2004. At the same time, TTL prepared to launch its Taiwan Beer br and onto the mainland. This effort was held up, however, by the Chine se government, apparently in retaliation for the re-election of indep endence-minded President Chen Shui-bian. Nonetheless, China, which al so sought entry into the WTO, was expected to play by the rules. With the world's largest consumer population just a short boat ride away, TTL appeared certain to remain a major name in the tobacco and alcoh ol markets in the region.

Principal Divisions: Marketing & Sales; Liquor; Beer; Toba cco.

Principal Competitors: Shanghai Cigarette Factory; Sumatra Tob acco Trading Company, N.V.; Chuxiong Cigarette Factory; Ben Thanh Tob acco Co.; Japan Tobacco Inc.; Central Group of Cos.; Itochu-Shokuhin Company Ltd.; Yamae Hisano Company Ltd.; Nanlien International Corpor ation.

Related information about Taiwan

Official name Republic of China

Local name T'aiwan Timezone GMT +8 Area 36 000 km²/13 896 sq mi population total (2002e) 22 457 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1949 Capital Taipei Languages Mandarin Chinese (official), various dialects including Taiwanese and Hakka also spoken Ethnic groups Han Chinese (98%), small (Polynesian) aboriginal minority Religions Taoist, Buddhist, Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic) Physical features Consists of Taiwan I and several smaller islands c.130 km/80 mi off the SE coast of mainland China; mountain range runs N–S, covering two-thirds of the island; highest peak, Yu Shan 3997 m/13 113 ft; low-lying land mainly in the W; crossed by the Tropic of Cancer. Climate Tropical monsoon-type climate; hot, humid summers, mild, short winters; wet season (May–Sep); typhoons common (Jul–Sep); average daily temperature 12–19°C (Jan), 24–33°C (Jul) in Taibei; average annual rainfall 2500 mm/98 in. Currency 1 New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) = 100 cents Economy Progressed from agriculture to industry since 1950s; high technology, textiles, electronics, plastics, petrochemicals, machinery; natural gas, limestone, marble, asbestos; sugar, bananas, pineapples, citrus fruits, vegetables, tea, fish; affected by SARS outbreak, 2003. GDP (2001e) $386 bn, per capita $17 200 History Taiwan (Formosa) visited by the Portuguese, 1590; conquered by Manchus, 17th-c; ceded to Japan following Sino-Japanese War, 1895; returned to China, 1945; Nationalist government moved to Taiwan by Jiang Jieshi (Chang Kai-shek); government still maintains claim to legal jurisdiction over mainland China and continues to designate itself as the Republic of China; protected by US naval forces during Korean War, 1950–3; signed mutual defence pact with USA, 1954–79; end of state of civil war with People's Republic of China declared by President Lee Teng-hui, 1991; governed by a President, who appoints a premier, National Assembly and Legislative Yuan; elections held for a reformed National Assembly, 1991; Yuan voted in favour of major constitutional change, 2004. For other meanings, see Taiwan (disambiguation).

Taiwan ((zh-tspw|t=?? Taiwanese: Tâi-oân) is an island in East Asia, but the term "Taiwan" is also commonly used to collectively refer to the territories governed by the state officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), which include the island of Taiwan, Lanyu (Orchid Island) and Green Island in the Pacific off the Taiwan coast, the Pescadores in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and Matsu off the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China.

The main island of Taiwan, sometimes also referred to as Formosa (from Portuguese, meaning "beautiful"), is located at 22°57?N 120°12?E, off the coast of mainland China, south of Japan and north of the Philippines. It is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea. About 4,000 years ago, ancestors of current Taiwanese aborigines settled in Taiwan. These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and Polynesians, and linguists classify their language as Austronesian. Han Chinese began settling in the Pescadores in the 1200s, but Taiwan's hostile tribes and its lack of the trade resources valued in that era rendered it unattractive to all but "occasional adventurers or fishermen engaging in barter" until the sixteenth century.. ISBN 957-638-311-0

Records from ancient China indicate that Han Chinese might have known of the existence of the main island of Taiwan since the Three Kingdoms period (third century), having assigned offshore islands in the vicinity names like Greater and Minor Liuqiu (Ryukyu in Japanese), though none of these names have been definitively matched to the main island of Taiwan. It has been claimed but not verified that the Ming Dynasty admiral Zheng He visited Taiwan between 1403 and 1424.

In 1544, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of Taiwan and dubbed it "Ilha Formosa", which means "Beautiful Island." They were content with their trading posts in Kyushu, Japan.

Japan also sought to claim sovereignty over Taiwan (known as Takasago Koku, or "country of High Sand," a complimentary term in Japanese) since 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi undertook a policy of expansion and extending Japanese influence overseas.www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/history/tw04.html Korea, to the west, was invaded, but attempts to invade Taiwan turned out to be unsuccessful due mainly to endemic & epidemic diseases which had no cure at that time such as cholera & malaria, and fierce resistance by aborigines on the island. In 1609, the Tokugawa Shogunate sent Haruno Arima on an exploratory mission of the island. In 1616, Murayama Toan led an unsuccessful invasion of the island. It was the Dutch who started importing on a large scale Chinese workers from China's Fujian province as laborers, many of whom became naturalized. The Dutch had its colonial capital at Tayoan City (present day Anping, Tainan). The Dutch military presence concentrated at a fort called Castle Zeelandia. The Dutch colonialists also used the aborigines to hunt the native Formosan Sika deer (Cervus nippon taioanus) that inhabited Taiwan, contributing to the eventual disappearance of a small subspecies in the wild. (A small population of the subspecies is being kept in captivity and currently being reintroduced into the Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan.) The pelt of the deer was shipped to Japan, from which the commodity continued its trip to Europe, the U.S., etc.

Koxinga and imperial Chinese rule

Ming naval and troop forces defeated the Dutch in 1662, subsequently expelling the Dutch government and military from the island. They were led by Lord Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong, ???), son of a Chinese pirate-merchant, and a Japanese samurai's daughter from Hirato, Kyushu. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty, Koxinga retreated to Taiwan as a self-styled Ming loyalist, and established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662?1683). Koxinga established his capital at Tainan and he and his heirs, Zheng Jing (??) who ruled from 1662-82 and his son Zheng Keshuang (???), who served less than a year, continued to launch raids on the east coast of mainland China well into the Qing dynasty in an attempt to recover the mainland. Koxinga's attempt to solicit support from the Japanese Shogun was unsuccessful.Archive of Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu

In 1683, the Qing dynasty defeated the Zheng holdout, and formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. Following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang, Zheng's followers were expatriated to the farthest reaches of the Qing Empire, leaving approximately 7,000 Han on Taiwan. The Qing government wrestled with its Taiwan policy to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, which led to a series of edicts to manage immigration and respect aboriginal land rights. Illegal immigrants from Fujian continued to enter Taiwan as renters of the large plots of aboriginal lands under contracts that usually involved marriage, while the border between taxpaying lands and "savage" lands migrated east, with some aborigines 'Sinicizing' while others retreated into the mountains. The move was accompanied by a modernization drive that included the building of the first railroad and the beginning of a postal service in Taiwan.

Japanese rule


In 1871, an Okinawan vessel shipwrecked on the southern tip of Taiwan and the crew of 54 were beheaded by the Paiwan aborigines. There were about 30 Paiwan casualties, and 543 Japanese ones(12 in battle and 531 by endemic diseases).

Following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), by signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Qing China ceded Taiwan and the Pescadores to Japan in perpetuity, on terms dictated by the latter. Taiwan Kikou

On May 25, 1895, the Republic of Formosa was formed with a dynastic name of "Forever Qing" ("Qing" or "Ch'ing" referring to the dynastic name of China at the time: Great Qing Empire) and with capital at Tainan, to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital and quelled this resistance on October 21, 1895. Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to integrate the island into the Japanese Empire. By 1945, just before the end of World War II, desperate plans were put in place to allow entry of Taiwanese into the Japanese Diet to make Taiwan an integral part of Japan proper.fact

The signing of the Instrument of Surrender on August 15, 1945, put Taiwan under Allied occupation. On October 25, 1945, ROC troops, representing the Allied Command, accepted the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taihoku. However, due to the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allies stipulated the United States as the main occupying power of Taiwan while not naming the recipient of Taiwan's sovereignty, which Chiang Kai-Shek, President of the ROC, refused to accept. The PRC was not invited to the treaty because of the Korean War.fact

Supporters of Taiwanese independence claim that technically, documents and treaties left the legal sovereignty of Taiwan ambiguous, and the ruling KMT government of the ROC only exercised de facto control over the island. However, the validity of this stewardship is disputed by the ROC, as well as by the PRC. However, the ROC military administration on Taiwan under Chen Yi was generally unstable and corrupt; These problems, compounded with hyperinflation, unrest due to the Chinese Civil War, and distrust due to political, cultural and linguistic differences between the Taiwanese and the Mainland Chinese, quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new administration. (Subscription required) This culminated in a series of severe clashes between the ROC administration and Taiwanese, in turn leading to the bloody 228 incident and the reign of White Terror. (Subscription required) Full version at 228.lomaji.com/news/040747b.html

In 1949, upon losing the Chinese Civil War to the CPC, the KMT retreated from Mainland China and moved the ROC government to Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, while continuing to claim sovereignty over all of China and Greater Mongolia. 1: "Since the KMT ruling clique retreated to Taiwan, although its regime has continued to use the designations "Republic of China" and "government of the Republic of China," it has long since completely forfeited its right to exercise state sovereignty on behalf of China and, in reality, has always remained only a local authority in Chinese territory." Some 1.3 million refugees from Mainland China, consisting primarily of soldiers, KMT party members, and wealthy mainlanders, arrived in Taiwan around that time. From this period on, Taiwan was governed by a party-state dictatorship, with the KMT as the ruling party. However, in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the 7th Fleet into the Taiwan Straits to "neutralize" the Straits. Page 1: "In addition 7th Fleet will take station so as to prevent invasion of Formosa and to insure that Formosa not be used as base of operations against Chinese mainland." Page 4: "Seventh Fleet is hereby assigned to operational control CINCFE for employment in following task hereby assigned CINCFE: By naval and air action prevent any attack on Formosa, or any air or sea offensive from Formosa against mainland of China." In the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which came into force on April 28, 1952, and the Treaty of Taipei, concluded hours before that date, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Peng-hu), and renounced all treaties signed with China before 1942. Both treaties remained silent about who would take control of the island, in part to avoid taking sides in the Chinese Civil War. Advocates of Taiwan independence have used this omission to call into question any legal claims on Taiwan, arguing that the future of Taiwan should be decided by self-determination.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Taiwan began to develop into a prosperous and dynamic economy, becoming one of the East Asian Tigers while maintaining the authoritarian, single-party government. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s, when most nations began switching recognition to the PRC.See UN General Assembly Resolution 2758.

Democratic transition

After Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975, Vice President Yen Chia-kan briefly took over from 1975 to 1978 according to the Constitution, but actual power was in the hands of the Premier of the Executive Yuan, Chiang Ching-kuo, who was KMT chairman and a son of Chiang Kai-shek. After Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988, Vice President Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as the first Taiwan-born president and chairman of the KMT. Lee became the first Taiwan president elected by popular vote in 1996, despite China's missile tests.

In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party won the Presidential election, marking the first ever peaceful democratic transition of power to an opposition party in Taiwan history and a decisive end to the KMT's monopoly in administration of the central government. After surviving an assassination attempt the day before the 2004 election, Chen was re-elected to his second four-year term by thirty thousand votes. The KMT filed lawsuits to demand a recount of the votes, alleged voting fraud and staged huge rally to demand a new election.

Geography

The island of Taiwan lies some 200 kilometers off the southeastern coast of China, across the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,801 square kilometers (13,823 square miles), with the East China Sea to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. Taiwan's highest point is the Yu Shan at 3,997 meters, and there are five other peaks over 3,500 meters. This makes it the world's 7th highest island

The shape of the main island of Taiwan is similar to a sweet potato seen in a south-to-north direction, and therefore, Taiwanese people, especially the Min-nan division, often call themselves 'children of the Sweet Potato'. There are also other interpretations of the island shape, one of which is a whale in the ocean (the Pacific Ocean) if viewed in a west-to-east direction, which is a common orientation in ancient maps, plotted either by Western explorers or the Ching Dynasty.

Taiwan's climate is marine tropical. The Northern part of the island has a rainy season that lasts from January to late March during the southwest monsoon, and also experiences meiyu in May. The entire island succumbs to hot humid weather from June until September, while October to December are arguably the most pleasant times of year. Natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes are common in the region.

Taiwan is a center of bird endemism. About 98% of the population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. This group contains two subgroups: the Southern Fujianese or "Hokkien" or "Min-nan" (70% of the total population), who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian (min-nan) region in the southeast of Mainland China; and the Hakka (15% of the total population), who originally migrated south to Guangdong, its surrounding areas and Taiwan, intermarrying extensively with Taiwanese aborigines. The remaining 12% of Han Chinese are known as Mainlanders ((zh-cpl|c=???|p=Waisheng ren|l=external-province person)) and are composed of and descend from immigrants who arrived after the Second World War. This group also includes those who fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

Dalu ren (???) refers to residents of mainland China. This group excludes almost all Taiwanese, including the Mainlanders, except recent immigrants from mainland China, such as those made ROC citizens through marriage. As Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world, this contingent is playing an increasingly important role in changing Taiwan's demographic makeup.

The other 2% of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are listed as the Taiwanese aborigines ((zh-cpl|c=???|p=yuánzhùmín|l=original inhabitants)), divided into 12 major groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan and Taroko.

Languages


About 80% of the people in Taiwan belong to the Holo (??) or Hoklo (??) ethnic group and speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese. The Hakka(??), about 10% of the population, have a distinct Hakka language. English is a common second language, with many large private schools such as Hess providing English instruction. A large fraction of the populace speaks Taiwanese, a variant of Min-nan, and a majority understand it. Some in the older generations only speak the Japanese they learned at school and the Taiwanese they spoke at home and are unable to communicate with many in the modern generations who only speak Mandarin.

Most aboriginal groups in Taiwan have their own languages which, unlike Taiwanese or Hakka, do not belong to the Chinese language family, but rather to the Austronesian language family. That is Zhuyin Fuhao ((zh-tpw|t=????|p=Zhùy?n Fúhào|w=Chu-yin fu-hao)), or "Symbols for Annotating Sounds", often abbreviated as Zhuyin, or known as Bopomofo (????) after the first four letters of this Chinese phonemic alphabet (bo po mo fo). Although the national government officially adopted Tongyong Pinyin in 2002, it allowed local governments to make their own choices. Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, has adopted Hanyu Pinyin, replacing earlier signage, most of which had been in a bastardized version of Wade-Giles. Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, has adopted Tongyong. Elsewhere in Taiwan, signs tend to be in a mixture of systems, with the most common overall being MPS2, which was official before the adoption of Tongyong Pinyin.

Religion


93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism; 4.5% identify themselves as Christians, including Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and other non-denominational Christian groups; and 2.5% are adherents of other religions, such as Islam and Judaism.

Confucianism is a philosophy that deals with secular moral ethics, and serves as the foundation of both Chinese and Taiwanese culture. The majority of Taiwanese usually combine the secular teachings of Confucianism with whatever religions they are affiliated with.

One especially important goddess for Taiwanese people is Matsu, who symbolizes the seafaring spirit of Taiwan's ancestors from Fujian and Guangdong.

Culture


Taiwan's mainstream culture is primarily derived from traditional Chinese culture, with significant influences also from Japanese and American cultures, especially in the areas of politics and architecture. The government launched a program promoting Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, folk art, and Chinese opera.

Since the Taiwan localization movement of the 1990s, Taiwan's cultural identity has been allowed greater expression. Identity politics, along with the over 100 years of political separation from mainland China, 50 of which were under Japanese colonial rule, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including cuisine, opera, and music.

The status of Taiwanese culture is a subject of debate. Along with the political status of Taiwan, it is disputed whether Taiwanese culture is a segment of Chinese culture (due to the Han ethnicity and a shared language and traditional customs with mainland Chinese) or a distinct culture separate from Chinese culture (due to the long period of recent political separation and the past colonization of Taiwan). Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become an emblem of Taiwanese identity.

One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum, which houses more than 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting and porcelain. The KMT moved this collection from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1949 when it fled to Taiwan. Badminton is also common.

Karaoke, drawn from contemporary Japanese culture, is extremely popular in Taiwan, where it is known as KTV. Small soundproof rooms containing sofas and a huge TV screen can be hired out, and friends take it in turns to sing songs.

Taiwan has a high density of 24 hour convenience stores, which in addition to the usual services, provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of parking fees, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments.

Taiwanese culture also has influenced the West: Bubble tea and milk tea are popular drinks readily available around city centers in Europe and North America. Ang Lee is the famous Taiwanese movie director of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility and Brokeback Mountain.

Notes



See also


  • Taichung
  • Tainan
  • Miaoli
  • Taipei
  • Kaohsiung

Chronology

  • Key Dates:
  • 1901: The Monopoly Bureau of Taiwan Governor's Office is estab lished to control opium trade, as well as the salt and camphor monopo lies.
  • 1905: Monopoly is extended to include tobacco.
  • 1919: Chienguo Brewery, the first to brew beer in Taiwan, is f ounded (it later adopts the Taiwan Beer brand).
  • 1922: Alcoholic beverages are placed under government monopoly .
  • 1947: The Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board, which oversees the to bacco, alcohol, and camphor monopolies, is created.
  • 1968: The board's control over the camphor monopoly ends.
  • 1987: Taiwan accepts imports of wine and cigarettes for the fi rst time.
  • 1991: Imports of whiskey are allowed.
  • 1992: Imports of brandy, gin, and other spirits are allowed.
  • 1999: The government passes a new Tobacco & Alcohol Admini strative Law; private domestic production of fermented beverages is a llowed.
  • 2001: Private domestic production of spirits is allowed.
  • 2002: TTL is created as a state-owned corporation, including t he production and distribution operations of the former board; privat e domestic production of beer is allowed.
  • 2004: TTL launches the Long Life cigarette brand in mainland C hina.
  • 2005: TTL prepares for a public offering and privatization.

Additional topics

Company HistoryTobacco Products

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