Taitung County

Chinese
t=台東縣
p=Táidōng Xiàn
tp=Táidong Siàn
w=T`ai-tung Hsien
poj=Tâi-tang-kōan Infobox ROC county
englishname = Taitung County
chinesename = 台東縣


emblem =
abbreviation = Taitung (台東)


county seat = Taitung City
region = Eastern Taiwan
countymagistrate = K'uang Li-chen (Kuang Lizhen) (鄺麗貞)
totalarea = 3,515.2526
arearank = 3
percentwater = n/a
totalpop = 241,676 (2004)
poprank = 22
density = 69
citiesno = 1
townshipno = 15
countyflower = Moth orchid ("Phalaenopsis")
countytree = Camphor tree ("Cinnamomum camphora")
countybird = n/a
website = taitung.gov.tw

Taitung County is a county in eastern Taiwan. The name means "Eastern Taiwan". Taitung is officially administered as a county of Taiwan Province, Republic of China.

Due in part to its remote location and isolation by mountains from Taiwan's main population centers, Taitung was the last part of the island to be colonized by Han Chinese immigrants (late 19th century). Throughout the 20th century Taitung remained an economic backwater. Sparsely populated even today, this isolation may have been a blessing in disguise, as Taitung mostly escaped the urbanization and pollution that have come to plague much of the island's lowland areas.

In addition to the area on Taiwan proper, the county includes two major islands, Green Island and Orchid Island. Green Island was home to an infamous penal colony used for political prisoners during the "White Terror" period of Chinese Nationalist (KMT) rule (from 1947 until the end of martial law in 1987). Orchid Island, home of the Tao people (Taiwanese aborigines closely related to the people of the northern Philippines), has become a major tourist attraction despite the government-operated Taiwan Power Company's controversial use of part of the island as a nuclear waste dump.

Administration

City

#Taitung City(臺東市)

= Townships =

Urban townships

#Chenggong Township (成功鎮)
#Guanshan Township (關山鎮)

Rural townships

#Beinan Township (卑南鄉)
#Changbin Township (長濱鄉)
#Chihshang Township (池上鄉)
#Daren Township (達仁鄉)
#Dawu Township (大武鄉)
#Dunghe Township (東河鄉)
#Haiduan Township (海端鄉)
#Jinfong Township (金峰鄉)
#Luye Township (鹿野鄉)
#Lyudao Township (Green Island) (綠島鄉)
#Lanyu Township (Orchid Island) (蘭嶼鄉)
#Taimali Township (太麻里鄉)
#Yanping Township (延平鄉)

Education

*National Taitung University

Notable natives

*Yang Chuan-kwang(楊傳廣), 1960 Summer Olympics decathlon medalist
*Tank (吕建中)
*A-mei (張惠妹)

Travel

* [http://www.eastcoast-nsa.gov.tw/en/ East Coast National Scenic Area ]
* [http://www.tbrochtb.gov.tw/user/main.aspx?Lang=2 East Rift Valley National Scenic Area ]

Culture

*National Museum of Prehistory

External links

* [http://taitung.gov.tw Taitung County Government Website zh]