About Taiwan

Quick Facts:

• Land Area: 13,972 sq mi (36,188 sq km). Taiwan is about 290 miles long (North to South) and 90 miles wide at its widest point.
• Land Features: Taiwan is an island located 90 miles east of the Chinese Mainland. 2/3 of Taiwan’s land area is taken up with the Central Mountain range which runs the whole length of Taiwan from North to South. More than 60 of these mountain peaks are 10,000 feet or higher. Most of Taiwan’s cities are located on the western plains.
• Climate: tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August)
• Population: 23 million.
• Population Density: Taiwan is the second-most-densely populated country in the world with 632 people per square kilometer (after Bangladesh with 985 p/sq km).
• Language: Mandarin Chinese is the official language, but Taiwanese and Hakka are also spoken.
• Ethnic Makeup and Culture: Taiwan is populated by ethnic Chinese who share language and culture with the people of Mainland China.
• Government: Constitutional Democracy with 5 branches of government.
• Major Cities:
  The capital city of Taiwan is Taipei, located in Northern Taiwan (population 2.6 million). Other major cities include Kaohsiung (1.5 million), Tainan (750,000), Taichung (1 million).
• Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (about 32 NT$ to $1.00 usd)

Links to Information About Taiwan

• 東方之星 (Eastern Star) – Chinese language website containing bible resources and preaching (Traditional Characters)
• ZG Briefs – China Briefs- Online news digest of media articles about China
• Yahoo Flickr online albums – free online photo album hosting service from Yahoo
• World Time Map – World Map showing current time around the world.
• World Atlas of Travel – includes maps
• WordPress blogware – free blogging software from WordPress
• WordPress blog hosting – free blog hosting service from WordPress
• Wikipedia Article – online encyclopedia article on Taiwan
• W3Schools website – Reference and tutorials for using HTML, CSS, XML, Javascript, ASP, and PHP
• Tyler Rausch – Our photographer nephew
• Thunderbird e-mail program – Open source (free) e-mail client from Mozilla **RECOMMENDED**
• The Tuntex Sky Tower – Kaohsiung’s tallest building on SkyscraperPage.com
• The Taipei Times – online English language newspaper
• The Missions Station – a one-stop library of all that pertains to the work of Biblical Worldwide Christian Missions
• The China Post – online English language newspaper
• Taiwan Weather – Taiwan weather, typhoons, earthquakes: news & information
• Taiwan Review Magazine – Taiwan culture, arts, and politics
• Taiwan Gov't Website – official government news & information
• Taiwan Currency Pics & Info – The New Taiwan Dollar (images and information)
• Taipei 101 – Taipei’s tallest building on SkyscraperPage.com
• Tad & Hannah Wychopen – future missionaries to Taiwan
• Steven & Evelyn Wesco – potential future missionaries to Taiwan
• SnapShots – link preview utility; free download
• Skype Internet Call Software – VOI (Voice Over Internet) Free internet calls including video conferencing
• RefTagger – Turn any Bible reference on your website into a hyperlink.
• Rapid Transit- Wikipedia – Wikipedia Article about the Kaohsiung Subway (KMRT- Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit)
• Rapid Transit System – Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit website
• Quackit Website – Reference and tutorials for using HTML
• Opera web browser – Free web browser
• OpenOffice.Org office suite – Open source (free) office productivity suite similar to Microsoft Office **RECOMMENDED**
• Open Door Baptist Mission – Our Sending Church in Greenville, SC
• Online conversion (standard, metric, etc.) – tools for instant conversion between metric and standard systems (length, weight, etc.)
• Nate & Maam Beckman – BMM missionaries in Thailand
• Morningside BC, Greenville, SC – Pastor Tony Miller
• Michael & Julie Carlyle – BMM missionaries in Cambodia
• Marilyn Janke's Ribtickler – Blog for Christian Women by Marilyn Janke (GFA, British Columbia, Canada)
• MagicJack Internet Phone – Use any normal phone to call over the internet for free
• Kompozer web editor – free WYSIWYG HTML & CSS editor
• Kaohsiung Int'l Airport – Airport Information (Incl. Arrivals/Departures Status)
• Kaohsiung City- Wikipedia – Wikipedia article about the city of Kaohsiung
• Icon Sushi – convert images into usable windows icons **RECOMMENDED**
• HTML Goodies – Reference and tutorials for using HTML and other languages
• Hostmonster – inexpensive web hosting site
• Hope Baptist Church
• Google Picasa Software – Photo editing and organization program (works with Picasa online web albums)
• Google Picasa online albums – free online photo album hosting service from Google
• Google Chrome web browser – free web browser from Google
• GOM Player – Free Video Player
• Global China Center – with special regard toward Christianity in China
• Gimp photo software – Open source (free) photo-editing and image manipulation software similar to Photoshop **RECOMMENDED**
• Free MP3 WMA Converter – convert audio formats, quality, file size, etc.
• Fotosearch Stock Photography – Fotosearch Stock Photography allows users to search from more than 35 million images starting at just . They can also find royalty-free clipart pictures, illustrations, stock video clips, poster, prints, and more.
• FireFTP Plugin – Open source (free) FTP tool for Firefox web browser *RECOMMENDED*
• Firefox web browser – Open source (free) web browser from Mozilla **RECOMMENDED**
• Firebug Plugin – Open source (free) web development tool for Firefox web browser *RECOMMENDED*
• English-Mandarin Dictionary4 – another online dictionary; lookup English-to-Mandarin and vice-versa
• English-Mandarin Dictionary3 – online lookup of English-to-Mandarin and vice-versa
• English-Mandarin Dictionary2 – Helpful dictionary allowing lookup of Chinese characters
• English-Mandarin Dictionary1 – Helpful dictionary allowing lookup of Chinese characters
• E-Taiwan News – online news outlet
• Duane & Hannah Scott – BMM missionaries in Thailand
• Deb Brammer – friend, BMM colleague, & published author
• Dan Watson – fellow Taiwan missionary & photographer
• Currency Exchange Rates – lookup current exchange rates between Taiwan Dollar and US Dollar
• City News & Info – tourism and travel information for Kaohsiung
• City Gov't Site – official city government news & information
• Chinese (Taiwanese) Knots – A traditional Taiwan handicraft
• Bullet Train- Wikipedia – Wikipedia article about the Taiwan High Speed Rail system (THSR)
• Bullet Train – Taiwan High Speed Rail information website
• Brian & Erin Bollon – future missionaries to Taiwan
• Bob Jones University – Luke’s school & our alma mater
• Beachhead to a Billion – links and information to facilitate missions to China
• Baptist Mid-Missions – Our Mission Agency Website
• Apple Safari web browser – free web browser from Apple Inc.
• American Institute in Taiwan – AIT is the defacto American Embassy in Taiwan