Fuchien Province, Republic of China facts for kids

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Fuchien Province

福建省

Province

Name transcription(s)

• Chinese

福建省 (Fújiàn Shěng)

• Abbreviation

FJ / 閩 (pinyin: Mǐn, POJ: Bân)

• Foochow

Hók-gióng

• Hokkien POJ

Hok-kiàn

Seal of Fujian Province

Map showing the de facto territories under the nominal province (red)

Country

Jiangnandong Circuit

626

Fujian Circuit

985

Taiwan as a prefecture of Fujian ruled by the Qing dynasty

1684

Taiwan as a province of Qing dynasty formally detached from Fujian

1887

Fujian People's Government

1933—1934

Division of Fujian

17 August 1949

Streamlined

16 July 1956

Demilitarised

7 November 1992

Provincial Government dissolved

31 December 2018

Named for

福 Fú: Fuzhou
建 Jiàn: Jianzhou

Provincial capital

Jincheng, Kinmen (de facto)
Foochow (claimed, de jure)

Largest city

Jincheng, Kinmen

Divisions

67 counties, 2 cities

Government

• Type

Province (nominal)

• Body

Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center

Area

• 1948

119,340 km² (46,080 sq mi)

• 2018

180.4560 km² (69.6745 sq mi)

Population

(2020)

• Free area

153,876

• Constitutional claims

41,563,668

Demonym(s)

Fujianese, Fukienese, Kinmenese, Matsunese

Demographics

• Languages and dialects

Min, Mandarin

Time zone

UTC+08:00 (Asia/Taipei)

Postal code

209–212, 890–896

Area code(s)

(0)82, (0)826, (0)836

ISO 3166 code

Website

FKPG.gov.tw

Fuchien

"Fuchien" in Chinese characters

Chinese

福建

Postal

Fukien

Literal meaning

"Fú(zhōu) and Jiàn(zhōu)"

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Bopomofo	ㄈㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Fwujiann
Wade–Giles	Fu²-chien⁴
Tongyong Pinyin	Fújiàn
Yale Romanization	Fújyàn
MPS2	Fújiàn
IPA	[fǔ.tɕi̯ɛ̂n]
Wu
Romanization	Foh-ji
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	Fuk-kien or Fuk-kian
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Fūkgin
IPA	[fók̚.kīːn]
Jyutping	Fuk1gin3
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Hok-kiàn
Tâi-lô	Hok-kiàn
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUC	Hók-gióng
Pu-Xian Min
Hinghwa BUC	Ho̤h-ge̤̍ng
Northern Min
Jian'ou Romanized	Hŭ-gṳ̿in.g

Abbreviation

Literal meaning

[the Mǐn River]

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Mǐn
Bopomofo	ㄇㄧㄣˇ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Miin
Wade–Giles	Min³
Tongyong Pinyin	Mǐn
Yale Romanization	Mǐn
MPS2	Mǐn
IPA	[mìn]
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	Mén
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Máhn
IPA	[mɐ̬n]
Jyutping	Man5
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Bân
Tâi-lô	Bân
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUC	Mìng
Pu-Xian Min
Hinghwa BUC	Máng
Northern Min
Jian'ou Romanized	Mâing

Fujian Province

Chinese

福建省

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Fújiàn Shěng
Bopomofo	ㄈㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄕㄥˇ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Fwujiann Sheeng
Wade–Giles	Fu²-chien⁴ Shêng³
Tongyong Pinyin	Fújiàn Shěng
Yale Romanization	Fújyàn Shěng
MPS2	Fújiàn Shěng
IPA	[fǔ.tɕi̯ɛ̂n ʂə̀ŋ]
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	Fuk-kien-sén or Fuk-kian-sén
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Fūkgin Sáang
IPA	[fók̚.kīːn sǎːŋ]
Jyutping	Fuk1gin3 Saang2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Hok-kiàn-séng
Tâi-lô	Hok-kiàn-síng
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUC	Hók-gióng sēng

Location of de jure Fujian Province inside de jure territory of ROC

Fuchien Province, also known as Fujian or Fukien, is a special area managed by the Republic of China (ROC). It doesn't have a full government like other provinces. It includes three groups of small islands near the coast of mainland China. These are the Matsu Islands (part of Lienchiang County) and the Wuqiu Islands and Kinmen Islands (part of Kinmen County). The main administrative office is in Jincheng Township, Kinmen County. This is like its capital. The province is also called the Golden Horse. This name comes from the Chinese words for "Kinmen" and "Matsu".

These islands are the only part of a larger province that the ROC still controls. The People's Republic of China took control of the mainland part in 1949. This happened during the Chinese Civil War. The islands were under military rule during the Cold War. Travel rules were not relaxed until 1992.

The way the province was run changed in 1998. Its administration was moved to the national and county governments. The provincial government was mostly stopped in 2018.

A Brief History of Fuchien
- The Chinese Civil War and Division
- Changes in Administration
How Fuchien is Governed
Areas of Fuchien Province
Culture and People
Education
See also

A Brief History of Fuchien

The Xinhai Revolution ended the Qing dynasty. This brought the province under the rule of the Republic of China. Fuchien briefly became independent under the Fujian People's Government. But the ROC soon took control again.

Parts of northwestern Fuchien were controlled by the Chinese Soviet Republic. This lasted until 1934, when the Long March began. The area faced a sea blockade by Japan during Second Sino-Japanese War.

The Chinese Civil War and Division

During the Chinese Civil War, the ROC lost control of most of mainland China. This included most of the Fujian province. The ROC government then moved to Taiwan. The Communist Party of China formed the PRC in 1949. The capital of Fuchien was moved from Foochow to Jincheng.

However, in the Battle of Guningtou, ROC forces defended the island of Quemoy (now Kinmen). They stopped a communist attack. Because of this, the ROC kept control of some islands off the coast of Fujian. They still have a separate Fujian Provincial Government for these islands. This government runs parallel to the Fujian province in mainland China.

Changes in Administration

In 1956, the ROC government moved the Fuchien provincial government. This was due to possible military conflict with the PRC. It moved to Xindian in Taiwan Province. The islands were under strict military control. This was because they were very close to mainland China. It was unusual for a province's government to be in a different province.

In the 1990s, relations between the PRC and ROC improved. The ROC also became more democratic. So, the islands returned to civilian rule in 1992. On January 15, 1996, the provincial government moved back to Kinmen. This was back on Fuchien soil.

Since 2010, the ROC has reduced the power of its two provinces. These are Taiwan and Fuchien. Most of the power for Fuchien province now belongs to the county governments. These are Kinmen and Lienchiang.

How Fuchien is Governed

The head of the Fujian Provincial Government used to be the Governor. This person was also called the "Chairperson of the Fujian Provincial Government". The central government appointed the governor.

The Fujian Provincial Government was in Jincheng, Kinmen. This was from January 1996 to 2018.

In 1998, the provincial administration changed. Its tasks were moved to the counties and the national National Development Council. This change happened in 1999 and 2000. It followed reforms in 1997 to make provincial governments smaller. The provincial government became a local link for the national government. Its officers were appointed, not elected. It stopped working when its remaining staff and duties moved in 2018.

The Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center started in 2017. It is the local government office for the islands. It took over the remaining duties of the provincial government.

Former Fujian Provincial Government building, now used by the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center.

Areas of Fuchien Province

Fuchien province includes two counties: Kinmen County and Lienchiang County. These islands cover about 182.66 square kilometers. They had a total population of 71,000 in 2001.

Here are the islands of Fuchien that the ROC controls, listed by county:

Name	Kinmen County	Lienchiang County
Chinese	金門縣	連江縣
Hokkien	Kim-mn̂g-koān	Liân-kang-koān
Hakka	Kîm-mùn-yen	Lièn-kông-yen
Matsunese	Gĭng-muòng-gâing	Lièng-gŏng-gâing
Wuqiunese	Ging-meóng-gā̤ⁿ	Léng-gang-gā̤ⁿ
Map
Islands	numerous islands & islets	36 islands
Islands	Kinmen Islands (金門列島) Kinmen (金門島) Lesser Kinmen (小金門島) Dadan (大膽島) Erdan (二膽島) Dongding (東碇島) Beiding (北碇島) Jiangong (建功嶼) Binlang Islet (檳榔嶼) Fuxing Islet (復興嶼) Menghu Islet (猛虎嶼) Shi Islet (獅嶼) Wuqiu Islands (烏坵嶼) Daqiu (大坵嶼) Xiaoqiu (小坵嶼)	Matsu Islands (馬祖列島) Nangan (南竿島) Beigan (北竿島) Dongju (東莒島) Xiju (西莒島) Dongyin (東引島) Xiyin (西引島) Gaodeng Island (高登島) Daqiu Island (大坵島) Liang Island (亮島) Turtle Island (龜島)
Administrative divisions	6 townships	4 townships

The PRC claims Kinmen as a county of Quanzhou, Fujian. It also claims the Matsu Islands as a township of Lianjiang County, Fuzhou, Fujian. Some islands are claimed as parts of other areas.

Culture and People

Most people in Fuchien are of Chinese ethnicity. Fujian is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in the country. Different dialects of the Min Chinese language group are spoken here. These include the Fuzhou dialect from northeastern Fujian and various Hokkien dialects from southeastern Fujian. Hakka Chinese is also spoken by the Hakka people in Fujian. Min dialects, Hakka, and Mandarin Chinese are very different from each other. People speaking one often cannot understand the others. Many Chinese people in Southeast Asia speak Southern Min (or Hokkien). This is because many people from Fuchien moved there.

Education

National Quemoy University