Flag of the Republic of China
The flag of the Republic of China, commonly called the flag of Taiwan, consists of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of light emanating from it, respectively.
| "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" (青天白日滿地紅) | |
| Use | Civil and state flag, national ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1895 (by Revive China Society, original version) 1906 (addition of the red field) 1 January 1912 (naval flag) 5 May 1921 (by Guangzhou government) 9 December 1928 (in mainland China) 25 October 1945 (in Taiwan) |
| Relinquished | 1 October 1949 (in mainland China) 1 May 1950 (in Hainan) |
| Design | A red field with a navy blue canton bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays |
| Designed by | Lu Haodong (The canton of the flag) Sun Yat-sen (The full layout) |
| "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag (青天白日旗) Republic of China naval jack | |
Naval jack | |
| Use | Naval jack |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1895 |
| Design | A white Sun with twelve rays on a navy blue background. |
| Designed by | Lu Haodong |
Army flag | |
| Use | War flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | A red field with a navy blue rectangular center with a white sun with twelve rays on top of the blue. |
Commander-in-chief standard | |
| Use | Presidential standard |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | A red field with a yellow border and navy blue circle on the top, a white sun with twelve rays is on top of the blue. |
| Flag of the Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中華民國國旗 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华民国国旗 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Republic of China flag | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Blue Sky, White Sun and a Wholly Red Earth | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 青天白日滿地紅 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 青天白日满地红 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Blue sky, white sun, wholly red earth | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The flag was originally designed by the anti-Qing group, Revive China Society, in 1895 with the addition of the red field component in 1906 by Sun Yat-sen in his speech. This was first used in mainland China as the Navy flag in 1912, and was made the official national flag of the Republic of China in 1928 by the Nationalist government. It was enshrined in the sixth article of the ROC constitution when it was promulgated in 1947. The flag is no longer used in mainland China due to the ROC defeat in the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The ROC national flag has since then remained in use within the "Free Area", which includes the islands of Taiwan and Penghu, as well as some remaining offshore islands off the Fujian coast and some of the South China Sea Islands under ROC control.
The public display of this flag is still seen in historical museums and war cemeteries across mainland China, but its use remains illegal due to its history as a symbol of opposition to communism. Some supporters of Taiwanese independence reject the flag due to its association with Chinese nationalism and as a statement of opposition against the Kuomintang, although supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party and its leaders still retain and use the current flag both domestically and abroad.