Capital: Taipei
Area: 35,980 km²
Population: 22.9 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese, Malayo-Polynesians
Official language(s): Mandarin Chinese
Religion(s): Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, Christian faith
Currency: 1 new Taiwan dollar = 100 fen
Private International Children's Village of Taiwan
The SOS Children’s Village Taiwan was built on the initiative of the late Mr. Chen The-tseng, President of the “Child welfare league of Taiwan”. Supported by the wife of former Taiwanese president Chiang Kai-shek, he established the SOS Children’s Village model for the official child welfare agencies on the island.
The national SOS Children’s Village Association was founded in 1971. While building the Children’s Village in Chungli, Reverend Cölestin Maria Norden, who was engaged in the same region, enthusiastically offered his support. The SOS Children’s Village, consisting of 12 family houses and a SOS Youth Facility, started its operation in 1972. Reverend Cölestion Maria Norden had a significant impact on the work of SOS Children’s Village in the early years as he provided moral and emotional support to mothers and children.
Currently there is one SOS Children’s Village and one Youth Facility in Taiwan.