Fuchien Province, Republic of China in the context of "Free Area of the Republic of China"

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi) and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about 180 kilometres (112 mi) across the Taiwan Strait from the southeastern coast of the Mainland China. The East China Sea is to the north of the island, the Philippine Sea to its east, the Luzon Strait directly to its south, and the South China Sea to its southwest. The ROC also controls a number of smaller islands, including the Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen and Matsu in Fuchien near the Mainland coast, as well as Pratas and Taiping in the South China Sea.

Geologically, the main island comprises a tilted fault block, characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of five rugged mountain ranges running parallel to the east coast, and the flat to gently rolling plains of the western third, where the majority of the population resides. Several peaks exceed 3,500 m in height – the highest, Yu Shan at 3,952 m (12,966 ft), makes Taiwan the world's fourth-highest island. The tectonic boundary that formed these ranges remains active, and the island experiences many earthquakes, some of them highly destructive. There are also many active submarine volcanoes in the Taiwan Straits.

The Taiwan Area, also called the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China, the free area of the Republic of China, and the "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fuchien)", is a term used to refer to the territories under the effective control of the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as "Taiwan"). It has been in official use since the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China took effect, ending temporary anti-communist provisions on 1 May 1991. The term is also used in the 1992 Cross-Strait Act.

The area currently under the definition consists of the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands. The collective term "Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma" is literally equivalent except that it only refers to the geographical areas of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Area, to the exclusion of Wuqiu, Dongsha Island, and Taiping Island.

Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Quanzhou, with other notable cities including the port city of Xiamen and Zhangzhou. Fujian is located on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait as the closest province geographically and culturally to Taiwan. This is as a result of the Chinese Civil War. Additionally, a small portion of historical Fujian is administered by Taiwan, romanized as Fuchien.

While the population predominantly identifies as Han, it is one of China's most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces. The dialects of the language group Min Chinese are most commonly spoken within the province, including the Fuzhou dialect and Eastern Min of Northeastern Fujian province and various Southern Min and Hokkien dialects of southeastern Fujian. The capital city of Fuzhou and Fu'an of Ningde prefecture along with Cangnan county-level city of Wenzhou prefecture in Zhejiang province make up the Min Dong linguistic and cultural region of Northeastern Fujian. Hakka Chinese is also spoken in Fujian, by the Hakka people. Min dialects, Hakka, and Standard Chinese are mutually unintelligible. Due to emigration, much of the ethnic Chinese populations of Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines speak Southern Min (or Hokkien).

The Matsu Islands (UK: /ˌmætˈsuː/ or US: /ˌmɑːtˈsuː/) are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China (Taiwan), situated alongside the southeastern coast of mainland China. The archipelago forms Lienchiang County (/ljɛnˈdʒjɑːŋ/), the smallest county in the ROC-controlled territories by area and population, as well as one of two counties that is a part of the nominal Fuchien Province.

The current Lienchiang County of the ROC was once part of an intact Lienchiang County of Fujian before its effective partition in 1949 following the Chinese Civil War, which resulted in the mainland portion of the county being controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC), while the offshore islands of Matsu remained under ROC control. The circumstance has made the county the only former geographical unit with the same name that is now divided between the administrations of the ROC and the PRC.

Wuqiu (Wuchiu, Wuciou, Ockseu) (Puxian Min: Ou-chhiu, Hakka: Vû-hiu-hiông) is a rural township of Kinmen County (Quemoy), Taiwan (ROC) made up of a group of islands in the Taiwan Strait comprising two major islands, Daqiu and Xiaoqiu. Wuqiu Township is nominally de jure part of Futian County, Fukien of the Republic of China. It is the smallest township in Kinmen County and is located 72 nmi (133 km) northeast of the rest of the county. The township is 73 nmi (135 km) from the Port of Taichung on Taiwan. The closest territory under China (PRC) control is the neighboring Luci Island (Lusi Island), Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, which is 9 nmi (17 km) to the north-northwest. Greater Qiu Island is the site of the Wuqiu Lighthouse.