Taiwan

Taiwan (台湾, Taiwan) is a minor character in the series Axis Powers Hetalia/Hetalia: Axis Powers. She is also referred to as The Republic Of China.

Appearance
Taiwan is a teenage girl who wears a peach (or bright pink)-colored qipao with gold trim and long, flowing sleeves, and a long white skirt. Her hair is long and brown, with a wild curly strand sticking out on the right side of her head. She wears pink flowers in her hair, and a chibi sketch of her by Himaruya revealed that she has a flower-shaped birthmark (or tattoo) on her left thigh.

In one earlier sketch, her qipao was drawn slightly different, and she had her hair tied into a side ponytail with some of her flowers. Another early design showed another variation on her qipao and the flowers.

Personality And Interests
Taiwan is described as a strong-willed, fashionable young woman, but she is also said to have become more of a nervous type in recent times, unable to stop worrying.

Though she had yet to make an appearance in the actual manga, she was depicted in various sketches and appeared in the profile section of Hetalia: Axis Powers volume 2. Her role in the drama track for the eighth Hetalia character CD predates any manga or anime appearance (as with Hong Kong, who appeared in Hetalia Fantasia). There, she's portrayed as a rather smart-mouthed girl with a somewhat quick temper and a cheerful disposition.

China
Main Article: China

She addresses him as "teacher" in the drama CD, but calls him a "bastard" in an earlier sketch. An early illustration showed that she cannot stand China, and prefers Japan, ordering China to leave him alone.

Japan
Main Article: Japan

Instead of China she prefers Japan, much to China's dismay. This could stem from the fact that, in real life, the island of Taiwan was annexed by the Japanese government, but said historical fact hasn't currently been addressed in the comics.

Trivia

 * Before he settled on her present look, Hidekaz Himaruya drafted various designs for the character, as he revealed in an illustration on his blog. Rejected concepts included: A more "mature" design for a female version, Taiwan as a young boy and as a young girl, a short-haired variation of the female design, and Taiwan as both a younger and an older man.


 * Her birthday corresponds with the date of October 25th, 1945, when the Japanese military surrendered control of Taiwan back to China. However, in the Chinese printing of the second volume of Hetalia, her birthday was left out and the phrase "A part of China" was controversially added to her profile.


 * Since her human name hasn't been revealed, fans try to bypass it by nicknaming her "Meimei", which means "younger sister" in Chinese (or simply Mei, which means "plum blossom"). She's also called "Wanwan" or "Wan-Chan" by Taiwanese and some Japanese fans. Vietnamese fans call her "Tai-chan" as well.


 * Differently to her rare appearance in the manga and the webcomic, she seems to have a role in both Gakuen Hetalia, appearing in concept art for it. But as the game is incomplete, it remains to be seen what the extent of her role is.


 * Like Hong Kong, she makes her speaking debut in a drama track (Asian and Western Festivals in China's character CD). She is voiced by Yuki Kaida, who also voices China.