From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Formosa \Formosa\ prop. n. An island off the coast of China, also called {Taiwan}. It was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1945, when it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. After the Communist revolution which took over the Chinese mainland in 1949, the Nationalist Chinese under Chang Kai-Shek retreated to the island of Formosa and established that island as the base of their government, being recognized for several years as the de jure possessor of the China seat in the United Nations. The capital is Taipei. As of 1998, both the Taiwan government and the mainland China government recognized Taiwan as properly a part of China, but the island is currently ruled as a de facto independent nation, though it does not possess a seat in the United Nations. The question of when and under what circumstances the island will be reunited with the mainland government is still unresolved.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the communists led by Mao Zedong [syn: {China}, {Nationalist China}, {Republic of China}]
2: an island in southeastern Asia 100 miles off the coast of mainland China in the South China Sea [syn: {Formosa}]
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