Taiwan

The flag of Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China) consists of a red coloured field with a blue canton, inside which sits a white disc with twelve white triangles surrounding it, coming together to depict an image of a sun. The Taiwanese flag is sometimes referred to as the "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth". The flag's ratio is 2:3. The flag of Taiwan was designed by Lu Haodong and Sun Yat-sen.

The present day flag of Taiwan has its origins as a naval flag used in mainland China from 1912. The flag was made the official national flag of the Republic of China on October 28 1928 before being enshrined in the sixth article of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947.

The Taiwanese flag is rich with many layers of symbolism. The twelve rays of the sun symbolise the twelve months of the year as well as the twelve traditional shichen (a traditional unit of time corresponding to two hours). The flag's red colour is said to represent the blood of the revolutionaries who overthrew the Qing Dynasty to create the Republic of China. Broadly speaking, the flag's colours have come to symbolise the white sun in a blue sky over a red land.

A pair of Taiwan flags on display at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, United States of America