🇹🇼 The colours of Taiwan

Taiwan’s flag features red, blue, and white. Blue stands for nationalism and freedom, white for democracy and equality, and red for the people’s livelihood and fraternity. The white sun with twelve rays also marks the months and traditional hours. These colours link to the Three Principles of the People and the history of revolution.

Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.

• The white sun’s twelve rays stand for months and traditional hours.
• Red symbolises the blood of those who fought in the revolution.
• The blue canton comes from an 1895 anti-Qing design.
• The flag’s colours match the Three Principles of the People.
• No official Pantone or hex codes are set by law.

The colours of the flag of Taiwan

The flag of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is mostly red with a blue rectangle in the top left. Inside the blue is a white sun with twelve pointed rays. Each colour has a set meaning: blue stands for nationalism and liberty, white for democracy and equality, and red for the people’s livelihood and fraternity. The white sun’s twelve rays mark the twelve months and the twelve traditional double-hours of the day. These meanings are official and come from the country’s founding leaders.

How the colours were chosen of Taiwan

The flag’s blue and white canton was first designed in 1895 for an anti-Qing group, symbolising a new start. The red field was added in 1906 by Sun Yat-sen to honour those who died in the revolution. Early on, other flags were used by different regions and armies, including a five-colour flag for ethnic groups. The current flag became official in 1928 after the Nationalist government unified China. It has since been used in Taiwan after the government moved there in 1949.

Official shades and rules of Taiwan

The flag’s proportions and layout are set by law: it is twice as wide as it is tall, with a blue canton in the top left. The sun’s size and the spacing of its rays are precisely defined. The law gives no official colour codes, but the Ministry of the Interior provides CMYK values for reference. Both the national and KMT party flags are topped with a gold finial.