Provinces of China the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government. The government of each standard province () is nominally led by a provincial committee, headed by a secretary. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province; second-in-command is the governor of the provincial government. The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including Penghu, as "Taiwan Province", though Taiwan has not been under control of a government that ruled from mainland China since 1949, when the Republic of China lost the mainland to the Communist Party of China, which established the PRC.
The Conflict Over the Sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands -- between Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC), & Japan Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates invaded China’s southeast coast of China frequently. China was forced to implement effective jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands and other islands and patrolled the sea. In the 40th year of Ming Jiajing (1561), Zheng Ruozeng’s "Wanli Coastal Defense Map" included the Diaoyu Islands and eventually recognized these islands as a part of their coastal defense system. In the Qing Dynasty’s royal history inspection report of Taiwan and local compilation of the Fujian Province, they claimed Taiwan was officially ruled under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty in the 22nd year of Kangxi