Flag of the Republic of China sovereign independent country of the Republic of China (ROC) to the island of Taiwan. On the mainland, the communist forces of Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China and adopted their own national flag. On October 23, 1954, the National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act () was promulgated by the Legislative Yuan to specify the size, measure, ratio, production, and management of the flag. While public display of the ROC flag is generally frowned upon, and may even lead to arrest in the PRC, Cambodia was the first country to outlaw it officially. In
Free area of the Republic of China Japanese occupation, including Nanjing (Nanking) the capital of the Republic of China until the Japanese invasion in 1937. The Japanese occupation ended with the imperial surrender in 1945, but the term "Free China" was soon to acquire a new meaning in the context of the early Cold War. Following the CCP victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the newly inaugurated People's Republic of China solidified its control of mainland China, while the Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan and selected Taipei to serve as the provisional capital of the Republic of China. Mainland China was officially considered to be