On 1 October 2007, Taipei County was upgraded to a quasi-municipality () on the same level as Kaohsiung City and Taipei City. This allowed the county to have the organizational and budgetary framework of a "de jure" municipality, but it was still formally styled as a county. Taichung County and Tainan City lobbied the central government for similar status. Taoyuan County was also upgraded to a quasi-municipality on 1 January 2011, as its population was above 2 million on the date of elevation.