According to the Local Government Act, the local government in the ROC (Taiwan) is subdivided into provinces and special municipalities. Provinces are subdivided into counties and cities; counties are subdivided into rural townships, urban townships and county-administered cities. Special municipalities and cities are subdivided into districts. Since 1999, the provincial government has become a branch of the Executive Yuan (the cabinet), while the province is no longer a local self-governing body. Special municipalities and counties as well as cities are the first level of self-governing bodies. Currently, the ROC comprises six special municipalities (Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung), 13 counties (Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang) and three cities (Keelung, Hsinchu, and Chiayi).
