Tai·pei (t??p??, -b??) The capital and largest city of Taiwan, in the northern part of the country. Founded in the 1700s, it was ruled by the Japanese from 1895 to 1945 and later became the headquarters of Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists when they fled mainland China (1949).American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Taipei (?ta??pe?) or T’ai-pein (Placename) the capital of Taiwan (the Republic of China), at the N tip of the island: became capital in 1885; industrial centre; two universities. Pop: 2 473 000 (2005 est)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Tai?pei (?ta??pe?, -?be?) n. the capital of Taiwan, in the N part. 2,640,000. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.