Editing Independent city (section)

==Asia==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2018}}

=== Taiwan ===
In [[Taiwan]] under the [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China|administrative division system]] of the Republic of China, some cities are [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|directly administered]] by the [[Executive Yuan]], some are [[Provincial city (Taiwan)|administered by provinces]] (the province of Taiwan is nominal), and some are [[county-administered city|subordinate to counties]]. The centrally-administered ([[Taipei]] City, [[Kaohsiung]] City, [[New Taipei City]], [[Taichung]] City, [[Tainan]] City, and [[Taoyuan City]]) and province-administered ones are like independent cities under this definition.

=== Korea ===
In both South Korea and North Korea, [[Special cities of Korea (disambiguation)|special cities]] are independent from their surrounding provinces and city-states under direct governance from the central government. Examples are [[Seoul]], [[Busan]], [[Daegu]], [[Incheon]], [[Gwangju]], [[Daejeon]] and [[Ulsan]] in South Korea and [[Pyongyang]] and [[Rason]] in North Korea. In South Korea, the main criterion for granting secession from the province is a population reaching one million.

===South Korea===
In addition to its nine provinces, South Korea has seven province-level "metropolitan cities". By far the largest among these in terms of population is the capital, [[Seoul]], called a ''teukbyeol-si'' ({{Korean|hangul=특별시|hanja=特別市|lit='special city'}}), which is home to more than 20% of the entire population of the country. The remaining six independent cities are called ''gwangyeok-si'' ({{Korean|hangul=광역시|hanja=廣域市|labels=no|lit='large city'}}) whose names are: [[Busan]], [[Daegu]], [[Daejeon]], [[Incheon]], [[Gwangju]], and [[Ulsan]].

Historically, these independent cities have been carved from the province that surrounds them. Consequently, they typically share a strong regional and cultural identity with the adjoining province(s). For instance, Gwangju, located at the center of [[Jeolla]] region, is heavily associated with the region. Seoul and Incheon are said to make up the [[Seoul Metropolitan Area]] with the densely populated [[Gyeonggi]] that almost completely encompasses them.

One interesting relic of the newer independent cities is that, in some cases, the government administrative buildings (''docheong'') of the provinces they were once a part of are still located within city boundaries, meaning that these provinces have capitals that are not within their borders.

On 1 July 2012, Yeongi-gun, Chungcheongnam-do absorbed parts of Cheonan, Gongju and Cheongju, and became independent from Chungcheongnam-do as Sejong Special Self-governing City under the Special Act on the Installation of Sejong City. Currently, the population of Sejong Special Self-governing City is lower than that of the aforementioned metropolitan cities, but the population is increasing with the construction of a mixed-use administrative city. In 2006, the ruling party floated a proposal to eliminate all current province and independent-city borders. This plan would divide the entire republic into fifty or sixty city- or county-level administrations, similar to the system in Japan. The plan was intended to help reduce regional discrimination and animosity by eliminating provincial identity.

===Philippines===
{{main|Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities}}
Many major cities in the Philippines are independent cities, classified as either "highly urbanized" or "independent component" cities. These cities are administratively and legally not subject to a [[Provinces of the Philippines|province]], and thus do not share their tax revenues with any province. In practise, most cities outside of [[Metro Manila|Metropolitan Manila]] are often still grouped with provinces that they were [[partition (politics)|partitioned]] from for the sake of convenience and simplicity. The national government and its agencies serve these cities through sub-offices for each [[Regions of the Philippines|region]], to which the cities are indirectly subject. There are 38 such cities, with 16 being located in [[Metro Manila]] (including the [[City of Manila]], the national capital); eight in the rest of [[Luzon]] and its surrounding islands; seven in the [[Visayas]] island group; and seven in [[Mindanao]] and its surrounding islands.

===Vietnam===
Vietnam has six [[Municipalities of Vietnam|municipalities]] that are not part of any of the [[Provinces of Vietnam|Vietnam's provinces]]. This includes [[Hanoi]], the capital of Vietnam; and [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Saigon), the most populous city of Vietnam.

=== China ===
In China, both Beijing and [[Tianjin]] are independent of the surrounding province of [[Hebei]], of which they were formerly a part. Similarly, Shanghai is now independent from [[Jiangsu]] and [[Chongqing]] from [[Sichuan]]. Hong Kong and [[Macao]] have the status of [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative regions]], separated from their original province [[Guangdong]].<ref name="Mogens, Hansen 2000. Pg. 19">Mogens, Hansen. 2000. "Introduction: The Concepts of City-States and City-State Culture." In ''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures,'' Copenhagen: Copenhagen Polis Centre. Pg. 19</ref>

=== Thailand ===
In Thailand, the capital [[Bangkok]] operates independently of any province and is considered a special administrative area. It is a [[primate city]] in terms of its large population, having nearly 8% of Thailand's total population.

=== Indonesia ===
In Indonesia, the national capital [[Jakarta]] is within the ''Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta'' (Jakarta Capital Special Region). Jakarta is considered one of [[Province of Indonesia|Indonesia's provinces]], therefore Jakarta is headed by a [[Governor of Jakarta|governor]] and not a mayor. However, Jakarta is divided into 5 smaller "administration-cities" (''kota administrasi'') and one "administration-regency" (''kabupaten administrasi''). The administration-cities are [[Central Jakarta|Central]], [[North Jakarta|North]], [[East Jakarta|East]], [[West Jakarta|West]], and [[South Jakarta]]. The Kepulauan Seribu ([[Thousand Islands (Indonesia)|Thousand Islands]]) administration-regency is also included in the formal definition of Jakarta. All of these sub-units have their own degree of autonomy. Mayors of the five administration-cities and the regent of Kepulauan Seribu administration-regency are not elected, but directly appointed by the Governor and members of the [[Jakarta Regional People's Representative Council|Provincial Parliament of Jakarta]]. Furthermore, these sub-units do not have local parliament as opposed to other cities or regencies in Indonesia.

=== India ===
New Delhi and the old city of Delhi together form the [[Delhi|National Capital Territory of Delhi]].

=== Iraq ===
The capital of Iraq, [[Baghdad]], is contained within a special capital district.

=== Japan ===
In Japan, Tokyo, as well as being a city, forms a prefecture, falling into a special category of "metropolitan prefecture" having some of the attributes of a city and some of a prefecture. Within Tokyo, there are smaller units, "wards", "cities", "towns", etc., but some of the responsibilities normally assigned to cities and towns in other Japanese prefectures are handled by the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Government]] instead.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan's Local Government System – Tokyo Metropolitan Government|url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/STRUCTURE/structure01.htm|access-date=18 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=TMG and the 23 Special Wards – Tokyo Metropolitan Government|url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/STRUCTURE/structure02.htm|access-date=18 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Geography of Tokyo – Tokyo Metropolitan Government|url=http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/HISTORY/history02.htm|access-date=18 April 2017}}</ref>

=== Pakistan ===
The capital of Pakistan, [[Islamabad]], is a [[planned city]] within the [[Islamabad Capital Territory]], which was created in 1960 out of the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] Province. The Territory elects representatives to both houses of the legislature. Before Islamabad was made the capital, [[Karachi]] was located in the [[Federal Capital Territory (Pakistan)|Federal Capital Territory]], which later reverted to the [[Sindh]] Province.

=== UAE ===
In United Arab Emirates, the [[Emirates of the United Arab Emirates|seven emirates]] are themselves city-states, or were historically, in particular [[Emirate of Abu Dhabi|Abu Dhabi]], [[Emirate of Dubai|Dubai]] and [[Emirate of Sharjah|Sharjah]].