The President of the Republic of China , commonly President of Taiwan , is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC) and commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROC was founded in 1912, to govern all of China; however, after the ROC lost control of mainland China, the government of the Republic of China relocated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. The existing office of President was created in 1948 under the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China. The first president under the constitution was Chiang Kai-shek.