On June 4, 1970 (the first day of the fifth lunar month), Tonga, a Pacific island country, became independent. The full name of the Kingdom of Tonga (translation: Tonga, also translated as Tonga) is the Kingdom of Tonga. It is an island country composed of 172 islands of various sizes near the equator in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It is 650 kilometers west of Fiji and 1770 kilometers southwest of New Zealand. It covers an area of about 699 square kilometers and has a population of 100,673 (2001). The population density is quite high. In 1845, the Kingdom of Tonga was formed by the union of multiple islands. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. It became a British protectorate in 1900 and finally became independent on June 4, 1970. It is the 188th member state of the United Nations. Tonga is the only country that maintains a monarchy among the island countries in the South Pacific today. On July 29, 2008, King Tupou V of Tonga announced that he would hand over power to Parliament, give up power, and move towards democracy. Tonga Islands, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, west of the International Date Line, is the first country in the world to start a new day. The current population is about 95,000, mainly Polynesians. Tonga Islands consists of more than 170 large and small islands with a land area of 747 square kilometers. Among them, Tonga Tabu Island is the largest. It is the main island of Tonga Islands and the seat of Nuku'alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga Islands are roughly arranged in the north-south direction and can be divided into two columns: East and West. The East Column is a coral reef island, mainly including Tongatab Island and Ha Pai Islands. These islands are low and flat, generally no more than 30 meters above sea level; they are classified as volcanic islands in the west, and there are more than a dozen volcanic islands such as Tofua Island. So the Tonga Islands are composed of coral reef islands in the east and volcanic islands in the west. The Kingdom of Tonga is the oldest kingdom among the islands in the Pacific Ocean. According to research, people lived here about 1,000 years ago. Because the Kingdom of Tonga is the only ancient kingdom among many island nations in Oceania, its system is different from that of some other island nations. It has a hereditary king, and all the power of the country is in the hands of the king and nobles. The king distributes the land to the nobles, who then lease it to the commoners. And only nobles can be cabinet ministers.