User:Alassius/temp
| File:Smaller map of China.png | |
| In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. All islands except Hainan and Taiwan are too small to be shown on this map. | |
| Simplified Chinese | 中国大陆 |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中國大陸 |
| pinyin | Zhōnggúo Dàlù |
| Literal translation | Chinese continent |
Mainland China as a new term stands for a political-geographical term denoting the region under jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC), known in English as simply China. Unlike China, however, the boundary of this term is much less dubious. It clearly does not include the area controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), known as Taiwan, which comprises the Taiwan island and a few surrounding small islands. In most contexts the two highly autonomous Special Administrative Regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau, are also excluded where this disambiguation is necessary. Mainland China, or just mainland, is commonly found in Chinese newspapers, academic essays and also government files, as a lightweight synonym of the People's Republic of China.
An English reader is usually accustomed with the western media usage in which China is the eastern Asia communist country with a massive population — quite distinct from the more democratic island country that is Taiwan. This view, perhaps unbeknownst to him, is highly controversial within the Chinese communities as many people insist that China is a collective term incorporating both what westerners mean by China and Taiwan. In fact, the People's Republic had rarely been referred to as China on Taiwan until the late nineties because the then-ruling Kuomintang considered itself the rightful ruler of the China[1]. The idea of recognising PRC as the sole ruler of China and forfeiting any Republic of China's claimed rights on the mainland was first advocated by independence proponents such as Lee Teng-hui, and interpreting China as the mainland state, arguably influenced by the western usage[2], has since been connected to the radical wing of the Taiwan independence movement. Much less political implications can be inferred from Mainland China in comparison, because of its geographical origin[3]. The term has gained acceptance and popularity among opposing factions spanning much of the spectrum, from the moderates in the Pan-Green parties, to reunification supporters who still hold the One-China principle, to the mainland government which would prefer a patronizing variation of the term, mainland of the motherland (祖国大陆, zǔguó dàlù), and is thus often used where the English audience would expect China.
The gentilic form mainlander is somewhat problematic on Taiwan. The English translation of wàishěng rén, or refugees (and their descendants) fled to Taiwan from mainland China near the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, has also been mainlander in addition to visitors or recent immigrants from mainland, even if the former are considered Taiwanese and the latter are not. See the article for details.
Outside of cross-straits relations, mainland is used to distinguish itself from other distinctive political entities within China, that is, the two former European colonies China claimed back by the end of last century. Inhabitants of Hong Kong and Macau, along with those from Taiwan, are often grouped into a special category named Gǎng, Ào and Tái Compatriots (港澳台胞) for many purposes including passport control, finacial policy and occasionally even retail prices - the rest are labeled Mainland Citizens. A related term nèidì (內地, inner land) is sometimes used by Hong Kong people (especially in the entertainment industry) in place of mainland in this context, although the area it implies may vary greatly depending on the circumstance because of its connotation of less development. For someone from Shenzhen, the first Special Economic Zone in China, neidi may mean all of the mainland excluding Shenzhen or Guangdong. For others from coastal provinces, neidi may refer to the even less developed non-coastal regions, which is, if the SARs are not involved, the most common interpretation.
Notes[edit]
- ^ Until the end of the Cold War era the Kuomintang deployed a shortened form of Chinese Communist Party, Zhonggong (中共), as a name for the People's Government. The word has been used by the Communist Party in titles of many of its organisations, such as in Zhonggong Zhongyang Weiyuanhui, its Central Committee, but never independently as an alias for the government since the Kuomintang usage is somewhat derogatory.
- ^ Ironically, it was Beijing who actively insisted that China should denote the PRC, and only the PRC, in its pursuit to replace the Republic of China in the UN Security Council, although its definition of China undoubtedly includes Taiwan. This is why the consulate services of Taiwan, formally Republic of China, are called Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices. What Beijing had not foreseen is the independence movement. Fearing to lose the legality of its claim on the island, Beijing now fiercely attacks the Taiwanese usage of the word. See for example (in Chinese) [4], [5], and [6].
- ^ China in Chinese literally means "Central State", which indicates sovereignty. Paralleling Taiwan with China strongly suggests Taiwan is as well a sovereign state (see Republic of Taiwan), in addition to suggest that Taiwan is separate from China geographically. These propositions are under heavy dispute on the island. Mainland China, in its Chinese form, Chinese continent, is apparently a geographical term which does not carry these implications.