Mainland China

The term "mainland China" refers to the area directly governed by the

People's Republic of China

(PRC). It excludes several dependent territories or

disputed territories

that are claimed by the PRC and fall outside of the "mainland" and may or may not be governed by the PRC. The term is primarily geopolitical in nature rather than

geographic

.

By convention, the territories claimed by the PRC that fall outside of the Chinese mainland include:

*

Hong Kong

, a quasi-dependent territory under Chinese rule that is officially designated a " Special Administrative Region of the PRC" (formerly a British colony)
*

Macau

, a quasi-dependent territory under Chinese rule that is officially designated a "Special Administrative Region of the PRC" (formerly a Portuguese colony)
* The

Free area of the Republic of China

or "Taiwan Area", a term used by the Government of the Republic of China consisting of the territories under its actual control
** Taiwan Province (ROC) is defined as covering the island of Taiwan (formerly Formosa) and

Penghu

(Pescadores), an archipelago in the

Taiwan Strait

(previously a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945) and is claimed by the PRC as " Taiwan Province (PRC)"
** The island of Taiwan is also partially covered by the defined scopes of the six municipalities of

Taipei

(seat of government), New Taipei,

Kaohsiung

,

Taichung

,

Tainan

and Taoyuan
** Fujian Province (ROC), a disputed

administrative division

that is claimed by the PRC as part of its own

Fujian Province (PRC)

, is defined as covering the constituent territories of

Kinmen

, Matsu, and Wuqiu (Kinmen)

To emphasise the One-China principle and not give the

Republic of China

(ROC) "equal footing" in Cross-Strait relations, the term must be used in PRC's official contexts with reference to

Taiwan

(with the PRC referring to itself as the "mainland side" dealing with the "Taiwan side"). But in terms of Hong Kong and Macau, the PRC government refers to itself as "the Central People's Government".

Background

In the 1930s, the region faced

Japanese

invasion. By 1949, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) People's Liberation Army had largely defeated the Kuomintang (KMT)'s National Revolutionary Army in the Chinese Civil War on the mainland. This forced the Kuomintang to relocate the Government and institutions of the Republic of China to the relative safety of Taiwan, an island which was placed under the control of the Republic of China after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the CCP-controlled government saw itself as the sole legitimate government of China, competing with the claims of the

Republic of China

, whose authority is now limited to

Taiwan and other islands

. This resulted in a situation in which

two co-existing governments

competed for international legitimacy and recognition as the "government of China".

The phrase "mainland China" emerged as a politically neutral term to refer to the area under control of the CCP, and later to the administration of the PRC itself. Until the late 1970s, both the PRC and ROC envisioned a military takeover of the other. During this time the ROC referred to the PRC government as "Communist Bandits" () while the PRC referred to the ROC as "

Chiang

Bandits" (). Later, as a military solution became less feasible, the ROC referred to the PRC as "Communist China"" (). With the democratisation of Taiwan in the 1990s, the phrase "mainland China" soon grew to mean not only the area under the control of the CCP, but also a more neutral means to refer to the People's Republic of China government; this usage remains prevalent by the KMT today.

Due to their status as colonies of foreign states during the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the phrase "mainland China" excludes

Hong Kong

and

Macau

. Since the return of Hong Kong and Macau to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 and 1999, respectively, the two territories have retained their legal, political, and economic systems. The territories also have their distinct identities. Therefore, "mainland China" generally continues to exclude these territories, because of the "One country, two systems" policy adopted by the PRC central government towards the regions.LegCo.
Legislative council HK
" ''Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-10. The term is also used in economic indicators, such as the IMD Competitiveness Report. International news media often use "China" to refer only to mainland China or the People's Republic of China.

Political use

People's Republic of China

The Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China () defines two terms in Chinese that are translated to "mainland":
* ''Dàlù'' (), which means 'the continent'.
* ''Nèidì'' (), literally 'inland' or 'inner land'. It excludes Hong Kong and Macau.

In the People's Republic of China, the usage of the two terms is strictly speaking not interchangeable. To emphasise the One-China principle and not give the

Republic of China

(ROC) "equal footing" in Cross-Strait relations, the term must be used in PRC's official contexts with reference to

Taiwan

(with the PRC referring to itself as the "mainland side" dealing with the "Taiwan side"). But in terms of Hong Kong and Macau, the PRC government refers to itself as "the Central People's Government".

In the People's Republic of China, the term ('inland') is often contrasted with the term ('outside the border') for things outside the mainland region. Examples include "Administration of Foreign-funded Banks" () or the "Measures on Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Insurance Institutions" ().

Hainan

is an offshore island, therefore geographically not part of the continental mainland. Nevertheless, politically it is common practice to consider it part of the mainland because its government, legal and political systems do not differ from the rest of the People's Republic within the geographical mainland. Nonetheless, Hainanese people still refer to the geographic mainland as "the mainland" and call its residents "mainlanders".

Historically, Fujian Province (ROC) was jointly governed alongside Fujian Province (PRC) as a unified Fujian Province under successive Chinese governments. The two territories are generally considered to belong to the same historical region, Fujian Province, which has been divided since 1949 as a result of the Chinese Civil War. As such, Fujian Province (ROC) is considered to have historically been a part of mainland China, although it is not ruled by the PRC.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong

and

Macau

are both sovereign territories of the

People's Republic of China

. However, due to the One Country, Two Systems policy, the two regions maintain a high degree of autonomy, hence they are considered not to be part of mainland China.

Geologically speaking, Hong Kong and Macau are both connected to mainland China in certain areas (e.g. the north of the New Territories). Additionally, the islands contained within Hong Kong (e.g.

Hong Kong Island

) and Macau are much closer to mainland China than Taiwan and Hainan, and are much smaller.

In Hong Kong and Macau, the terms "mainland China" and "mainlander" are frequently used for people from PRC-governed areas (i.e. not Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau). The Chinese term ''Neidi'' (), meaning the ''inland'' but still translated ''mainland'' in English, is commonly applied by SAR governments to represent non-SAR areas of PRC, including Hainan province and coastal regions of mainland China, such as "Constitutional and Mainland Affairs" () and Immigration Departments. In the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (as well as the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) the CPG also uses the Chinese characters "inner land", with the note that they refer to the "customs territory of China".English TextChinese text

Republic of China (Taiwan)

In Taiwan (the Republic of China), "mainland area" is a legal term used in the 1991 Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, though the constitution does not define the geographical boundaries of the mainland area. In the corresponding Cross-Strait Act, the "people of the mainland area" are defined to be those under the jurisdiction of the PRC, excluding Hong Kong and Macau. By contrast, Taiwan and its offshore islands are defined as part of the "

free area of the Republic of China

".Additional Articles to the Republic of China Constitution
6th Revision, 2000

Views of the term "mainland China" (中國大陸) vary on Taiwan. When the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan, they referred to the territories under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by several different names, e.g. "(territory controlled by the) Communist bandits", "occupied/unfree area (of China)" (as opposed to the "

free area of the Republic of China

"), "Communist China" (as opposed to either "Nationalist China" or "Democratic China"), "Red China" (as opposed to "Blue China"), and "mainland China (area)". In modern times, many of these terms have fallen out of use. The 1991 Additional Articles to the Constitution stipulated that the relationship between the "free area" and the "mainland area" of the ROC be defined by law. This relationship is defined by the Cross-Strait Act. Thus the terms "mainland China" (中國大陸) or "the mainland" (大陸) still remain in use. However, some also simply use the term "China" (中國). This term is preferred by the Pan-Green Coalition led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which opposes the term "mainland" and its suggestion that Taiwan is part of China.DPP is firm on China name issue
Taipei Times (2013-07-14). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.

Other terms

Other use of geography-related terms are also often used where neutrality is required.

See also

* Mainland
* Mainlander
*

Greater China

* Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
*

China proper

* Constitution of the People's Republic of China
*

Free area of the Republic of China

* Free China
* Politics of the People's Republic of China

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/World-Competitiveness-Yearbook-2008-Results.cfm
*

External links

Relations with Hong Kong and Macau

Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area


at HKTDC

{{Taiwan topics

Territorial disputes of China
Territorial disputes of the Republic of China
China
Geography of China
Geopolitical terminology
Politics of Taiwan
Politics of China
Taiwan Strait