The highlighted orange area in the map is what is commonly known as "mainland China".
,
Continental China, the
Chinese mainland or simply
the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the
People's Republic of China (PRC), excluding
Hong Kong and
Macau, which are under the jurisdiction of the PRC but run on
different economic and political systems. The term never includes
Taiwan which is claimed by the PRC but is administered by the
Republic of China (ROC).
Within China, the use of "mainland China" to refer to China is more politically sensitive, mostly due to
China claiming to have sovereignty over Taiwan; using the term "mainland China" would seem to imply that Taiwan is not a part of China and thus be inconsistent with this point of view. There are two terms in Chinese for "mainland". Namely,
Dalu (), which means continent, and
Neidi (), literally inner land. The usage of the two terms are generally interchangeable and there is no prescribed method of reference in any jurisdiction.
In Taiwan, the usage of the term "mainland China" was used by the
KMT-ROC authoritarian
party-state to emphasize their claim over all of China, not just Taiwan. Today, it remains in use in Taiwan for both historical reasons and for political purposes - specifically among those in Taiwan that support unification with China and hold a one-China view of mainland China - Taiwan relations. However, many in Taiwan, especially supporters of a continued independent Taiwan avoid the term precisely because it implies that Taiwan and mainland China are both a part of a currently politically divided China. Accordingly, Neidi is found to be even more offensive than mainland China. Instead, they use China to refer to the PRC and Taiwan to refer to the ROC. This distinction holds for both English and Chinese.
Background
Before and after
World War II, two political entities fought for control of China. Eventually, in 1949, the
Communist Party of China emerged victorious against the
Kuomintang (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party, governing party of the Republic of China), whose leaders relocated the administration of the
Republic of China to
Taipei. The Communist Party claimed to be the sole legitimate government of China on October 1, 1949, and named the state the
People's Republic of China. The
Republic of China, since then based in Taiwan, an island which the Republic of China took control of after the Japanese surrender of 1945, also claimed to be China's sole legitimate government. This led to a geopolitical scene with
two co-existing governments each claiming international legitimacy as the government of China. Communist leader
Mao Zedong vowed to attack Taiwan and destroy the KMT, and KMT leader Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek vowed to attack the Communists, now based across the
Taiwan Strait in mainland China. As this political framework solidified, the term "mainland China" emerged as a politically neutral term to refer to the area under control of the Communist Party of China.
Supporters of Taiwan's independence prefer using "China" to refer to the People's Republic of China, as using "mainland China" would imply that Taiwan is part of China.
When the People's Republic of China was founded,
Hong Kong and
Macau were still colonies of
Great Britain and
Portugal, respectively. As a result, "mainland China" also excluded these two territories. 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. "." Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.] The term is also used in economic indicators, such as the
IMD Competitiveness Report.
The usage of the term "mainland China" is more limited in the English language, with "China" being the common term used to refer to mainland China, or the People's Republic of China and the areas under its control.
Usage of the term
The term is variously capitalised
Mainland China or
mainland China (or
the Mainland/
the mainland) by authoritative users.
In Taiwan
In
Taiwan, the term "
Mainlander" can also refer to
waishengren (), which are the people who migrated to Taiwan from mainland China with the
Kuomintang (KMT) around the end of the
Chinese Civil War in 1949, as well as their descendants born in Taiwan. The status of
waishengren in Taiwan is a divisive political issue. For many years mainlanders were given special treatment by the KMT government which had imposed
martial law on Taiwan. More recently, pro-Taiwan independence politicians calling into question their loyalty and devotion to Taiwan and pro-
Chinese reunification politicians accusing the pro-independence politicians of playing identity politics. The term "Mainlander" can also refer to
daluren (), meaning people who live in mainland China.
In Hong Kong and Macau
In Hong Kong and Macau, the term "mainland China" and "mainlander" is frequently used for people from China mainland. This usage is not geographically accurate, however, as much of the land area of both Hong Kong and Macau are peninsulas connected to the continent. The Chinese term 內地, meaning the
inland but still translated
mainland in English, is commonly applied by SAR governments to represent non-SAR areas of PRC, including Hainan and coastal regions of mainland China, such as "Constitutional and
Mainland Affairs" (政制及
內地事務局) and Immigration Departments.
In mainland China
In the PRC, the term 內地 ("Inland") is often separated by the external term (國外) or (外國) for things outside of the mainland region. Examples include "Administration of Foreign-funded Banks" (中華人民共和國外資銀行管理條例) or the "Measures on Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Insurance Institutions" (外國保險機構駐華代表機構管理辦法).
In Hainan
Hainan is an offshore island, therefore geographically it is an overseas territory of
People's Republic of China. Nevertheless, politically it is common practice to consider it just as part of the mainland because its government, legal and political systems do not differ from the rest of
People's Republic of China in the geographical mainland. Hainanese people routinely refer to the rest of China as "the mainland", and do not consider themselves Mainlanders.
Others
Other use of geography-related terms are also often used where neutrality is required.
See also
