Chinese pride

  • 14/07/2011

  • Down to Earth

Taiwan is stopping the use of Chinese characters—the script used in mainland China—on official websites.

Taiwan used the traditional but more complicated Chinese script. It switched to a simplified script used in mainland China three years after opening its doors to tourists from mainland.

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has argued that the traditional script is one of Taiwan’s cultural assets. On June 16, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau announced it had removed the simplified Chinese version of its website. Even the card containing emergency contacts and useful information it gives to Chinese tourists will be in traditional script. Other government agencies are expected to follow suit.

China began using simplified characters in the 1950s to raise literacy. Around 2,000 characters were simplified, with some looking completely different from their original form.