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Comment by Hawkee | Hacker News Reader

I noticed Taiwan is labeled with China which I think many Taiwanese would take offense to. China would certainly be happy with this label though.

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Mainland China would most definitely not be happy with this label. The government that was exiled to what we call Taiwan considers themselves to be the legitimate government of China. The mainland government considers them to be illegitimate. This tension still exists politically and culturally.

I have had many Taiwanese friends young and old and most of them prefer themselves and their culture to be referred to as Chinese.

I have also had some young (mainland) Chinese friends and they, too, are still very aware of the situation. Even though some of them have Taiwanese friends themselves, they still look with disdain on Taiwan/RoC as a political entity.

I visited China about a year ago and was on a train when a local started talking to me. He asked why I was there and what cities I've seen, mainly small talk. I had lived in Taiwan for about a year prior so when he told me I should live in China I said, "well, I lived in Taiwan for a year". His face went cold and his tone became somewhat ominous. His response was "Taiwan IS China" and in a threatening manner said "RIGHT?". That really made an impression on me. The Taiwanese people don't consider themselves part of China, but would someday like to see the ROC regain control of continental China. When they think of China they think of the People's Republic of China, the communist China.

Taiwan is oficially the Republic of _China_, so I doubt they would take offense with that.

i'm a taiwanese and i take offense with that

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