Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign

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Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign (traditional Chinese: 臺灣正名運動; simplified Chinese: 台湾正名运动; pinyin: táiwān zhėngmíng yùndòng) is a movement that aims to change the names used in Taiwan, mainly by emphasizing "Taiwan" in place of "China." Examples include the renaming of China Post to Taiwan Post. Its supporters contend that Taiwan is already an independent sovereign nation, but the name Republic of China fails to represent the majority of the population. A goal is to confirm Taiwan's status as a sovereign nation and officially change the government's name to the Republic of Taiwan. [1]

[edit] Support

The supporters of this movement contend that the Republic of China no longer exists because it did not include Taiwan when it was founded in 1912. Next, the ambiguity surrounding the legal status of Taiwan as a result of the Treaty of peace with Japan and Treaty of San Francisco after World War II, means that the Republic of China was merely military occupier of Taiwan and Japan relinquished its sovereignty over Taiwan without a receiving country, therefore Taiwan ought to be deemed a land belonging to no country, whose international status has yet to be defined. The Republic of China therefore ceased to exist after 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded.

[edit] Opposition

Opponents charge that the movement is one of several movements in favor of Taiwan independence, and that the name "rectification" is simply an attempt at desinicization aimed at convincing the populace to ultimately embrace independence as opposed to Chinese reunification. The cost of the renaming process also has become an issue, with opponents charging that the campaign is a waste of money (changing letterheads and such would incur a cost, which occur at re-changes from Taiwan Post to China Post, as well).

[edit] See also

• Desinicization
• Political status of Taiwan