Memo of the Month

Memo of the Month January 9, 1979 * MEMORANDUM TO ALL ASSISTANT SECRETARIES AND OFFICE HEADS SUBJECT: I n s t r u c t i o n s Regarding Proper Terminology for Referring t o China, P e o p l e '...

...4) The Wade-Giles system, long i n g e n e r a l u s e for t r a n s l i t e r a t i n g Chinese i n t o English, should be used for personal and p l a c e names r e l a t i n g to Taiwan and f o r o t h e r Chinese names, except where local or personal v a r i a t i o n s have been customary i n places l i k e Singapore and fiong Kong...
...6) Where n o n - s t a t i s t i c a l information is given on both the China mainland and Taiwan (e.g., i n country d i r e c t o r i e s and s i m i l a r p u b l i c a t i o n s ) , information on the Chinese mainland should be placed under "China" (not "People's Republic of China"), and information on Taiwan should be placed under a "Taiwan" heading...
...8) Any q u e s t i o n s should be addressed to the China Working Group, Room 1210-A, Department of S t a t e (632-4830 07 632-3928...
...5) Tables of economic s t a t i s t i c s , indexes, and s i m i l a r m a t e r i a l s , should put "China" (not " P e o p l e ' s Republic of China") i n its a p p r o p r i a t e a l p h a b e t i c a l p o s i t i o n , followed by "mainland," and then "Taiwan," each indented and p r i n t e d i n i t a l i c s o r other d i s t i n c - t i v e type-face...
...Memo of the Month January 9, 1979 * MEMORANDUM TO ALL ASSISTANT SECRETARIES AND OFFICE HEADS SUBJECT: I n s t r u c t i o n s Regarding Proper Terminology for Referring t o China, P e o p l e ' s Republic of China, China Mainland and Taiwan i n O f f i c i a l Statements and P u b l i c a t i o n s W i t h t h e r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e People's Republic of China as the sole l e g i t i m a t e government of China and with t h e severance of diplomatic r e l a t i o n s with t h e a u t h o r i t i e s on Taiwan, g u i d e l i n e s are necessary to i n s u r e t h a t a l l U.S...
...FBIS "Green Book...
...Government o f f i c i a l statements and p u b l i c a t i o n s concerning Taiwan conform to our policy...
...I f any agencies have p u b l i c a t i o n s which they b e l i e v e should use t h e t e r m "People's Republic of China," they should make a recommendation t o the Department of S t a t e , as below...
...The e t h n i c groups on Taiwan are, however, Chinese...
...China" should be a s t e r i s k e d and t h e reader r e f e r r e d t o "Taiwan," which should be l i s t e d s e p a r a t e l y a t t h e close of t h e l i s t of c o u n t r i e s . Under no circumstances should "Taiwan" be placed or footnoted under "China" or the "People's Republic of China...
...People s h o u l d be r e f e r r e d to as " f r o m Taiwan," "on Taiwan," "of Taiwan," etc., r a t h e r than as Taiwanese...
...These t e r m s should continue to be used i n a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t a n c e s . ) 3) The People's Republic of China has adopted its own metbod for romanizing Chinese names ("pinyin") , which is p r e f e r a b l e C o r persons f r o m t h e PRC and PRC placenames...
...Government departments and aqencies should f o l l o w t h e g u i d e l i n e s l i s t e d below i n r e f e r r i n g to China, People's R e p u b l i c of China, China mainland, and Taiwan i n o f f i c i a l statements and p u b l i c a t i o n s : 1) The t e r m "Republic of China" is not to be used i n r e f e r r i n g to Taiwan...
...7) There are cases, of course, where "People's Republic of China" may b e a p p r o p r i a t e usage...
...Where s t a t i s t i c s o r o t h e r t a b u l a t e d m a t e r i a l appear i n such lists, s e p a r a t e totals should be provided for "mainland" and "Taiwan...
...Accordingly, on and after January 1, 1979, U.S...
...No grand t o t a l f o r "China" should be given...
...2) The adjectival form is "Taiwan," not "Taiwanese...
...Again, s t a t i s t i c s should be t o t a l l e d s e p a r a t e l y , for "mainland" and f o r "Taiwan...
...S p e c i a l guidance has been and w i l l continue to be provided for such cases (e.g...
...Where information on China is provided on a province-by-province b a s i s , Taiwan should not be l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y among t h e provinces, b u t should be set o f f s e p a r a t e l y after the a l p h a b e t i c a l l i s t of p r o v i n c i a l names...
...Executive S e c r e t a r y The Washington Monthly/ March 197L9 ICENSED TO UNZ.ORG 21 ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED...
...t h e language spoken t h e r e is Chinese, and one of i t s d i a l e c t s is Taiwanese...
...The a d j e c t i v e "Chinese" should not be a p p l i e d to t h e government or i n s t i t u t i o n s on Taiwan...

Vol. 11 • March 1979 • No. 1


 
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