Xinhua News Agency recently released a new batch of prohibited terms, covering five major
categories: social life, legal matters, ethnic and religious issues, matters involving territorial
sovereignty and Hong Kong–Macau–Taiwan, and international relations.
In the category concerning territory, sovereignty, and Hong Kong–Macau–Taiwan, there are 13
prohibited expressions. Xinhua states that “Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative
Regions of China, and Taiwan is a province of China. In all written texts, maps, and charts,
special care must be taken not to refer to them as ‘countries.’” This is especially important
when listing multiple countries and regions together, where the phrase “countries and regions”
must not be omitted.
For the names of Taiwan’s governmental institutions, quotation marks should be used when
they cannot be avoided, such as Taiwan’s “Legislative Yuan,” “Executive Yuan,” “Control Yuan,”
and “Election Commission.” Terms such as “central,” “national,” or “Chinese Taipei” must not
appear; if they must be used, they should be placed in quotation marks, such as Taiwan
“Central Bank,” Taiwan “Premier,” or “Legislator.” Institutions like Taiwan “Tsinghua University”
and the Taiwan “National Palace Museum” should also be placed in quotation marks.
“It is strictly forbidden to refer to the leader of the Taiwan region as the ‘President (Vice
President) of the Republic of China,’ even with quotation marks.”
Other prohibited expressions include: Taiwan’s socalled “laws” should be described as “relevant
regulations of the Taiwan region.” In matters involving crossStrait legal affairs, terms from
international law such as “document authentication,” “judicial assistance,” or “extradition”
must not be used.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong must not be collectively referred to as “the
two sides of the Strait and the three regions.” The phrase “Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
tourists traveling to China” should be expressed as “Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan tourists
traveling to the mainland.” “Taiwan” corresponds to “the mainland (or the motherland’s
mainland),” and “Hong Kong and Macau” correspond to “the mainland,” and these concepts
must not be confused.
Additional prohibited expressions include placing Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau alongside China
as parallel entities, such as “China–Hong Kong” or “China–Taiwan.” Instead, one should use
expressions like “the mainland and Taiwan” or “Fujian and Taiwan.”
Source: CNA, February 27, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202602270111.aspx