Depending on the hat you’re wearing, and who you’re talking to, and where, you might describe this place as Taiwan, Taiwan Province of China, Chinese Taipei, or the Republic of China. Any of those terms will annoy some of the people some of the time; occasionally leading to major problems if you mix it up in a professional context. This can happen even when you’re a “China Hand” – I once gawped as a foreign diplomat in the People’s Republic of China cluelessly thanked his host for the “warm welcome to the Republic of China”. Oops. So Heaven help the average person who gets caught in that little trap. Perhaps the best solution is to refer to the city name – “I’m visiting Taipei” – and if discussing it outside of the physical territory in question, dodge words like “country” or “province” and say “what a lovely…place”. It’s not unlike the useful word Australians use when we’ve forgotten someone’s name. “Hi there…mate!”
Continue reading
