List of Forbidden Words in Xinhua News Reports (First Batch)

Xinhua News Agency stipulated the forbidden words in media reports in the “News Review and Evaluation Bulletin” No. 315, reflecting humanitarianism and the awareness of sovereignty.

New words related to current affairs and social life

For domestic leading cadres and heads of state-owned enterprises, do not use “boss”. In reports, generally do not intentionally highlight a certain type of group or a certain identity. For example, in disaster reports, do not use similar statements such as “one Peking University student among the victims, the rest are ordinary people”.

There are 38 uncivilized words that news media and websites should ban, such as “show off, grass mud horse, damn it, tear it up, Mara Gobi, burst chrysanthemum, JB, stupid, this diaosi, Qib short skirt, fuck you, and your mother”.

In legal and regulatory terms, it is not appropriate to call “Secretary of the CPC XX Provincial Committee” or “Secretary of the XX Municipal Party Committee”, but should be called “Secretary of the CPC XX Provincial Committee” or “Secretary of the XX Municipal Party Committee”. Except for the expression of specific historical periods in the past, the term “upper class people of ethnic minorities” is no longer used.

When expressing ethnic and religious terms, Hong Kong and Macau should not be mentioned in parallel with China, such as “China-Hong Kong” and “China-Australia”. It is not appropriate to abbreviate the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau as “Inner Hong Kong” and “Inner Macau”. You can use “Mainland and Hong Kong (Macau)”, or “Beijing-Hong Kong (Macau)” and “Shanghai-Hong Kong (Macau)”, etc.

In addition, the past common expressions such as “village head”, “village official”, “before (after) liberation”, “before (after) the founding of New China”, “former Soviet Union”, “Shenzhen-Hong Kong integration”, and the “Belt and Road” strategy are also on the list of forbidden words. A search for “Belt and Road” on Baidu shows that there are many misuses from online media to government websites.

Xinhua News Agency released “Xinhua News Agency’s Forbidden Words and Words of Caution in News Information Reports (Revised in July 2016)”. Based on the 45 forbidden words and standardized terms in the “Xinhua News Agency’s Forbidden Words in News Reports (First Batch)” released in November 2015, this version adds 57 new contents (the part in the box is the new content) for your reference.

The following is the full text of the latest revised version

Current affairs and social life

1. Do not use derogatory terms such as “crippled person”, “one-eyed dragon”, “blind person”, “deaf person”, “fool”, “stupid person”, and “mentally retarded” for people with physical disabilities, but should use words such as “disabled person”, “blind person”, “deaf person”, “person with intellectual disabilities” or “intellectually disabled person”.
2. Do not use words with extreme evaluative colors such as “best”, “best”, “most famous”, and “most advanced” when reporting various facts, especially products and commodities.
3. Reports on pharmaceutical products must not contain words such as “best curative effect”, “cure”, “safe prevention”, “safe and no side effects”, and “cure rate”. Reports on drugs must not contain words such as “medicine cures the disease”, “refund if ineffective”, “insurance company insurance”, “latest technology”, “highest technology”, “most advanced method”, “king of medicine”, and “national new drug”.
4. In general reports, do not use words such as “actor”, “actress”, “superstar”, “king”, “male god”, and “goddess”. You can use “famous actor” and “famous artist”, etc.
5. For reports on various activities of leading comrades at all levels, use “personally” and other words with caution. Except for important meetings held by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, general meetings do not use the words “solemnly held”.
6. For domestic leading cadres and heads of state-owned enterprises, do not use “boss”.
7. In reports, generally do not intentionally highlight a certain type of group or a certain identity. For example, in disaster reports, do not use similar statements such as “one Peking University student among the victims, the rest are ordinary people”.
8. Do not use the expression “practice ‘Eight Honors and Eight Shames'”. Instead, use “practice the socialist concept of honor and disgrace”.
9. Reports are prohibited from using dirty words and slang such as “wow” and “damn it”. In recent years, the Internet slang has created new words by abbreviating various words, such as “PK” and “TMD” (the new media can use the word “PK”), which should not be used in reports. In recent years, the special words such as “corn”, “gangsi”, and “liangfen” created by the “star chasing” activities without following the Chinese rules, our agency’s reports can only use their original meaning, and cannot use the extended meaning of “a follower of a certain star”. If these words cannot be avoided in reports due to the need for citation, they should be enclosed in quotation marks and marked with parentheses to indicate their actual connotation.
10. 38 uncivilized words that news media and websites should ban:
    • show off
    • grass mud horse
    • damn it
    • tear it up
    • Mara Gobi
    • burst chrysanthemum
    • JB
    • stupid
    • this diaosi
    • Qib short skirt
    • fuck you
    • and your mother
    • Dafeng chicken
    • show off
    • Bige
    • testicles ache
    • idiot
    • green tea bitch
    • your mother’s
    • don’t smash
    • exploded
    • bought a bitch
    • already done
    • Jiba cat
    • mother egg
    • funny
    • I rely on
    • Bilian
    • bitch
    • but it’s useless
    • fucked the dog
    • people
    • eat shit
    • XX dog
    • Yinjia
    • your sister
    • corpse country
    • get out

Legal and regulatory categories

11. In news reports, it is not appropriate to publicly report the real names of the following objects:
    • Family members of criminal suspects
    • Minors involved in the case
    • Pregnant and parturient women using assisted reproductive techniques such as artificial insemination
    • Patients with severe infectious diseases
    • Patients with mental illness
    • Women who are violently coerced into prostitution
    • People with AIDS
    • People with a history of drug use or who are subject to compulsory drug rehabilitation

    When involving these people, the report can use their real surname plus the word “certain” to refer to them, such as “Zhang Mou” and “Li Mou”. It is not appropriate to use pseudonyms.

12. For the parties involved in criminal cases, do not use “criminal” before the court pronounces the verdict of guilty, but should use “criminal suspect”.
13. In civil and administrative cases, the plaintiff and the defendant have equal legal status. The plaintiff can sue, and the defendant can also counterclaim. Do not use sentences with subjective colors such as “the plaintiff ‘pushes someone to the defendant’s seat'”.
14. Do not use “a certain party committee decided to give a certain government cadre administrative dismissal, expulsion and other punishments”, but can use “a certain party committee suggested giving a certain person dismissal, expulsion and other punishments”.
15. Do not call “Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress” as “Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress”, nor call “Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress” as “Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Congress”. Members of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress at all levels should not be called “People’s Congress Standing Committee members”.
16. The research institutions, directly affiliated institutions and other relevant institutions under the State Council should be written in full and should not be abbreviated as “State Council”.
17. The “director of the village committee” is abbreviated as “village director” and should not be called “village head”. University student village cadres can be called “university student village officials”, and do not call village cadres “village officials” otherwise.
18. When referring to “thieves” and “rapists” in case reports, do not use their social identity or place of origin as a label prefix. For example: a thief who used to be a worker should not be written as “worker thief”; a professor committed a crime, do not write “professor criminal”; do not use the writing of “Henan thief” and “Anhui peasant gangster”.
19. The heads of the Audit Office of the State Council are called “Auditor General” and “Deputy Auditor General”, not “Director” and “Deputy Director”.
20. The “procurator general” of the procuratorate at all levels should not be written as “president of the procuratorate”.
21. It is not appropriate to call “Secretary of the CPC XX Provincial Committee” or “Secretary of the XX Municipal Party Committee”, but should be called “Secretary of the CPC XX Provincial Committee” or “Secretary of the XX Municipal Party Committee”.
22. Generally, the term “non-party person” is no longer used publicly. In specific occasions, if it is necessary to emphasize the identity of the democratic party members, the term “non-CPC person” can be used. “People outside the party” mainly emphasizes the difference between the CPC and the outside of the party, which has become a convention and can continue to be used.
23. Except for the expression of specific historical periods in the past, the term “upper class people of ethnic minorities” is no longer used.

Ethnic and religious categories

24. For all ethnic groups, do not use derogatory terms that were prevalent in the old society. Do not use “Huihui” and “Manzi”, but should use “Hui ethnic group”, etc. Do not abbreviate at will, such as “Mongolian ethnic group” cannot be abbreviated as “Mongolian ethnic group”, “Uyghur ethnic group” cannot be abbreviated as “Uyghur ethnic group”, and “Korean ethnic group” cannot be abbreviated as “Korean ethnic group”, etc.
25. It is forbidden to use derogatory terms containing ethnic names in oral language or professional terms, and do not use “Mongolian doctor” to refer to “quack doctor”. Do not use “Mongolian” to refer to “Down syndrome”, etc.
26. Ethnic branches and tribes cannot be called ethnic groups, but can only be called “XX people”, such as “Mosuo people”, “Sani people”, “Chuan (Chuan) Qing people”, and cannot be called “Mosuo ethnic group”, “Sani ethnic group”, and “Chuan (Chuan) Qing ethnic group”, etc.
27. Do not confuse the names of ancient ethnic groups with the names of later ethnic groups, such as not calling “Goguryeo” as “Goryeo”, and not generally calling “Kazakh ethnic group”, “Uzbek ethnic group”, etc. as “Turkic ethnic group” or “Turkic people”.
28. “Muhammad” usually refers to the prophet of Islam. Some Muslims are named “Muhammad”. In order to distinguish and avoid misunderstanding, these Muslims should be added with their surnames, that is, use two-section names.
29. “Muslim” is the general term for followers of Islam, and religion and ethnicity cannot be confused. It cannot be said that “the Hui ethnic group is Islam” or “Islam is the Hui ethnic group”. When encountering the term “Arab” in the report, do not change it to “Muslim”.
30. Reports involving ethnic groups that believe in Islam must not mention content related to pigs.
31. Muslims slaughter cattle, sheep and poultry, only say “slaughter”, not “kill”.

Hong Kong, Macau, and territorial sovereignty

32. Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions of China. In any text, map, or chart, avoid making people mistakenly think that Hong Kong and Macau are “countries”. Especially when used in conjunction with the names of other countries, pay attention to using “countries and regions” to limit them.
33. Hong Kong and Macau should not be mentioned in parallel with China, such as “China-Hong Kong” and “China-Australia”. It is not appropriate to abbreviate the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau as “Inner Hong Kong” and “Inner Macau”. You can use “Mainland and Hong Kong (Macau)”, or “Beijing-Hong Kong (Macau)” and “Shanghai-Hong Kong (Macau)”, etc.
34. “Taiwan” corresponds to “Mainland China (or ‘Mainland’)”, and “Hong Kong and Macau” corresponds to “Mainland”, which must not be confused.
35. Residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan coming to the mainland (mainland) should not be referred to as coming to “China” or “domestic”. Do not say “Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan tourists come to China (domestic) for tourism”, but should be called “Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan tourists come to the mainland (mainland) for tourism”.
36. Central leading comrades’ visits to Hong Kong and Macau should be called “inspection”, not “visit”. The responsible comrades of the relevant departments of the Central Committee’s visit to Hong Kong and Macau should be called “investigation” or “visit”.
37. When referring to international organizations that include Hong Kong and Macau, such as the World Trade Organization and the World Meteorological Organization, they should be collectively referred to as “World Trade Organization members”, “World Meteorological Organization members”, etc., and should not be called “member states”.
38. In the International Olympic Committee or other sports affairs, the relevant requirements or agreements of the corresponding charter should be followed in principle. For example, “Chinese Olympic Committee” can be abbreviated as “Chinese Olympic Committee”, “Hong Kong Olympic Committee, China” can be abbreviated as “Hong Kong Olympic Committee, China”, “Chinese National Team” can be abbreviated as “National Team”, and “Hong Kong Team, China” can be abbreviated as “Hong Kong Team”.
39. Distinguish between the concepts of “Hong Kong (Macau) residents (citizens)” and “Hong Kong (Macau) compatriots”. The former refers to all people living in Hong Kong (Macau), including permanent residents and non-permanent residents, including Chinese residents and foreign residents, while the latter refers to members of the Chinese nation family.
40. Distinguish between the concepts of national borders and customs territories. National borders refer to the territorial scope of a country’s exercise of sovereignty; from the perspective of national borders, Hong Kong and Macau are “within the territory.” Customs territory refers to the area where the same customs law or the same tariff system applies; from the perspective of customs territory, Hong Kong and Macau are separate customs territories and are “outside the territory” relative to the mainland. Mainland personnel going to Hong Kong and Macau are not considered as going abroad but as leaving the territory, so mainland personnel going to Hong Kong and Macau are included in the management of going abroad (leaving the territory).
41. The business of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan is listed separately as a special category of domestic business for standardized management, and the transportation routes between the mainland and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are called “Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan routes” or “international/Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan routes”; the mobile phone “Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan roaming” service is expressed separately, or called “international/Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan roaming,” or also called “cross-border roaming” or “regional roaming.”
42. Hong Kong and Macau-funded enterprises shall not be classified as foreign enterprises, and “treated as foreign investment” should be used less in the expression, and “refer to foreign investment” should be used more.
43. The text of agreements signed between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau in exchanges and cooperation shall not be called “treaties,” but may be called “arrangements,” “agreements,” etc.; exclusive nouns applicable between countries shall not be used between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau.
44. In terms of judicial relations and judicial assistance involving the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau, terms from international law shall not be used. For example, the mainland carries out judicial assistance with Hong Kong and Macau in accordance with procedures such as foreign-related civil litigation and criminal litigation. Terms such as “Sino-foreign judicial assistance,” “international judicial assistance,” and “Sino-Hong Kong (Macau) judicial assistance” shall not be used, but should be expressed as “inter-regional judicial assistance” or “mainland and Hong Kong (Macau) judicial assistance,” etc.; for conflicts of jurisdiction or legal norms between the two places, standard terms such as “conflict of jurisdiction” and “legal conflict” should be used, and non-standard terms such as “infringement of judicial sovereignty” shall not be used; the expression “extradition of criminal suspects or criminals” shall not be used, but should be called “transfer or repatriation of criminal suspects or criminals.”
45. The return of Hong Kong and Macau to the motherland shall not be called “transfer of sovereignty” or “recovery of sovereignty,” but should be expressed as the Chinese government “resuming the exercise of sovereignty” and “handover of power” over Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong and Macau before the return shall not be called “colonies,” but may be referred to as “under colonial rule.” Hong Kong and Macau shall not be regarded or called “sub-sovereign” regions.
46. Terms such as “integration,” “integration” or “Shenzhen-Hong Kong,” “Zhuhai-Macau” “urbanization” shall not be used between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau, so as to avoid being interpreted as blurring the boundaries of “two systems” and not conforming to the policy of “one country, two systems.”
47. The official institutions and institutional arrangements of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region shall be expressed in accordance with the Basic Law. For example, “Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” shall not be said as “Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government,” and “Legislative Council of the Macau Special Administrative Region” shall not be said as “Legislative Council of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government”; Hong Kong and Macau implement a political system dominated by the executive, and it shall not be said as “separation of powers.”
48. The terms and expressions of self-praise by the opposition in Hong Kong and Macau should be carefully cited. For example, the term “Umbrella Movement” shall not be used, but should be called “illegal ‘Occupy Central'” or “illegal ‘Occupy Central'”; the term “Occupy Central Three” shall not be used, but should be called “initiators of the illegal ‘Occupy Central’,” and may be called “Occupy Central Three Ugly” in the course of public opinion struggle; the retired bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen, shall not be called “retired bishop,” but should be called “former bishop.”
49. For the regime in the Taiwan region after October 1, 1949, it should be referred to as the “Taiwan authorities” or “Taiwan,” and the term “Republic of China” shall not be used, nor shall the era, flag, emblem, and song of the “Republic of China” be used. The use of “President (Vice President) of the Republic of China” to refer to the leaders of the Taiwan region is strictly prohibited, and they may be referred to as “leaders (deputy leaders) of the Taiwan authorities” or “leaders (deputy leaders) of the Taiwan region.” For the “presidential election” in Taiwan, it may be referred to as the “election of the leader of the Taiwan region,” or simply as the “Taiwan election.”
50. The term “Taiwan government” shall not be used. The official names of official institutions established by the Taiwan authorities in the name of the so-called “country,” “central,” and “national” shall not be used directly. For the “Presidential Office,” “five branches” (“Executive Yuan,” “Legislative Yuan,” “Judicial Yuan,” “Examination Yuan,” and “Control Yuan”) and their subordinate institutions, such as the “Ministry of the Interior” and “Ministry of Culture,” etc., may be handled flexibly. For example, the “Presidential Office” may be referred to as the “staff agency of the leader of the Taiwan authorities” or “office of the leader of the Taiwan authorities”; the “Legislative Yuan” may be referred to as the “legislative body of the Taiwan region”; the “Executive Yuan” may be referred to as the “administrative management agency of the Taiwan region”; the “various ministries and commissions of the Executive Yuan of the Taiwan authorities” may be referred to as the “Taiwan XX affairs competent department” or “Taiwan XX affairs competent authority,” such as the “Ministry of Culture” may be referred to as the “Taiwan Cultural Affairs Competent Department,” the “Central Bank” may be referred to as the “Taiwan Regional Monetary Policy Competent Authority,” and the “Financial Supervisory Commission” may be referred to as the “Taiwan Regional Financial Regulatory Agency.” In special circumstances where it is necessary to directly refer to the above-mentioned institutions, quotation marks must be added, and the word “so-called” must be added when broadcasting by radio and television media. The Mainland Affairs Council can now be used directly, and it is generally referred to as the “Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council” or “Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council.”
51. The official titles of officials in official institutions established by the Taiwan authorities in the name of the so-called “country,” “central,” and “national” shall not be used directly, and they may be referred to as “well-known figures in Taiwan,” “political figures in Taiwan,” or “Mr. (Ms.) xx.” For the “Secretary-General of the Presidential Office,” it may be referred to as the “Chief of Staff of the leader of the Taiwan authorities” or “Head of the Office of the leader of the Taiwan authorities”; for the “President of the Executive Yuan,” it may be referred to as the “Head of the administrative management agency of the Taiwan region”; for the “heads of various ministries and commissions in Taiwan,” it may be referred to as the “Head of the Taiwan authorities’ XX affairs competent department”; for the “legislators,” it may be referred to as the “people’s representatives of the Taiwan region.” The names and official titles of government institutions at the provincial, municipal, and county levels in Taiwan (including the “municipalities directly under the Executive Yuan” such as Taipei City and Kaohsiung City), such as the governor, mayor, county magistrate, speaker, councilor, township mayor, director, and chief, can be directly referred to.
52. When using the terms “Presidential Office,” “Executive Yuan,” and “Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall” as place names, they can be handled flexibly and can be changed to “office of the leader of the Taiwan authorities,” “office of the administrative management agency of the Taiwan region,” and “Taipei Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,” etc.
53. The term “government” can be used for administrative institutions below the provincial, municipal, and county levels, such as “Taiwan Provincial Government” and “Taipei City Government,” without quotation marks, but excluding the “Fujian Province” and “Lienchiang County” set up by the Taiwan authorities. The terms “local government” and “local council” should be avoided for administrative and legislative institutions at the provincial, municipal, and county levels in the Taiwan region.
54. When it involves the “Taiwan Solidarity Union,” a “pro-Taiwan independence” party, it shall not be abbreviated as “TSU,” but may be abbreviated as “TSU Party.” “New Power Party” needs to be handled with quotation marks because it advocates “Taiwan independence.” “Formosa” and “Formosa” shall not be used because they have colonial colors, and quotation marks must be added if they are indeed needed.
55. For the functions of the Kuomintang, the Democratic Progressive Party, and the People First Party, the quotation marks are generally not added. When the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China are listed side by side, they can be abbreviated as “KMT and CPC.” For exchanges between the KMT and the CPC, the terms “KMT-CPC cooperation” and “third KMT-CPC cooperation” shall not be used. The People First Party and the New Party are not labeled with the word “Taiwan.”
56. For Taiwanese non-governmental organizations, quotation marks are generally not added, but for organizations that appear in the name of the people but actually have an official background, such as the so-called “economic and cultural representative offices (offices)” set up by the Taiwan authorities overseas, quotation marks should be added; the names of organizations and organizations with anti-communist nature (such as “Anti-Communist Patriotic Alliance” and “Three Principles of the People to Unify China Great Alliance”) and those with the name “Republic of China” must be avoided or handled in a flexible way.
57. For non-governmental organizations and enterprises and institutions with the words “China” and “Chinese” in Taiwan, such as Taiwan “China Airlines,” “Chunghwa Telecom,” “China Society of Fine Arts,” “Chinese Taoist Culture Association United Association,” and “Chinese Cross-Strait Marriage Coordination Promotion Association,” etc., can be directly referred to with “Taiwan” in front, without quotation marks.
58. For Taiwanese officials who visit in a non-governmental capacity, they shall be referred to in their non-governmental capacity. Taiwanese officials who visit for the purpose of implementing a cross-strait agreement may be referred to as “conveners of the Taiwan side of the cross-strait XX agreement” and “heads of the Taiwan XX affairs competent department.”
59. For universities and cultural institutions in Taiwan with the same names as ours, such as “Tsinghua University” and “National Palace Museum,” the names of Taiwan, Taipei, or the region where they are located should be added in front, such as “Taiwan Tsinghua University,” “Taiwan Chiao Tung University,” and “Taipei National Palace Museum,” and the term “Taipei Palace Museum” is generally not used.
60. For schools and institutions in Taiwan with the word “National,” the word “National” must be removed when used. For example, “National Taiwan University” should be called “Taiwan University”; “XX Elementary School” and “XX Junior High School” should be called “XX Elementary School” and “XX Junior High School.”
61. Kinmen and Matsu are administratively under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province, so they shall not be called Kinmen County, Taiwan, and Lienchiang (Matsu area), Taiwan, and can be directly referred to as Kinmen and Matsu. Geographically speaking, Kinmen and Matsu belong to the outlying islands of Fujian, and shall not be called “Taiwan outlying islands,” and the term “outer islands” can be used.
62. For the legal documents and various official documents of the Taiwan authorities and their affiliated institutions, quotation marks or flexible handling should be added. For the “white papers” of the Taiwan authorities or their affiliated institutions, terms such as “booklets” and “documents” can be used.
63. The laws of the People’s Republic of China shall not be self-proclaimed as “mainland laws.” For the so-called “constitution” of Taiwan, it should be changed to “constitutional provisions of the Taiwan region,” and “constitutional amendment,” “constitutional reform,” and “new constitution” shall all be enclosed in quotation marks. The “laws” implemented in the Taiwan region shall be changed to “relevant provisions of the Taiwan region.” If it is necessary to cite the “laws” promulgated by the Taiwan authorities, quotation marks should be added and the words “so-called” should be added. Terms with equivalent meanings such as “cross-strait laws” shall not be used, and the relevant content and issues involved can be specifically described, such as “cross-strait law firms,” “cross-strait marriage and inheritance issues,” and “cross-strait investment protection issues.”
64. Cross-strait affairs are internal affairs of China, and in the handling of legal affairs involving Taiwan and related reports, specialized terms in international law shall not be used. For example, “passport,” “document certification and verification,” “judicial assistance,” “extradition,” and “smuggling” can be replaced by terms such as “travel documents,” “use of cross-strait notarial certificates,” “document verification,” “judicial cooperation,” “judicial mutual assistance,” “repatriation,” and “private crossing.” When it involves the waters of the Taiwan Strait, the term “median line of the strait” shall not be used, and quotation marks should be added if it is necessary to cite it.
65. When it involves China in international occasions, it should be called China or the People’s Republic of China, and cannot be self-proclaimed as “mainland”; when it involves Taiwan, it should be called “China Taiwan,” and Taiwan cannot be listed alongside other countries, and “countries and regions” should be marked when it is necessary to be listed side by side.
66. For the Taiwan group institutions in international organizations and non-governmental international economic and trade, cultural, and sports organizations that do not belong to the international organizations that only sovereign countries can participate in, they cannot be called “Taiwan” or “Taipei,” but should be called “Chinese Taipei” and “China Taiwan.” If “Chinese Taipei” is used in special circumstances, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council must be consulted in advance.
67. The name of the Taiwan region in the WTO is “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” (abbreviated as “Separate Customs Territory of Chinese Taipei”). Since 2008, Taiwan has been allowed to participate in international organizations arranged by us, such as the World Health Assembly and the International Civil Aviation Organization Convention Assembly, and the Taiwan delegation can be called “Chinese Taipei” according to the agreement between the two sides.
68. Cross-strait exchange activities should be called “cross-strait XX activities.” When Taiwan is listed alongside Hong Kong and Macau, it should be called “Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan region” or “Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau region.” For exchange activities jointly held by the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau, expressions such as “China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan,” “China, Macau, and Taiwan,” and “China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan” shall not appear, and should be called “cross-strait and Hong Kong,” “cross-strait and Macau,” and “cross-strait and Hong Kong, Macau.” The term “three (four) places across the strait” is not used.
69. Taiwanese businessmen investing in the mainland of the motherland shall not be called “Sino-foreign joint venture” or “Sino-Taiwan joint venture,” but may be called “Shanghai-Taiwan joint venture” or “Guangxi-Taiwan joint venture,” etc. Taiwanese businessmen who come to invest may be referred to as “Taiwan side,” and cannot be referred to as “foreign side”; in correspondence with this, our relevant provinces, regions, and cities cannot be referred to as “Chinese side,” but may be referred to as “Fujian side” and “Shanghai side,” etc.
70. Taiwan is a province of China, but considering the psychological feelings of Taiwanese compatriots, it is generally not called “Taiwan Province” now, but “Taiwan region” or “Taiwan.”
71. Political terms with the nature of “Taiwan independence” should be enclosed in quotation marks, such as “Taiwan independence,” “Taiwan independence,” “Taiwan’s status is undetermined,” “Taiwan residents’ self-determination,” “Taiwan’s sovereign independence,” “de-Sinicization,” “legal Taiwan independence,” and “Sunflower Student Movement.”
72. For political terms of “de-Sinicization” in the fields of education and culture in Taiwan, they should be handled differently according to the meaning and context of the context. For example, “local” and “subjective consciousness,” if the meaning refers to separation from and opposition to the motherland, quotation marks should be added.
73. The occupation and colonial rule of Taiwan by the Netherlands and Japan shall not be abbreviated as “Dutch rule” and “Japanese rule.” The governance of Taiwan by successive central governments and the occupation and colonial rule of Taiwan by the Netherlands and Japan shall not be equated.
74. When it involves Taiwanese compatriots, they cannot be called “all people” or “citizens,” but may be called “Taiwanese people,” “Taiwanese people,” and “Taiwanese compatriots.”
75. When it does not involve Taiwan, we shall not call China “mainland” ourselves, nor shall we use the term “China mainland.” It can only be used when it is relative to Taiwan. For example, the terms “mainland reform and opening up” and “mainland pop song charts” shall not be used, but the terms “our country (or China) reform and opening up” and “our country (or China) pop song charts” shall be used.
76. The government of the People’s Republic of China shall not be self-proclaimed as the “mainland government,” nor shall the word “mainland” be added before the institutions under the central government, such as “Mainland National Cultural Heritage Administration,” and the national statistical figures shall not be called “mainland statistical figures.” When it involves important national statistical figures, if the statistical figures of Taiwan are not included, the words “excluding Taiwan Province” should be added in parentheses after the national statistical figures.
77. The terms “before (after) liberation” or “before (after) the founding of New China” are generally not used, and the terms “before (after) the founding of the People’s Republic of China” or “before (after) 1949” are used.
78. The central leading comrades’ activities involving Taiwan should use different titles according to the occasion. For example, in political party exchanges, only party positions are used.
79. The full name of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee is “Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee,” and the full name of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is “Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.” It can be abbreviated as “Central Taiwan Affairs Office (Taiwan Affairs Office)” and “State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (Taiwan Affairs Office).” Attention should be paid to its different titles and uses in different occasions. For example, in cross-strait political party exchanges, “Central Taiwan Affairs Office (Taiwan Affairs Office)” is often used.
80. The “Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits” is abbreviated as “ARATS,” without the word “mainland”; the “Straits Exchange Foundation” can be abbreviated as “SEF” or “Taiwan SEF.” The leader of ARATS is called “Chairman,” and the leader of SEF is called “Chairman.” The two institutions can be combined and abbreviated as “Two Associations” or “Two Associations across the Strait.” The two associations are not called “white gloves.”
81. The communication mechanism between the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan is a dialogue platform between the two sides’ cross-strait affairs competent departments and shall not be called “official contact.” This mechanism does not extend to other business competent departments across the strait.
82. For the “1992 Consensus,” the term “1992 Consensus, One China, respective interpretations” of the Taiwan side shall not be used. The one-China principle, the one-China policy, and the one-China framework are not enclosed in quotation marks, and “one country, two systems” is enclosed in quotation marks.
83. When Taiwanese compatriots travel to and from the mainland and Taiwan via countries such as Japan and the United States, they cannot be called “returning to the mainland via a third country” or “returning to Taiwan via a third country,” but should be called “via other countries” or “returning to the mainland (or Taiwan) via XX country.”
84. The Minnan dialect, which is commonly used by Taiwanese people, shall not be called “Taiwanese,” and the word “Taiwanese” shall not be used or appear in various publications and various places. For example, Taiwanese singers cannot be simply called “Taiwanese” singers, but can be called “Taiwanese Minnan dialect” singers, and quotation marks should be added when it is indeed unavoidable. When it involves the so-called “Mandarin” in Taiwan, quotation marks should be added when it is unavoidable, and “cross-strait Mandarin” should be used when it involves cross-strait language exchanges, and not “cross-strait Mandarin.”
85. Taiwanese ethnic minorities are not called “indigenous people,” but can be collectively referred to as Taiwanese ethnic minorities or specific names, such as “Amis people” and “Atayal people.” They are still called Gaoshan people in official national documents.
86. For the term “mini three links” used by the Taiwan side, quotation marks must be added when used, or it can be called “direct exchanges between the coastal areas of Fujian and Kinmen and Matsu.”
87. The Nansha Islands shall not be called “Spratly Islands.”
88. Diaoyu Island shall not be called “Senkaku Islands.”
89. It is strictly forbidden to call Xinjiang “East Turkestan,” and when it involves separatist forces in Xinjiang, “Xinjiang independence” and “Uyghur independence” are not used.

International Relations

90. Some international organizations include both some countries and some regions. When it involves such international organizations, “member states” shall not be used, but “members” or “member parties” shall be used. For example, “member states of the World Trade Organization” and “member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation” shall not be used, but “members of the World Trade Organization,” “member parties of the World Trade Organization,” “members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (members),” and “member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (member economies)” should be used. The “Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Informal Meeting” should be used, and the “Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit” should not be used. The English name of the Taiwan side in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is Chinese Taipei, and the Chinese translation should be used with caution. We call it “Chinese Taipei,” and the Taiwan side calls it “Chinese Taipei,” and shall not call it “China Taiwan” or “Taiwan.”
91. “North Korea (English North Korea)” shall not be used to refer to the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” and the abbreviation “North Korea” can be used directly. English should use “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” or the abbreviation “DPRK.”
92. “Muslim countries” or “Muslim world” shall not be used, and “Islamic countries” or “Islamic world” can be used. However, the relevant countries’ own definitions should be fully respected. For example, Indonesia does not call itself an “Islamic country.”
93. In the reports on Darfur, “Arab militiamen” shall not be used, but “militia armed forces” or “tribal armed forces” should be used.
94. In reports on social crimes and armed conflicts, the skin color, race, and gender characteristics of the criminal suspects and conflict participants should generally not be deliberately highlighted. For example, the term “black gangsters” should be avoided in the reports, and “gangsters” can be used directly.
95. The areas south of the Sahara Desert should not be called “Black Africa,” but should be called “Africa south of the Sahara Desert.”
96. Public reports should not use terms such as “Islamic fundamentalism” and “Islamic fundamentalists,” and can be replaced by “religious radicalism (radicals, radical organizations).” If it cannot be avoided and must be used, “Islamic radical organizations (members)” can be used, but not “radical Islamic organizations (members).”
97. In reports involving Arabs and the Middle East, terms such as “Crusades (Crusades)” shall not be used.
98. For reports on the deaths of combatants on both sides in international wars, terms such as “killed” and “killed” shall not be used, nor shall terms such as “sacrifice” be used, and terms such as “killed” can be used.
99. Hamas should not be called a terrorist organization or an extremist organization.
100. Under normal circumstances, “former Soviet Union” is not used, but “Soviet Union” is used.
101. “Armed forces in eastern Ukraine” should be used, and “pro-Russian armed forces in Ukraine,” “Ukrainian militia armed forces,” and “Ukrainian separatists” should not be used.
102. The term “Belt and Road” strategy is not used, but the “Belt and Road” initiative is used.