Editing Mainland China (section)

==Background==
In 1949, the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) and the [[People's Liberation Army]] had largely defeated the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT)'s [[National Revolutionary Army]] in the [[Chinese Civil War]]. This forced the Kuomintang to relocate the government and institution of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] to the relative safety of [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]], an island which was [[Treaty of San Francisco#Fate of Taiwan and other Japanese overseas territories|placed under its control]] after the [[surrender of Japan]] at the end of [[World War II]] in 1945. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, the CCP-controlled government saw itself as the sole legitimate government of China,<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Jeshurun|editor1-first=Chandran|title=China, India, Japan and the Security of Southeast Asia |date=1993 |publisher=ISEAS|location=Singapore|isbn=9813016612 |page=146}}</ref> competing with the claims of the Republic of China, whose authority is now limited to [[Free Area of the Republic of China|Taiwan and other islands]]. This resulted in a situation in which [[Two Chinas|two co-existing governments]] competed for [[China and the United Nations|international legitimacy and recognition]] as the "government of China". With the democratisation of Taiwan in the 1990s and the rise of the [[Taiwanese independence]] movement, some people began simply using the term "China" instead.<ref>{{cite web |title=為何陸生希望自己被稱內地？使用中國、內地、大陸等詞彙前，你懂背後的意識形態？ |url=https://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/170510 |website=[[The Storm Media]] |date=17 May 2018 |access-date=4 January 2022 |quote=綠軍所用的正式名稱，尊重獨立國體的一種正式稱呼，這種稱呼本身也不帶有任何敵意，敵意存在與否其實代表著內戰是否結束，在稱呼上特別要小心 |archive-date=9 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124400/https://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/170510 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Due to their status as colonies of foreign states during the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the phrase "mainland China" excludes [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=So|editor1-first=Alvin Y. |editor2-last= Lin |editor2-first= Nan |editor3-last=Poston|editor3-first=Dudley L.|title=The Chinese Triangle of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong : comparative institutional analyses|date=2001|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn.|isbn=9780313308697}}</ref> Since the return of Hong Kong and Macau to Chinese sovereignty in [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|1997]] and [[Transfer of sovereignty over Macau|1999]], respectively, the two territories have retained their legal, political, and economic systems. The territories also have their distinct identities. Therefore, "mainland China" generally continues to exclude these territories, because of the "[[one country, two systems]]" policy adopted by the Chinese government towards the regions.<ref name="LegCo1">{{cite web|website=LegCo.gov.hk |url=http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr06-07/english/bc/bc56/papers/bc561008cb2-2767-1-e.pdf |publisher=Legislative council HK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110091646/https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr06-07/english/bc/bc56/papers/bc561008cb2-2767-1-e.pdf |archive-date=10 November 2021 |title=Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill|date = 22 June 2007}}</ref> The term is also used in economic indicators, such as the [[International Institute for Management Development|IMD]] Competitiveness Report. International news media often use "China" to refer only to mainland China or the People's Republic of China.