Editing Mainland China (section)

==Political use==
===People's Republic of China===
The Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China ({{lang-zh|中华人民共和国出境入境管理法}}) defines two terms in Chinese that are translated to "mainland":<ref>{{cite web |title=《中华人民共和国出境入境管理法》（中英文）Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China |url=http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/zlbg/flfg/crjxg/t1054650.shtml |access-date=28 September 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310193536/http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/zlbg/flfg/crjxg/t1054650.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''Dàlù'' ({{lang-zh|t=大陸|s=大陆|labels=no}}), which means 'the continent'. 
* ''Nèidì'' ({{lang-zh|s=内地|t=內地|labels=no}}), literally 'inland' or 'inner land'. It excludes Hong Kong and Macau.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao Emergency Service Information |url=https://www.mac.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=46F6EFDFE943D834 |website=Mainland Affairs Council (Taiwan) |date=20 September 2022 |access-date= |archive-date=3 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103190235/https://www.mac.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=46F6EFDFE943D834 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the PRC, usage of the two terms is not strictly interchangeable. To emphasise the [[One-China policy]] and not give the ROC "equal footing" in [[cross-strait relations]], the term must be used in PRC's official contexts with reference to Taiwan (with the PRC referring to itself as the "mainland side" dealing with the "Taiwan side"). In fact, the PRC government mandates that journalists use “Taiwan” and “the Mainland” (Dàlù) as corresponding concepts.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Does Using the Term *Mainland China* Imply for Taiwan? |url=https://www.us-taiwan.org/resources/what-does-using-the-term-mainland-china-imply-for-taiwan/ |publisher=US Taiwan Business Council |access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref>

But in terms of Hong Kong and Macau, the PRC government refers to itself as "the Central People's Government".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Practice of the 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region |url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2014/08/23/content_281474982986578.htm |publisher=Information Office of the State Council. The People’s Republic of China |access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref> In the People's Republic of China, the term {{lang|zh-hans|内地}} (Nèidì, 'inland') is often contrasted with the term {{lang|zh|境外}} ('outside the border') for things outside the mainland region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China |url=http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh/lhqz/lhqzjjs/201401/t20140121_961580.shtml#:~:text=The%20exit%2Fentry%20administrations%20of,residence%20permits%20with%20the%20duration. |website=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China]] |publisher=Legalisation of Documents |access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref> Examples include "Administration of Foreign-funded Banks" ({{lang-zh|t=中華人民共和國外資銀行管理條例|s=中华人民共和国外资银行管理条例|labels=no}}) or the "Measures on Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Insurance Institutions" ({{lang-zh|t=外國保險機構駐華代表機構管理辦法|s=外国保险机构驻华代表机构管理办法|labels=no}}).<ref name="LegCo1" />

[[Hainan]] is an island, but is nevertheless commonly considered to be part of the "mainland" politically, because its government, legal and political systems do not differ from the rest of the PRC. Nonetheless, Hainanese people still refer to the geographic mainland as "the mainland" and call its residents "mainlanders".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q192508057.htm|script-title=zh:海南人为什么喜欢叫外省人叫大陆人？|website=wenwen.sogou.com|access-date=28 October 2018|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307194549/https://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q192508057.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2020}}

Before 1949, the Kinmen and Matsu islands, were jointly governed with the rest of Fujian Province under successive Chinese governments. The two territories are generally considered to belong to the same historical region, Fujian Province, which has been divided since 1949 as a result of the civil war. However, because they are not controlled by the PRC, they are not included as part of "mainland China."

Some platforms like [[Bilibili]] banned the use of the term "mainland China" in their website and classified the behavior in its convention as an illegal act of splitting the country and undermining the integrity of national sovereignty, which violates law. They require that the term should be replaced as "Chinese mainland", "China's mainland" and "the mainland of China".<ref>{{cite web |title=社区公约 - 违法违禁 |url=https://member.bilibili.com/platform/convention/content?index=2-1&navhide=1 |website=Bilibili |language=zh-CN |quote=规范使用与国家形象相关的特定标识、呼号、称谓、用语；例如：“中国大陆”英文翻译请统一使用“Chinese mainland”、“China's mainland”或“the mainland of China”的英文译法，杜绝使用“mainland China”或“Mainland China”的错误译法}}</ref>

===Hong Kong and Macau===
[[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] have been territories of the PRC since 1997 and 1999 respectively. However, due to the [[One Country, Two Systems]] policy, the two regions maintain a degree of autonomy, hence they are not governed as part of mainland China.

Geographically speaking, Hong Kong and Macau are both connected to mainland China in certain areas (e.g. the north of the [[New Territories]]). Additionally, the islands contained within Hong Kong (e.g. [[Hong Kong Island]]) and Macau are much closer to mainland China than Taiwan and Hainan, and are much smaller.

In Hong Kong and Macau, the terms "mainland China" and "mainlander" are frequently used for people from PRC-governed areas (i.e. not Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau). The Chinese term ''Neidi'' ({{lang-zh|t=內地|labels=no}}), meaning the ''inland'' but still translated ''mainland'' in English, is commonly applied by [[Special administrative regions of China|SAR]] governments to represent non-SAR areas of PRC, including Hainan province and coastal regions of mainland China, such as "Constitutional and Mainland Affairs" ({{lang|zh-hant|政制及內地事務局}})<ref>Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. "[http://www.cmab.gov.hk/ Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021044209/https://www.cmab.gov.hk/ |date=2021-10-21 }}." ''Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.'' Retrieved on 10 March 2008.</ref> and Immigration Departments.<ref>[http://www.immd.gov.hk/zhtml/facts_3_0.htm Chinese version] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091127190454/http://www.immd.gov.hk/zhtml/facts_3_0.htm |date=27 November 2009 }}, [http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/facts_3_0.htm English version] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204183751/http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/facts_3_0.htm |date=4 February 2009 }}, Statistics on Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals ({{lang|zh-hant|輸入內地人才計劃數據資料}}), [[Immigration Department (Hong Kong)]].</ref> In the [[Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement]] (as well as the [[Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement]]) the CPG also uses the Chinese characters {{lang|zh-hans|内地}} "inner land", with the note that they refer to the "customs territory of China".<ref name=CEPA>[http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/files/main_e.pdf English Text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604232402/http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/files/main_e.pdf |date=4 June 2011 }} [http://www.locpg.gov.cn/big5/jmwl/cepa/cepaxy/200702/t20070225_1844.asp Chinese text] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707035638/http://www.locpg.gov.cn/big5/jmwl/cepa/cepaxy/200702/t20070225_1844.asp |date=7 July 2011 }} <!--Update this link to the 2010 annex --></ref>

===Taiwan (Republic of China)===
[[File:ROC1979-05 National Assembly Secretariat China Map.pdf|thumb|The ROC map shown as of May 1979 in the Sixth Session of the First National Assembly]]
[[File:Republic of China (Taiwan) (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|Currently, the scope of the “mainland area” defined in Taiwan's law (light green)<ref name="Mainland Affairs Council"/>]]

References to the PRC and other lost continental territories as the mainland began appearing in Taiwan state documents as early as 1954.<ref name="法规ROC4">{{Cite web |title=解释字號：释字第31号 |url=http://jirs.judicial.gov.tw/ |accessdate=4 November 2018 |language=zh-hant |author1=司法院 |website=司法院法學資料檢索系統判解函釋 |location=台北 |archive-date=7 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207151537/http://jirs.judicial.gov.tw/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation |chapter=Place, Identity and National Imagination in Postwar Taiwan |author=Bi-Yu Chang |chapter-url=https://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/Castles%20in%20the%20Sand.pdf |url-status=live |title=Building castles in the sand |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=2015 |access-date=2 July 2022 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702152424/https://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/Castles%20in%20the%20Sand.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/221-greater-china-made-in-taiwan/ |author=Frank Jacobs| title=A Map of Greater China, Made in Taiwan |date=23 July 2010 |work=[[Big Think]] |access-date=2 July 2022 |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521151734/https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/221-greater-china-made-in-taiwan/ |archive-date=21 May 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Legal definitions followed in the 1990s. The 1991 [[Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China]] stated that "the handling of people's rights and obligations and other affairs between the free area and the mainland can be specially stipulated by law", and used the legal term "mainland area" without defining its geographical boundaries.<ref name="法规ROC6">{{Cite web |title=中华民国宪法增修条文 |url=https://lis.ly.gov.tw/lglawc/lawsingle?00067773FB3C000000000000000000A000000002000000^04105080042200^00027002001 |accessdate=4 November 2018 |language=zh-hant |author1=立法院 |website=立法院法律系統 |location=台北}}</ref> The 1992 Regulations on the Relations between the People in Taiwan and the Mainland defined "Taiwan" as areas controlled by the ROC and "mainland" as "the territory of the Republic of China."<ref name="法规ROC5">{{Cite web |title=台湾地区与大陆地区人民关系条例 |url=https://lis.ly.gov.tw/lglawc/lglawkm?@@2039384855 |accessdate=4 November 2018 |language=zh-hant |author1=立法院 |website=立法院法律系統 |location=台北 |archive-date=11 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211115457/https://lis.ly.gov.tw/lglawc/lglawkm?@@2039384855 |url-status=live }}</ref> The related [[Cross-Strait Act]] called those under PRC jurisdiction - excluding those in Hong Kong and Macau - as "people of the mainland area", and used "[[free area of the Republic of China]]" to describe areas under ROC control.<ref name="ROC Constitution">[http://www.taiwandocuments.org/constitution04.htm Additional Articles to the Republic of China Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515000850/http://www.taiwandocuments.org/constitution04.htm |date=15 May 2017 }}, 6th Revision, 2000</ref> The issue on the mainland's territory also stated in the [[Judicial Yuan]] Interpretation No. 328 in 1993.<ref name="cons.judicial.gov.tw">{{Cite web |title=No.328 |url=https://cons.judicial.gov.tw/en/docdata.aspx?fid=100&id=310509 |access-date=23 July 2022 |website=cons.judicial.gov.tw |archive-date=23 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723065449/https://cons.judicial.gov.tw/en/docdata.aspx?fid=100&id=310509 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="法规ROC10">{{Cite web |title=香港澳門關係條例施行細則 |url=https://db.lawbank.com.tw/FLAW/FLAWDAT0202.aspx?lsid=FL016532&ldate=20160111 |website=法源法律网 |accessdate=16 November 2018 |archive-date=10 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010174047/https://db.lawbank.com.tw/FLAW/FLAWDAT0202.aspx?lsid=FL016532&ldate=20160111 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, the [[Supreme Court of the Republic of China]]'s judgment #900 labeled the [[Macau|Macao Special Administrative Region]] as the "Mainland's Macau Area".<ref name="法规ROC11">{{Cite web |title=裁判字號：101年台上字第900號 |url=http://jirs.judicial.gov.tw/ |accessdate=4 November 2018 |language=zh-hant |author1=司法院 |website=司法院法學資料檢索系統判解函釋 |location=台北 |archive-date=7 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207151537/http://jirs.judicial.gov.tw/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The 2002 amendments to the Implementation Rules of the Regulations on People Relations between Taiwan and mainland China defined the mainland as areas claimed but not controlled by the ROC, corresponding to "areas under control of the [[Chinese Communist Party|Chinese Communists]]" (within the ''[[de facto]]'' [[borders of China|borders of the People's Republic of China]]).<ref name="Mainland Affairs Council">{{cite web |title=Laws and Regulations Regarding Mainland Affairs |url=https://www.mac.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=4F2E0C155DF44564&sms=2C46F5E37DC2E1D2&s=4597A146F5AF7D3C |website=[[Mainland Affairs Council]] |access-date=30 May 2018 |quote=Article 3: The enforcement areas of Subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act shall refer to areas under control of the Chinese Communists.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例施行細則 |url=https://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=Q0010002 |website=法務部全國法規資料庫 |access-date=11 January 2021 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403002507/https://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=Q0010002 |url-status=live |quote=中共控制之地區}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=中華民國立法院法制局研究成果《外蒙古定位後續問題評析》|url=http://www.ly.gov.tw/ly/04_library/0401_orglaw/orglaw_search/orglaw_search_04.jsp?ItemNO=04020200&f91_number=821 |author=邱政宗 |date=March 1991 }}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}</ref>

Views of the term "mainland China" ({{lang|zh-TW|中國大陸}}) vary on Taiwan. During the [[Dang Guo|Dangguo era]], the KMT had previously referred to the territories under the control of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) by several different names, e.g. "(territory controlled by the) [[Communist bandit]]s", "occupied/unfree area (of China)", "Communist China" (as opposed to either "Nationalist China" or "Democratic China"), "Red China" (as opposed to "Blue China"), and "mainland China (area)".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/news/kuan0416/3/1281895827/20060101013524/ |title=台灣小學課本裡的「共匪」（管仁健／著） |access-date=10 November 2019 |archive-date=27 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327075035/http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/news/kuan0416/3/1281895827/20060101013524 }}</ref> In modern times, many of these terms have fallen out of use. The terms "mainland China" ({{lang|zh-TW|中國大陸}}) or "the mainland" ({{lang|zh-TW|大陸}}) still remain in popular use, but some also simply use the term "China" ({{lang|zh-TW|中國}}). The former term is generally preferred by the [[Pan-Blue Coalition]] led by the KMT, while the latter term is preferred by the [[Pan-Green Coalition]] led by the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] (DPP), which opposes the term "mainland" and its suggestion that Taiwan is part of China. This has caused many political debates.<ref name="Wachman">{{Cite book|title=Taiwan: National Identity and Democratization|last=Wachman|first=Alan|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|year=1994|page=81|author-link1=Alan M. Wachman}}</ref><ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/07/23/2003538429 DPP is firm on China name issue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508152838/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/07/23/2003538429 |date=8 May 2021 }}. Taipei Times (14 July 2013). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref>