Taiwan Scrubs Simplified Chinese Script

Taiwan, which sees itself as a guardian of traditional Chinese culture, has started cleansing government websites of the type of simplified script used in mainland China, officials said Thursday.

The Tourism Bureau, the main agency in charge of thousands of Chinese visitors arriving every day, was the first to remove simple characters, leaving only the more complex traditional version that is standard on the island.

The order to do so came directly from President Ma Ying-jeou, said his spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi, adding that a majority of government websites were expected to follow suit.

"In order to maintain Taiwan's role as a protector of Chinese culture, President Ma feels that all government documents and websites should focus on the standard Chinese character version," Fan Chiang said.

In a controversial language reform, communist China simplified thousands of characters from the 1950s onwards to promote literacy.

Some characters became completely unrecognizable, while others saw only slight change or remained the same.

As more and more Chinese tourists enter Taiwan, simplified characters have become common on street signs, at tourism spots, in shops and restaurants, and concerns have emerged that they may gradually come to dominate.

The drive against mainland script will not affect private businesses but enterprises such as Taipei 101, the capital's landmark skyscraper, are keeping the use of simplified characters to a minimum anyway.

"Except for floor guides and board signs, few simplified Chinese characters can be seen here," said Michael Liu, a Taipei 101 spokesman.

"We decided not to introduce too many simplified Chinese characters in order to give our visitors the chance to experience the building in its original state."

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war, yet Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

But relations with China have improved markedly since Ma of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008, promising to beef up trade links and allow in more Chinese tourists.