I have been to four of them. Four different Chinas, each with its own system, its own laws and its own view of the world.
Mainland China (PRC) - the People's Republic of China
🇨🇳 When people say "China", they almost always mean this one: the big mainland country that most of the world simply calls China.
Communism, the Party, tight control, technology, cheap consumer goods. Yes, all of that is about the PRC. Beijing, Shanghai, the Great Wall and the Great Firewall: without a VPN, Google, Western social networks and a lot of websites do not work. The country has its own messengers and its own apps for payments and taxis.
The PRC is the state the UN recognizes today as "China", the official seat of the country in the world's eyes.
But it was not always so...
Taiwan
🇹🇼 Taiwan is a state on a separate island.
In 1949 the government that lost the civil war on the mainland "evacuated" to this island.
It believed then, and still believes, that Taiwan is the legitimate heir of "real China".
The PRC, on the mainland, began building socialism with the support of the USSR. Taiwan, backed by the US, took the road of capitalism and democracy.
At first Western countries recognized Taiwan as China. Then the PRC's influence grew, and around 1971 they switched sides one after another, recognized Beijing and moved their embassies from Taipei to Beijing.
*The phrase "real China" is curious in itself. As if the other one were a fake.
Even after recognizing "one China with its capital in Beijing", the US kept an eye on Taiwan: it invested in the island and supplied it with military equipment to deter its neighbor.
In Taiwan everything a Western traveler is used to works without a VPN, including all social networks and messengers. Walking around, you feel as if you are in a demo version of Japan. That is another thing that sets it apart: mainland China does not much like the Japanese, while Taiwan seems to copy them, young women above all, who want to look like Japanese women.
And of course the cars are Japanese. 🚘
People behave in a more civilized way than on the mainland. That is a personal impression, but I enjoyed Taiwan more than mainland China, and my apologies to the comrades in the Party 😁
Hong Kong
🇭🇰 🇬🇧 Hong Kong is a former British colony. In 1997 Britain handed it over to Beijing on certain conditions. For 50 years, until 2047, Hong Kong keeps everything the British built there: its system, laws, economy and way of life.
This arrangement is called "one country, two systems".
👉 In other words:
"One country" is China.
"Two systems" are socialism on the mainland and capitalism and democracy in Hong Kong.
Beijing promised that Hong Kong's political and economic autonomy would be guaranteed for half a century, so that the transition would be smooth and business and residents would not leave.
After 50 years there is supposed to be a "final review". By the look of it, Beijing is in no hurry to sit that exam, since the screws have been tightening year after year.
The cars on Hong Kong's roads are Japanese, even though the border with the mainland can be crossed on foot. Chinese-made cars are not popular here.
You will also see big double-decker buses, as in England. They are ordinary city transport, not tourist buses.
Macau
🇲🇴 🇵🇹 Macau is a former Portuguese colony. Since 1999 it has also been under Beijing's administration for 50 years, two years after Hong Kong.
The principle is the same: "one country, two systems".
Signs and banners are duplicated in Portuguese, and this is inside China. Very unusual.
The architecture recalls Portugal too, only in Asia.
Today Macau is also a city of casinos 🎰 Tourists from neighboring Asian countries fly in to try their luck. For me, the casino in Macau was a place for free coffee ☕️😁
🗺 Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan are separate countries, each with its own passport control.
Macau and Hong Kong are administered by the PRC.
🫷Beijing does not control Taiwan at all. It still considers the island its province, and Taiwan, for its part, claims the whole of China.
