Mainland China

Mainland China (中国大陆), Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geographical and political term to describe the geopolitical area under the direct jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It generally excludes the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau; however, it usually includes Hainan. The term "mainland China", which avoids calling the area simply "China" and thereby recognizing the founding of the PRC as the "China", was coined by the Kuomintang (KMT) after it took control of Taiwan, particularly after 1949, when the KMT-led Republic of China (ROC) government was defeated in the Chinese Civil War on the mainland and fled to Taiwan, and pledged to "retake the Mainland". The KMT considers both sides of the Taiwan Strait (including Taiwan), as (one) "China" and one country, whereas Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) considers only mainland China as "China" and Taiwan (ROC) as "Taiwan" and maintains that they are different countries.