Greater China or the Greater China Region is a term used to refer to China,
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as a unity. As a "phrase of the moment", the precise
meaning is not entirely clear, and people may use it for only the
commercial ties or only for the cultural actions. The term is not specifically
political in usage; ties common between the geographical regions, for instance
Chinese-language television, film and music entertainment is commonly
attributed to be a cultural aspect of "Greater China". The term is also used
with reference to business/economic development, such as Focus Taiwan
reporting on "economic integration in the Greater China region". Usage of the
term may also vary as to the geographic regions it is meant to imply.
The term Greater China is generally used for referring to the cultural and
economic ties between the relevant territories, and is not intended to
imply sovereignty. But to avoid any political connotation, the term
Chinese-speaking world or Sinophone world is often used instead of Greater
China. History
The term was used at least as far back as the 1930s by George Cressey to refer
to the entire Chinese Empire, as opposed to China proper. Usage by the United
States on government maps in the 1940s as a political term included territories
claimed by the Republic of China that were part of the previous empire, or
geographically to refer to topographical features associated with China that may
or may not have lain entirely within Chinese political borders. The concept
began to appear again in Chinese-language sources in the late
1970s, referring the growing commercial ties between the mainland and Hong Kong,
with the possibility of extending these to Taiwan, with perhaps the first such
reference being in a Taiwanese journal Changqiao in 1979. The English term
subsequently re-emerged in the 1980s to refer to the growing economic ties
between the regions as well as the possibility of political unification. It
is not an institutionalized entity such as the EU or ASEAN. The concept is a
generalization to group several markets seen to been closely linked economically
and does not imply sovereignty. Usage in finance
In the financial context, a number of Greater China stocks and funds exist.
For example, the ING Greater China Fund invests 80% of its assets in the Greater
China region, which in their definition "consists of China, Hong Kong and
Taiwan". Similarly, the Dreyfus Greater China Fund invests in assets in
companies that "are principally traded in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan" or have
either the majority of their assets or revenues from this region., as does the
JF Greater China Fund, and the HSBC Greater China Fund prior to February
2009. Numerous other examples exist. Political usage
The term is often used to avoid invoking sensitivities over the political status
of Taiwan. Some supporters of Chinese reunification object to the term as it
implies that "Greater China" is different from China. For many Asians,
the term is a reminder of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", a
euphemism for the region controlled by the Japanese Empire during the Second
World War. At the time the term started gaining
currency in the 1980s, it began to meet with objections from those representing
mainland Chinese interests. One scholar described typical objections:
From the national perspective, we reject the concept of a Greater China. From the
legal perspective, we cannot mix up different nationals [simply] because
they have the same language and culture as we do . . . [Similarly], most
Southeast Asian Chinese reject this concept. [But] Taiwan likes this view of
Greater China. It is a business concept to capitalize on China's development.
Western scholars see a stronger China and project their own model by
exaggerating data on overseas-Chinese development. This problem must be seen
on the level of government-to-government relations. We see things as a business
matter. Overseas Chinese come not because they are patriotic but because
of investment benefits. We need to clearly differentiate between those who
are nationals, and those who are from overseas.
See also References