Republic of China

[portofmultiverse]

I recently sold a product to an eBayer in Taiwan. When I printed the label to the address located in Yilan, Taiwan, the shipping label printed out “Province of China.” This is an error as as Yilan is a city and county of Republic of China (Taiwan). This was not in the

address supplied by the buyer so I’m not sure how it was added in. Does anyone know if this is an issue with eBay or USPS?  I had to hand correct the error to ensure it doesn’t go the wrong country. 

[martin2001]

Very weird. I mailed several orders to Taiwan in the past year  all of them state the country to be Taiwan, nothing about the Republic of China.

For example it was mailed to a town in Pingtung County.

If you google that county it says: "Pingtung County is a county in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate ..."

When you look up your county it does mention the Republic of CHina:

"Yilan County, alternately spelled I-lan, is a county in northeastern Taiwan, Republic of China."

So one county on the southern tip of the island is Taiwan only, the other county on the northern tip is Taiwan, Republic of China...according to Google.

The USPS official list of countries only list Taiwan, nothing about the Republic of China

[paper_history]

Interesting. 

For those that aren't familiar...the short version is during the Chinese Civil War, the communists overthrew the Republic of China (ROC) to form The People's Republic of China (PRC). The actual Republic of China withdrew to the island of Taiwan where the country remains independent today. 

The PRC never gave up claims to Taiwan and refuses to acknowledge the existence of the ROC. It is considered a great insult to the communist party of the PRC to try to reference the ROC. You can even see video of World Health Organization (WHO) officials ignoring questions about the pandemic as it relates to the ROC.

The PRC invests huge sums of money to influence business and politics around the world to shape perceptions about the ROC. The Wikipedia edits over the years are one such example. My guess is that would be the case here as well.

I find it hard to believe that the USPS (but don't dismiss the possibility) would require "Province of China" on the label. Is it possible eBay adds that?

[guangxi_hone]

@paper_history 

This is indication of inner works to reach the goal by any means which is unified China.

Sooner or later (beer later) Taiwan as well as  Hong Kong will become integral part of China. This is how communists work, step by small step over time.

[rebell45]

Is it possible eBay adds that?

Very possible since eBay has embraced many large sellers in China, and want to stay on their good side. In other words, bowing to pressure to keep their profits up.