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( Tongyong Pinyin)
Tongyong pinyin (Chinese ????; pinyin tongyòng pinyin; literally "Universal/General Usage Sound-combining") was the official romanization of Mandarin Chinese in the Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan) between 2002 and 2008. The system was unofficially used between 2000 and 2002, when a new romanization system for the Republic of China was being evaluated for adoption. The ROC's Ministry of Education approved the system in 2002[1][2] but its use was not mandatory. Since January 1, 2009, Tongyong pinyin is no longer official, due to the Ministry of Education's approval of Hanyu pinyin on September 16, 2008.[3][4] The impetus behind the invention of Tongyong Pinyin came from the need for a standardized romanization system in Taiwan. For decades the island had employed various systems, usually simplifications or adaptations of Wade-Giles. (Zhuyin fuhao, a standard phonetic system for language education in Taiwan's schools, does not employ the Latin alphabet.) Tongyong Pinyin was introduced in 1998 by Yu Bor-chuan (???). The goal was to preserve the strengths of Hanyu Pinyin while eliminating some of the pronunciation difficulties Hanyu presents to international readers, such as the letters q and x. Yu's system has undergone some subsequent revision. Discussion and adoption of Tongyong Pinyin, like many other initiatives in Taiwan, quickly acquired a partisan cast turning on issues of national identity.[5] Officials who identified most strongly with the nation itself, such as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and allied parties, saw no reason to adopt Hanyu Pinyin just because mainland China and the UN had. If Tongyong Pinyin more adequately met the nation's needs, the ROC had reason enough to adopt it.[6] Officials who identified more strongly with Chinese culture, such as the Kuomintang (KMT), saw no reason to introduce a new system unique to Taiwan if Hanyu Pinyin had already gained international acceptance. Each side accused the other of basing its preference on anti-China or pro-China sentiment rather than an objective discussion of community goals.[7]
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