Taiwan adopted the pinyin system only after Kuomintang took power

Taiwan was one of the last countries in the world to adopt the pinyin system. Only after the Kuomintang took power in 2008 did the government take the decision, saying that it was necessary to enhance the country's international competitiveness.

As from January 1, 2009, pinyin has been compulsory for government agencies. Previously, only the cities of Taipei and Hsinchu and Kinmen county, all with Kuomintang mayors, had used pinyin.

The rest of Taiwan used a romanisation system known as 'tongyong', introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2002, which said that it was more suitable to Taiwanese, Hakka and other dialects than pinyin, which was designed only for Putonghua. In Taiwan's highly charged political atmosphere, the switch to pinyin was criticised by the DPP as 'China-centric' and 'not respectful of the island's other languages'.

Before 'tongyong', the principal standard for romanisation was Wade-Giles, which co-existed with other systems.

Complicating the issue is politics and the fact that pinyin was developed by scholars in the mainland arising from the same national conference that devised simplified characters, which Taiwan has long opposed.

The government of President Ma Ying-jeou has made the preservation of traditional characters a national campaign. It fears that they will be replaced by the simplified ones used on the mainland. Ma has regularly asked the Beijing government to allow its people to learn the traditional characters.