The Three Ts

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The Three Ts in the context of the People's Republic of China are Taiwan, Tibet, and the Tiananmen protests and massacre of 1989.

Contents

Overview

The political status of Taiwan (particularly discussion of Taiwanese independence), the Tibetan sovereignty debate, and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre are considered extremely politically sensitive by the government of China. [1] [2] Foreigners are advised not to raise these topics with Chinese citizens as this could put them in an "uncomfortable" situation. [3]

Journalist Eveline Chao said that she was told to avoid stories about the Three Ts when working in China. [4]

Academics at British Universities have faced pressure to avoid the Three Ts and praise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They were threatened with the cancellation of their Chinese visas which would have ended their ability to do research in China. [1]

Variants

The Two Ts

For businesses only two of the three Ts are generally relevant, Tibet and Taiwan. Foreign companies operating in China must be careful to avoid appearing to violate the party line on either topic. [5]

The Three Ts and Two Cs

The Three Ts and Two Cs is an alternate formulation with the same Three Ts with the addition of “cults” (a euphemism for Falun Gong) and “criticism” of the CCP. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Das, Shanti. "Beijing leans on UK dons to praise Communist Party and avoid 'the three Ts — Tibet, Tiananmen and Taiwan'". The Times . Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. Volodzko, David. "China's Biggest Taboos: The Three Ts". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. Schiller, Bill (2008-01-04). "Beijing braces for 'The Three T's'". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2025-08-06.
  4. Chao, Eveline (26 October 2012). "Me and My Censor". foreignpolicy.com. Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  5. Spector, Mike; Ma, Wayne (2018-06-02). "If You Want to Do Business in China, Mind Your T's: Taiwan and Tibet" . The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
  6. Watts, Jonathan (2006-01-25). "Backlash as Google shores up great firewall of China". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2025-08-06.