# The phrase "我們中國人" **URL:** \ **Category:** Learning Chinese\ **Created:** [June 28, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311 "2026-06-28T13:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hayashi](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/439d5e/32.png) [@Hayashi](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Hayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/1 "2026-06-28T13:56:50Z")
Is the phrase “我們中國人” common in Taiwan? One Taiwanese YouTuber I watch uses this phrase. The context was comparing Western world models with Eastern models. ---
**Author:** ![RandomName](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@RandomName](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/RandomName)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/2 "2026-06-28T23:33:45Z")
Lol are they a chinese wife of a Taiwanese? Maybe if they use that phrase they don’t identify as a “Taiwanese” Youtuber… ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/3 "2026-06-29T00:57:44Z")
> [@Hayashi](#): > > Is the phrase “我們中國人” common in Taiwan? My personal experience is that it was still fairly common prior to the 2000s, as in it was such a throw away thing to say, that even if you don’t agree with it, you’d keep quiet about it. After the 2000s however, using that phrase feels deliberate and forced because it feels like the person is trying to make a political statement. ---
**Author:** ![Hayashi](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/439d5e/32.png) [@Hayashi](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Hayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/4 "2026-06-29T01:10:39Z")
> [@hansioux](#): > > After the 2000s however, using that phrase feels deliberate and forced Let’s say for the sake of argument that the speaker was discussing Chinese calligraphy and how it is difficult for Westerners to relate to it, having not grown up with it. In this case, the speaker might say, “Growing up with Chinese characters, 我們中國人 (alternatively: we in the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-writing spheres) have an intuitive understanding of blah blah blah…” Would the phrase “我們中國人” still sound forced in this case? Is there an alternate expression that would more commonly be used in Taiwan? ---
**Author:** ![RandomName](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@RandomName](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/RandomName)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/5 "2026-06-29T01:13:12Z")
> [@Hayashi](#): > > Would the phrase “我們中國人” still sound forced in this case? Is there an alternate expression that would more commonly be used in Taiwan? Still forced and political (leaning towards mainland china). Would be more appropriate to use 中華 / 華人. Even most Hong Kong people won’t use 中國人. Even though they technically are. Unless they support the PRC. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/6 "2026-06-29T01:23:05Z")
> [@Hayashi](#): > > Would the phrase “我們中國人” still sound forced in this case? People who grew up under the martial law period, when that phrase was drilled into kids and used in all sorts of TV shows, even in translations of Japanese manga, are at least over 40 by now. Those in their 40s would have spent their teenage years after the martial law, so they would totally be aware of the political context of that phrase. It’s not hard to imagine someone growing up in a Late-immigrant family would continue using the phrase, but still, can you claim it’s not a political statement? Was it ever not a political statement? Anyway… maybe if the speaker is in their 70s can claim that he wasn’t trying to make a political statement by saying that. Sometimes habits instilled in you by brainwashing can be hard to shed. I know older relatives who are pro-Taiwan and pro-Indigenous rights accidentally revert to saying 山地同胞 once in a while all the way into the early 2010s. However, I have never heard that term used again since, basically anywhere. If people can consistently say 原住民族 now regardless of age, I wonder what’s keeping some people from throwing out 我們中國人 left and right. ---
**Author:** ![the\_bear](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/the_bear/32/192391_2.png) [@the\_bear](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/the_bear)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/7 "2026-06-29T02:58:37Z")
People still use 我國 which is an ethnocentric nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![silly.putty](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/silly.putty/32/39_2.png) [@silly.putty](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/silly.putty)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/8 "2026-06-29T03:02:14Z")
> [@the\_bear](#): > > People still use 我國 which is an ethnocentric nonsense. Nothing wrong with this. ---
**Author:** ![Hayashi](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/439d5e/32.png) [@Hayashi](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Hayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/9 "2026-06-29T03:03:01Z")
> [@hansioux](#): > > Anyway… maybe if the speaker is in their 70s The speaker is in their 70s and seems to have been born in Taiwan. ---
**Author:** ![erui](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@erui](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/erui)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:37am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/10 "2026-06-29T03:37:21Z")
I heard that phrase said by a middle-aged minsu owner in Matsu; I can’t remember the exact context but I am certain he didn’t intend it to be explicitly political. It must be that he just considers himself to be a 中國人, which might mean something different (more about culture than politics?) to the people of Kinmen and Matsu as compared to Taiwan proper. ---
**Author:** ![RandomName](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@RandomName](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/RandomName)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/11 "2026-06-29T03:53:58Z")
> [@erui](#): > > Kinmen and Matsu as compared to Taiwan proper. Well they are in the Fuchien (Fujian) Province of the ROC and they have a different history to Taiwan proper. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/12 "2026-06-29T03:59:02Z")
> [@erui](#): > > I heard that phrase said by a middle-aged minsu owner in Matsu Perfectly fine for people in Matsu to say it. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/13 "2026-06-30T03:00:31Z")
> [@Old Pictures of Taipei](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/old-pictures-of-taipei/717/479): > > [[From Taiwan to Hawaiʻi | PBS Hawaiʻi Classics] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHppYxsOxc) 1989, Taipei, Kaohisung, Sun Moon Lake without any mega hotels. In celebration of the second hundred anniversary of the first Chinese immigrants to Hawai’i, Taiwan is sharing its cultural richness with us. So ironic that “Chinese” is so front and center, when the original Hawaiians are Austronesians and could trace their language all the way back to Taiwan. By the way, this 1989 PBS Hawai’i clip about Taiwan shows you how the KMT wanted to portray Taiwan back in the martial-law period. Through out the entire video, only late immigrants were allowed to speak, and even when Taiwanese puppet show was the focus, not a single Taigi word was allowed to be heard. Indigenous Taiwanese culture was no where to be seen, even though you could trace the Hawaiian language straight back to Taiwan. Everything was brushed under a “我們中國人” carpet. Martial law officially ended in 1987, but the GIO was still operating under the same martial-law mode. ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/14 "2026-06-30T04:32:37Z")
Yes I find some older people still use it, forty plus '我們中國人、。 Yes and the 我國 thing always annoys me. It’s a stupid way of speaking , and plenty of these have multiple passports so they are hypocrites as well. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 5:45am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/15 "2026-06-30T05:45:25Z")
> [@Brianjones](#): > > Yes and the 我國 thing always annoys me. No t sure what’s the issue with using 我國, especially if they are using it to refer to Taiwan as a sovereign political entity. 我國 has been used in official capacity at least since 200BC, for example, in this passage of The Book of documents (書經 aka The Venerated Documents 尚書): > [@](#): > > 巳，予惟小子，若涉淵水，予惟往求朕攸濟。敷賁，敷前人受命，茲不忘大功，予不敢閉于天降威用。寧王遺我大寶龜，紹天明；卽命曰：『有大艱于西土，西土人亦不靜，越茲蠢。』殷小腆，誕敢紀其敘。天降威，知 **我國** 有疵，民不康。曰：『予復。』反鄙我周邦。今蠢，今翼日，民獻有十夫，予翼，以于敉寧武圖功。我有大事，休，朕卜并吉。 > > Alas, I was still inexperienced, and facing this challenge is like attempting to cross a raging torrent. I could only seek the help from the ancestors, as only those who venerate their ancestors, and accept the destiny bestowed upon them by their ancestors could accomplish greatness. I could not help but be in awe of their guidance from heaven, so I used the holy turtle treasure passed down by my predecessors since the King Wen of Chou for divine guidance to illuminate the path before me. I asked in my prayer “Now, disasters have befallen upon our western territories, and people in the west are in unrest and are plotting a rebellion. The exiled descendants of the Shang dynasty are naive and are plotting to revive their country, believing that the heaven has given a sign for them to punish **our country** ’s immorality, and that’s why our people are suffering. They conclude that ‘It’s our time again!’ and even look down on our Kingdom of Chou. Now that it’s Spring time, I will sacrifice ten people and animals in the ceremony tomorrow, and ask for the blessing from the King of Wen and King of Wu of Chou to have success in the battle.” Then I asked if my prayer will be granted, and all divination I received were auspice omens. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew0409](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew0409/32/69821_2.png) [@Andrew0409](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew0409)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 7:16am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/16 "2026-06-30T07:16:26Z")
> [@Hayashi](#): > > Is the phrase “我們中國人” common in Taiwan? Not that common but sometimes it’s said in certain contexts and others feel more like a political statement. I rarely hear it but it throws me off when they say that as a Taiwanese person but I am of a younger generation. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 7:24am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/17 "2026-06-30T07:24:15Z")
> [@hansioux](#): > > > [@Brianjones](#): > > > > Yes and the 我國 thing always annoys me. > > No t sure what’s the issue with using 我國, especially if they are using it to refer to Taiwan as a sovereign political entity. As an editor, I can always spot something that was translated by AI when I see “our country” in a translated document. And sure enough, the original Chinese is 我國. I always change it to “Taiwan’s.” Nothing to do with politics. It’s just odd having something in first person when the rest of the document is in third person. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/18 "2026-06-30T15:42:57Z")
> [@Mandarin accents of the Chinese civil war](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/mandarin-accents-of-the-chinese-civil-war/257555/15): > > [[Mandarin Accents in Taiwan Since 1945] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZE8wpbeId4) Mandarin accent in Taiwan through time. The editor couldn’t understand Tsiā Tong-bín’s Mandarin, but he spoke pretty clearly in his beautiful old Chinese Taiwanese Mandarin accent. LTH’s Mandarin accent sounded more standard in the 80s than later on in his life. It’s Pike he stopped pretending to speak perfect Mandarin after he became president. See how many time Lee Teng-hui said 我們中國人 or 我們中華民族 in this short clip of a speech he gave in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![tempogain](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/tempogain/32/264650_2.png) [@tempogain](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/tempogain)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/19 "2026-06-30T15:51:00Z")
> [@Brianjones](#): > > Yes and the 我國 thing always annoys me. It’s a stupid way of speaking Do people say that much? I think of it as written language. ---
**Author:** ![qbert](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/qbert/32/236297_2.png) [@qbert](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/qbert)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-phrase/258311/20 "2026-06-30T17:25:07Z")
> [@tempogain](#): > > > [@Brianjones](#): > > > > Yes and the 我國 thing always annoys me. It’s a stupid way of speaking > > Do people say that much? I think of it as written language. Yes, the normal grammatical way to say it would use the plural possessive, but the written language is sometimes more compact.