Tongyong Pinyin
Taiwan (Republic of China) adopted "Tongyong Pinyin", a modification of "Hanyu Pinyin", as the official romanization system on the national level between October 2002 and January 2009, when it decided to promote "Hanyu Pinyin". "Tongyong Pinyin" ("common phonetic"), a romanization system developed in Taiwan, was designed to romanize languages and dialects spoken on the island in addition to Mandarin Chinese. The Kuomintang (KMT) party resisted its adoption, preferring the "Hanyu Pinyin" system used in mainland China and in general use internationally. Romanization preferences quickly became associated with issues of national identity. Preferences split along party lines: the KMT and its affiliated parties in the pan-blue coalition supported the use of Hanyu Pinyin while the Democratic Progressive Party and its affiliated parties in the pan-green coalition favored the use of Tongyong Pinyin.