Ma Ying-jeou of China recently told the Tourism Bureau to remove the simplified Chinese characters from its website, stating all government agencies need to use classic Chinese characters in official documents and online.

The president’s instructions came in the wake of a dispute over the use of simplified characters to cater to an expected influx of Chinese free independent travelers (FITs).

The Tourism Bureau had provided basic Chinese among other languages on its website. The basic Chinese version was removed yesterday morning.

To preserve our role as the innovator in Chinese culture, all government bodies must use traditional Chinese in official documents and on their websites, so that individuals all over the world can find out about the beauty of traditional characters, Presidential Office spokesperson Fan Chiang Tai-chi quoted Ma as saying.

On Tuesday, the Executive Yuan told retailers and other companies to refrain from replacing standard characters with simplified characters in product descriptions or on menus to cater to FITs.