Dictionary

Diaoyu Islands en · PROPN

Etymology

Partial calque from Mandarin 釣魚島／钓鱼岛 (Diàoyúdǎo).

Meanings

1. A chain of islands in the East China Sea: the People's Republic of China (mainland China) name.
   • China’s Taiwan refers to Taiwan province (including Taiwan Island, Orchid Island, Green Island, Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands, and the Penghu Islands) and Fujian province’s Jinmen, Mazu, Wuqiu and other islands, with a total land area of 36,000 square kilometers. [2020 July 28, Taiwan Affairs Office, “Basic facts about Taiwan”, in State Council of the People's Republic of China, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2020:
   • When Japan annexed the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in 1895, it detached them from Taiwan and placed them under Okinawa Prefecture. Moreover, the Japanese name “Senkaku Islands” itself was first introduced in 1900 by academic Kuroiwa Hisashi and adopted by the Japanese government thereafter. Half a century later when Japan returned Taiwan to China, both sides adopted the 1945 administrative arrangement of Taiwan, with the Chinese unaware that the uninhabited “Senkaku Islands” were in fact the former Diaoyu Islands. This explains the belated protest from Taipei and Beijing over U.S. administration of the islands after the war. 2012 September 19, Han-Yi Shaw, “The Inconvenient Truth Behind the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2022, The Opinion Pages:
   • Beijing and Tokyo are involved in sovereignty disputes over the Diaoyu Islands, known as Senkaku in Japan, in the East China Sea. 2017 February 4, “China to crack down on use of leanness enhancers in cattle and sheep”, in EFE, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2017:

Forms

Synonyms

Diaoyutai Islands · Senkaku Islands (from Japanese) · Pinnacle Islands · Diaoyu · Tiaoyu · Tiaoyutai Islands · Diaoyutai · Tiaoyutai