English translation of '繁体字'

Complex characters, also known as traditional Chinese characters, had been used asthe Chinese script for centuries in all parts of China until 1956 when the governmentof the People's Republic of China carried out a programme of simplifying these charactersin an effort to improve the literacy rate by making characters easier to write. Sincethen, 简体字 (jiǎntǐzì) `simplified characters', have become the dominant form of the Chinese script. However,for various cultural and political reasons, some Chinese-speaking regions and communitiesdid not accept these changes, and continue to use the old system. Hong Kong and Taiwanare among these regions.