The national standards of the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 administering Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Pescadores

Pescadores

The Penghu Islands, also known as Pescadores are an archipelago off the western coast of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait consisting of 90 small islands and islets covering an area of 141 square kilometers....

, Quemoy and Matsu

Matsu Islands

The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...

 are titled the Chinese National Standards (CNS) (中華民國國家標準). They are administered by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. These standards are divided into 26 numbered categories. Applying the National Standards is voluntary unless authorities in charge cite any parts of the standards as laws and regulations. By the end of 2003, more than 15000 national standards have been issued. Although the Republic of China was removed in 1950 from the International Organization for Standardization

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

 (ISO) for failure to pay membership dues accordingly, there are still many National Standards translated from ISO standards into Chinese. A few standards also have English versions, but in case of any divergence of interpretation, the Chinese text shall prevail.

Because the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 and the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 can both be abbreviated as China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, the Chinese National Standards may also literally mean the National Standards of the People's Republic of China

Guobiao

Guóbiāo is usually the phonetic transcription of the word "National Standards" in Chinese.It could mean any of the standards issued by the Standardization Administration of China , the Chinese National Committee of the ISO and IEC....

. However, the Republic of China has no plan to change the name "Chinese National Standards" yet. Confusions may arise in Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

.

Each standard has a general number and may be prefixed "CNS", such as CNS 11296. The general numbers, English names and any similar ISO standards of some standards are listed below:

General number	English name	Similar ISO standard
5	Trimmed Sizes of Writing and Printing Paper Paper Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....	ISO 216 ISO 216 ISO 216 specifies international standard paper sizes used in most countries in the world today. It defines the "A" and "B" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available size...
5205	Information Technology-7 Bit Coded Character Set for Information Interchange	ISO/IEC 646
7648	Data Elements and Interchange Formats -- Information Interchange -- Representation of Date Calendar date A date in a calendar is a reference to a particular day represented within a calendar system. The calendar date allows the specific day to be identified. The number of days between two dates may be calculated. For example, "24 " is ten days after "14 " in the Gregorian calendar. The date of a... s and Time Time Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects.... s	ISO 8601 ISO 8601 ISO 8601 Data elements and interchange formats – Information interchange – Representation of dates and times is an international standard covering the exchange of date and time-related data. It was issued by the International Organization for Standardization and was first published in 1988...
7654	Information technology -- Character code structure and extension techniques	ISO/IEC 2022
7656	Information processing -- ISO 8-bit code for information interchange - Structure and rules for implementation	ISO/IEC 4873
8381	Information Interchange -- Representation of Human Sexes	ISO 5218 ISO 5218 ISO/IEC 5218 Information technology — Codes for the representation of human sexes is an international standard that defines a representation of human sexes through a language-neutral single-digit code...
10987	The International System of Units (SI Si Si, si, or SI may refer to :- Measurement, mathematics and science :* International System of Units , the modern international standard version of the metric system... )	ISO 1000 ISO 1000 International standard ISO 1000 is the ISO standard describing the International System of Units ....
11296	General Principles Concerning Quantities, Units and Symbols	ISO 31 ISO 31 International Standard ISO 31 was the most widely respected style guide for the use of physical quantities and units of measurement, and formulas involving them, in scientific and educational documents worldwide...
11643	Chinese Standard Interchange Code (for Generally Used Chinese Characters)
12680	Quality management systems - Fundamentals and vocabulary	ISO 9000 ISO 9000 The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
12842	Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...	ISO 3166 ISO 3166 ISO 3166 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization . It defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, special areas of geographical interest, and their principal subdivisions . The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation...
12864	Documentation - International Standard Book Numbering (ISBN)	ISO 2108
12873	Codes for the Representation of Currencies Currency In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...  and Funds	ISO 4217 ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
13188	Code for the Representation of Names of Language Language Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication... s	ISO 639 ISO 639 ISO 639 is a set of standards by the International Organization for Standardization that is concerned with representation of names for language and language groups....
13246	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 1: Latin alphabet No. 1	ISO/IEC 8859-1
13247	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 2: Latin alphabet No. 2	ISO/IEC 8859-2
13325	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 3: Latin alphabet No. 3	ISO/IEC 8859-3
13326	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 4: Latin alphabet No. 4	ISO/IEC 8859-4
13327	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 5: Latin / Cyrillic alphabet	ISO/IEC 8859-5
13328	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 9: Latin alphabet No. 5	ISO/IEC 8859-9
13384	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 6: Latin / Arabic alphabet	ISO/IEC 8859-6
13385	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 7: Latin / Greek alphabet	ISO/IEC 8859-7
13386	Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets - Part 8: Latin / Hebrew alphabet	ISO/IEC 8859-8
13524	Standard Representation of Latitude Latitude In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a... , Longitude Longitude Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....  and Altitude Altitude Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...  for Geographic Point Locations	ISO 6709 ISO 6709 ISO 6709 Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates is the international standard for representation of latitude, longitude and altitude for geographic point locations....
13611	Bibliographic References: Content, Form and Structure	ISO 690 ISO 690 ISO 690 is an ISO standard for bibliographic referencing in documents of all sorts. It includes electronic documents, and specifies the elements to be included in references to published documents, and the order in which the elements of the reference should be stated...
14001	Environmental Management Systems -- Specification with Guidance for Use	ISO 14001
14649	Information Technology -- Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS)	ISO/IEC 10646

External links

• Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection: http://www.bsmi.gov.tw
• CNS On-line: http://www.cnsonline.com.tw/en/