Hanjian

In China, the word hanjian (traditional Chinese: 漢奸; simplified Chinese: 汉奸; pinyin: Hànjiān; Wade–Giles: han-chien) is a pejorative term for those seen as traitors to the Chinese state and, to a lesser extent, Han Chinese ethnicity. The word hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any country or ethnicity. As a Chinese term, it is a digraph of the Chinese characters for "Han" and "traitor". Han is the majority ethnic group in China; and Jian, in Chinese legal language, primarily referred to illicit sex. Implied by this term was a Han Chinese carrying on an illicit relationship with the enemy. Hanjian is often worded as "collaborator" in the West.