Poor, Edmund W wrote:
"Where are you from?" "Korea." (this means 'South Korea', because as everyone knows, North Korea's travel restrictions are so severe that it is exceedingly rare for a North Korean to travel to the West or even communicate with a Westerner.)
"Hey, Joe, where were you stationed in the army?" "Germany." (until 1990, this meant 'West Germany', of course).
What makes these examples interesting is that they require somebody to make assumptions. We anticipate a correct assumption. If the second question were asked of a Russian immigrant, he could as truthfully answer "Germany". Did he serve in the army before or after immigration?
IMHO good encyclopedic writing should not put the reader in a position to make erroneous assumptions.
Please allow me to suggest one editorial policy that fits all four cases.
- [[China]] => all of China, with links to [[PRC]] and [[ROC]]
governments
- [[Ireland]] => the entire emerald isle, with links to [[Republic of
Ireland]] and [[Northern Ireland]] governments
- [[Germany]] => the country, with links to (1) West Germany (defunct),
(2) East Germany (defunct) and (3) whatever the heck the current government is calling itself.
- [[Korea]] => the entire peninsula, with links to [[North Korea]] and
[[South Korea]].
That's the way I see it.
Most countries are not divided, so the main referent of [[this country]] needn't be strictly distinguished from the current government. For divided lands, however, the existence of divisions MUST NOT be hidden. Regardless of Wikipedians' opinions or wishes for the resolution of the various political conflicts, our job is describe what is there.
Congo will still need some explanation.