Pro-Arguments for Simplified Chinese Characters

• Proponents feel that simplified characters having fewer strokes makes it easier to learn.^[7] Literacy rates have risen steadily in rural and urban areas since the simplification of the Chinese characters, while this trend was hardly seen during 30 years of Kuomintang (KMT) rule and 250 years of Manchurian rule before them, when the traditional writing system was dominant, though this rise in literacy may not necessarily be due to simplification alone.
• Although Taiwan, which uses traditional Chinese characters, has a better literacy rate, proponents point out that with a population 50 times larger and landmass 260 times bigger, the illiteracy in mainland China is much more difficult to eradicate. In 2004, the only provinces of China where the illiteracy rates were lower than Taiwan's wereGuangdong at 3.84%, and Guangxi at 3.79%.^[8]
• Many studies have been conducted to prove, contrary to cultural prejudice, that simplified characters are easier to learn than traditional ones.^[9]
• The literacy rate in mainland China is higher than that of Taiwan when compared at the same GDP per capita.

Wikipedia, Debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters - Literacy (2012)

• chinese
• literacy