That is my opinion.

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Note added at 2002-07-03 19:58:24 (GMT)
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In China, we use \"special issue\" for \"特刊\"( eg.Special National Day Issue: 国庆特刊).

However, we do have a term which is similar to the one you\'ve proposed here, which is \"特约稿\", and the standard simplifed Chinese version for it is \"special contribution(to a publication)\".

Also \"特约撰稿人\" is translated as \"special contributor\".

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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:03:01 (GMT)
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If you agree to say that \"报纸(特稿)\" is equal to \"报纸(特约稿)\"(I\'d like to think so, presumably.), then pls. accept \"special contribution (to the newspaper)\".

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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:05:34 (GMT)
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Or, perhaps, just as our fellow translators say: \"special report, edition (to the newspaper)\".

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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:10:28 (GMT)
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P.S. We do often use terms like \" 特约文章，特约评论员，特约专稿...\", but we seldom(or never) use \"特稿\" in the Chinese media.


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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:18:39 (GMT)
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Reference: \"special contribution (to the newspaper)\" is quoted from A Chinese-English Dictionary( Revised Edition), compiled by <<北京外国语大学英语系词典组>>.外语教学与研究出版社出版(1995年十一月第四次印刷).

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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:24:42 (GMT)
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Reference: \"special contribution (to the newspaper)\" is quoted from A Chinese-English Dictionary( Revised Edition), compiled by <<北京外国语大学英语系词典组>>.外语教学与研究出版社出版(1995年十一月第四次印刷).

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Note added at 2002-07-03 20:26:37 (GMT)
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Reference: \"special contribution (to the newspaper)\" is quoted from A Chinese-English Dictionary( Revised Edition), compiled by <<北京外国语大学英语系词典组>>.外语教学与研究出版社出版(1995年十一月第四次印刷).

A special edition of a newspaper. Very common.

Northern Light Special Edition: European Economic and Monetary Union - features web resources, pre-written searches, and free journal articles covering the Euro.
http://special.northernlight.com/euro/
More sites about: Europe > European Union > Economic and Monetary Union

Northern Light Special Edition: Sydney Olympics 2000 - links to general sites, participating athletes and countries, history, torch relay, and more.
http://special.northernlight.com/olympics/
More sites about: Olympic Games > 2000 Summer Games - Sydney

Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Special Edition - official site from Disney featuring video clips and trivia.
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/nightmare/ho...
More sites about: Movie Titles > Nightmare Before Christmas

iMac Special Edition G3 - ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/stories/overview/0,12069,47...
More sites about: Reviews > Desktop Computers > Apple iMac

Star Wars Special Edition - review by Patrick McCoy.
http://www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/1997/starwars.html
More sites about: Star Wars > Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition

Special Edition
http://www.special-edition.com
More sites about: Shopping > Computer Games > Online Networks

Saturday Night Live Special Edition - includes news, cast profiles, and more.
http://www.geocities.com/miguelsanjuan/
More sites about: TV Shows > Saturday Night Live

Star Wars Special Edition Tazo - collection of all the Star Wars Trilogy SE Tazos, plus the quiz from the collectors folder.
http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~ac4531/tazos/
More sites about: United Kingdom > Collecting > Tazos

Desert News: Special Desert Tortoise Edition - information from the Clark County Nevada Conservation Plan to protect the desert tortoise and desert tortoise habitat.
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/Comprehensive_planning/Environment...
More sites about: Desert Tortoise > Conservation and Research

Northern Light Special Edition: 2000 United States Grand Prix - links to news sites, history, and competing drivers/teams.
http://special.northernlight.com/grandprix/
More sites about: F1 > United States Grand Prix

Northern Light Special Editions: Microsoft Lawsuits - features journal articles, web pages, and more.
http://special.northernlight.com/microsoft
More sites about: Law Cases > Microsoft Antitrust Case

Noise of India Special Edition (N.O.I.S.E) - provides a satirical look at politics, sports, and entertainmnet.
http://www.geocities.com/noiseofindia/
More sites about: India > Humor > Politics

Coming Soon!: Star Wars Trilogy Special

WHO says this isn't popular in China??? Very widely used. Means "spec ial feature" or "feature" or "special report".