diff --git a/src/game_config.h b/src/game_config.h
index a444762..4913c46 100644
--- a/src/game_config.h
+++ b/src/game_config.h
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ namespace fallout {
 #define GERMAN "german"
 #define ITALIAN "italian"
 #define SPANISH "spanish"
+#define TCHINESE "cht"
 
 typedef enum GameDifficulty {
     GAME_DIFFICULTY_EASY,
diff --git a/src/message.cc b/src/message.cc
index ce87165..60c064e 100644
--- a/src/message.cc
+++ b/src/message.cc
@@ -476,6 +476,7 @@ static int _message_load_field(File* file, char* str)
     int len;
 
     len = 0;
+    bool ischt = compat_stricmp(settings.system.language.c_str(), TCHINESE) == 0;
 
     while (1) {
         ch = fileReadChar(file);
@@ -510,6 +511,13 @@ static int _message_load_field(File* file, char* str)
             *(str + len) = ch;
             len++;
 
+            if (ischt && ch >= 0x81 && ch <= 0xfe) { 
+                // language is "cht", and it's a big5 encoding char
+                ch = fileReadChar(file);
+                *(str + len) = ch;
+                len++;
+            }
+
             if (len > 1024) {
                 debugPrint("\nError reading message file - text exceeds limit.\n");
                 return 4;