From the "Republic of China" (ROC), which includes China and Mongolia, the "ROC on Taiwan," and even the "ROC is Taiwan," to "Taiwan, ROC" -- officially used by Premier Yu Shyi-kun during his recent three-country Central American tour -- there is no other country like Taiwan, which has constantly proposed new national titles.
These proposals of a national title show that Taiwan is at a historical crossroads, with the nation facing the question of what name can truly represent the country's people while demonstrating its sovereignty. At the opening of this year's Olympic Games, Taiwan's team once again marched into the stadium under the ridiculous name of "Chinese Taipei," proving that the ROC in fact exists in name only.
Taiwan has translated "Chinese Taipei" as "Chunghua [Chinese] Taipei" (
China, as well as the rest of the world, refuses to recognize the name "ROC." Even Taiwan itself is unable to use this name sometimes, although many people in Taiwan are still upholding this empty and useless national title to this day.
After the premier's diplomatic trip, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
Changing Taiwan's national title in order to get rid of the bizarre name of the ROC is the correct approach, considering the reality of the situation and the willingness of the majority of Taiwanese people. Not to mention that the dominant force behind the change comes from Taiwan itself. The key to the issue lies in whether Taiwan's leaders and its people have the courage and confidence to righteously promote the nation in the rest of the world with the help of public support under the name "Taiwan" -- which is already familiar in the international arena, and has been linked to democracy as well as prosperity.
Cao Changqing is a writer based in New York.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
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