Cultural differences, cultural ignorance and poor choice of words have sparked a number of misunderstandings and conflicts in Taiwan in recent days.
Last week, the foreign community in Taipei was alerted that a newly opened restaurant had hung pictures of a Nazi concentration camp on its walls to create a "jailhouse" atmosphere. Foreign wires picked up the story after seeing the initial report on this newspaper's Internet site, quickly raising an international furor. The restaurant's owner, aware of the gravity of the situation, hastily took the photos down. But the news was just another black mark on Taiwan's international record, already full of unflattering news of Taiwan as exporter of mercury tainted waste and the like. But the owner had no ill intentions. It was merely cultural ignorance that led him to commit a faux pax on an international scale.
But at least Taiwanese should understand the sensitivities of their own society. Not so.
Last Friday, the Taiwan Peace Foundation (
The Taiwan Peace Foundation slammed the Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau (文化局) for arbitrarily interpreting an administrative ruling and delivering an ultimatum, according to which the bureau will only sign a ten month contract with the foundation for management of the museum, on the grounds that the bureau must, "act in accordance with the Government Purchasing Law." This is not only a step backwards, but an insult to the foundation's hard work over the past three years.
On the surface the problem seems to be a lack of trust between the foundation and Cultural Affairs Bureau, but it is hard not to believe that differences of ethnic sentiment and ideology are also at work, particularly in the deplorable attitude of cultural superiority exhibited by the bureau's head.
Since taking up her post as director of the bureau last year, Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has come into conflict with the Taipei City Council several times because of poor communication skills and a lack of trust. Lung's independent working style, weak personal skills and self-centered attitude have made her hard to work with. Worse still, her pride as an intellectual and, dare we say, her perception that as a mainlander she is culturally superior, show through her words and actions.
Lung, a long-time resident of Germany, understands the sensitivity surrounding the Holocaust. She once penned a criticism of President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) for lacking a "Chinese consciousness" and not admonishing Japan for the Nanjing Massacre as forcefully as China. Clearly Lung is aware of the importance of that massacre to Chinese. So was Lung ignorant or just faking it when she asked the director of the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, "How do you plan to celebrate the 228 Incident this year?"
In dealing with such issues as the Holocaust or the Nanjing Massacre, we can only remember, we cannot "celebrate." So it is with the 228 Incident which traumatizes Taiwan to this day. If Lung's wording did not stem from her ignorance of Taiwan's history, then it must be an "intentional misunderstanding" based on her willful belittling of Taiwanese sensibilities.
Lung paints herself as a cosmopolitan figure, constantly announcing her intention to "bring international culture to Taiwan." Yet at the same time she is flagrantly ignorant of or insulting to Taiwan's culture and history. Can such a person be fit to hold the post of cultural affairs director? Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) must seriously consider if Lung is qualified to hold a position that oversees the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum. We think that leaving her in this position is an affront to the victims of the 228 Incident and their families. Remove her at once.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry