Offending words
It looks like Ashley Hines and everyone else is condemning the head of Kaohsiung City's Bureau of Public Works, Wu Meng-te (吳孟德), for a remark based on how damaging his comment is to the ethnic harmony instead of the merit of the remark itself. (Letters, April 24, page 8). I do not know enough to comment on the merit of Wu's remark, but I would like to point out that this kind of overzealous pursuit of political correctness is detrimental to a free and open society in search of truth.
An article in the Washington Post (April 28 edition) entitled "Gangs terrorize France" says, "Waves of violence unleashed primarily by immigrant gangs from north and sub-Saharan Africa, Romania and former Yugoslavia have given France a higher crime rate..."
Doesn't this kind of report damage ethnic harmony as well? Why does a different standard exist for Taiwan than for France, and which is healthier?
Of course, we all wish for a greater ethnic harmony in Taiwan. However, true harmony can only be achieved via dialogues and open discus-sions, not by treating it as a taboo. With-out open dialogues, misinformation and misunderstanding will propagate and will not cease.
For instance, Hines' letter cited the use of the term "mainlanders" as a proof of racism. The truth is, the term is more likely the result of past rulers' attempts to prove the legitimacy of the ROC's name and the necessity to emphasize that not all ROC citizens are from Taiwan Province.
While Hines suggested to coin a new phrase for "racism," I think the energy could be better spent to come up with a politically neutral term that would not offend anyone to describe those who do not wish to be referred to as Taiwanese.
Jonathan Lin
Maryland
Missionaries hardly selfless
Regarding your story on doctors being honored ("Medical Devo-tion Awards ceremony honors doctors," April 29, page 2), I sometimes wonder if people in Taiwan really understand why missionaries really come here, even so-called "selfless" medical missionaries like those mentioned in the story. A government official said that the winners of this year's awards have shown the true "Taiwan spirit" because they have done a lot to help and benefit others selflessly and contributed their expertise to enhancing people's health nationwide.
Yes, all the winners of this year's awards deserve praise and recognition for their good deeds, and I salute them for their important work. But in the case of the medical missionaries, there is another point that needs to be politely addressed. And that is that these medical missionaries (and other missionaries) come to Taiwan on a mission to convert people to a religion that they say is superior in every way to Buddhism and Taoism. Is this selfless work, to preach a supernatural gospel that condemns all people to eternal hell for not accepting a dead Middle Eastern religious prophet as their god? Read the Web sites of the missionary organizations in Taiwan and see how they talk about how hard it is to do missionary and conversion work in a Buddhist country that does not accept Western religious beliefs very well.
These missionaries are not as "selfless" as they seem; they come here to convert and recruit and change local religious beliefs. They come here on specific and well-planned "missions" to destroy native beliefs and supplant them with superstitious and unfounded Western religious beliefs.
I wonder if people, including government officials, understand this, and if intellectuals in Taiwan ever address this subject -- including Aborigine intellectuals and writers, whose ancient native belief systems have been almost completely wiped out by loving, "selfless" missionaries.
Dan Bloom
Chiayi City
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath