It is appropriate that the first-ever "Parade for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan (
Chinese culture eulogizes China as the "beloved mother" or "sacred motherland." While that may give the listeners goose bumps at times, upon closer examination, such terms are fitting descriptions for one's country. Sadly, the people of Taiwan are denied their birthright to acknowledge their "mother" -- Taiwan.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Besides, the name ROC not only causes confusion, but also obstructs efforts to build a new sense of national identity and national pride. The name ROC immediately brings to mind the ROC government on China more than five decades ago. That immediately creates the legal dilemma of "two Chinas," since the PRC is now the legal and rightful representative government of China.
Moreover, the name ROC has already caused generations of Taiwanese to suffer from a severe case of split personality. For years, they have been told by the government, the news media and their textbooks that they are all "Chinese." On the other side of the Taiwan Strait are a group of "Chinese" who supposedly are their countrymen. Yet, these countrymen not only are hostile toward them, but also share virtually nothing in common with them in terms of political values or personal experience over the past five decades.
There are those who argue that a distinction should be made between ethnicity and citizenship. They say that the people of Taiwan are "ethnic Chinese," but citizens of the country Taiwan/ROC. For example, the US has immigrants from all over the world who identify themselves as "Irish-Americans," "Korean-Americans" and so on. But, unlike Taiwan, the US does not face a hostile and hungry power eagerly seeking to engulf its national and cultural identity. The people of Taiwan are confused enough. They need a clear sense of who they are.
There are also those who condemn the name-rectification movement as exemplifying the "bigotry" and "egotism" of Taiwanese. These people obviously cannot understand the sentiment of a formerly subjugated people. The goal of the "name rectification" and "Taiwan consciousness" movements is to help a once-oppressed group rediscover a sense of pride and empowerment, rather than to incite hostility and hatred toward other people. This is somewhat comparable to the "black power" movement by black Americans. Besides, everyone in Taiwan who identifies with the land and the people here are "Taiwanese," including those who emigrated to Taiwan with the KMT regime and their descendants.
The campaign to rectify Taiwan's name should not be deemed a movement for independence. This is because Taiwan has already obtained the substantive state of sovereignty required by public international law. The campaign is simply a humble request to restore the identity of the country and its people.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under