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Brazil can teach Taiwan

When I arrived here 15 years ago, I noticed that many people didn't know who they really were. When I asked if they were Taiwanese or Chinese, they appeared to be reluctant when they said "I am Taiwanese."

Being born in Brazil from Japanese parents, I had the same identification problem. People used to call me Japanese from my looks, but I consider myself Brazilian, because I was born in Brazil.

Brazil is a country originally discovered and colonized by Portuguese, but during the development of the land, many different ethnic groups immigrated to Brazil. These included people from Europe (Italy, Poland, Germany, etc.), Asia (Japan, China, Korea, etc.), Africa (black ethnic) and of course we cannot forget the Indians, who originally lived in Brazil before the colonization.

All live there in harmony. We respect our roots, where our ancestors came from, but we cannot deny that we were born in Brazil and we have affection for our land.

In my opinion, the situation in Taiwan is kind of similar. The self-identification as Taiwanese has been developing during these years and more and more people have the confidence and pride to identify themselves as Taiwanese.

Of course, some are still reluctant to accept the fact of who they really are, but I can feel the Taiwanese identity growing stronger and stronger. Especially after the rapid economic development, many Taiwanese began to go abroad and started to realize this. When asked if they are Chinese, the most common answer is, "No, I am Taiwanese."

Indeed Taiwanese cannot deny their roots; their ancestors may have come from different parts of China, but we must give value to the land where we were born and that we are living in. We must feel gratitude to the land that has been providing us the comfort of home. If people put aside ethnic differences and start to care more about this homeland, maybe politicians would not easily manipulate them.

I hope more Taiwanese will become conscious about what is really important to their lives, and will give less importance to political controversies. Let the court settle the electoral differences and let us center ourselves in things that are really meaningful to all of us. Taiwan deserves our care!

S.A. Matsuyama
Sao Paulo, Brazil
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