C.V. Chen (
But what exactly does Chen mean by "culture?" For much of the 19th century "culture" was generally understood as unconditionally positive and something one either had or didn't have; being "cultured" was associated with, for example, being well-mannered and mastering a corpus of classical literature.
But in 1871, British anthropologist Edward Tyler formulated a new definition for "culture," one that has been influential to this day: "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."
So in Tyler's formulation, everyone has culture, but culture is not an absolute good. Using Tyler's definition, I would not advocate linking one's identity too rigidly with any culture, or one is liable to perceive cultural criticism as an attack on one's identity, which is likely to promote fear and irrationality.
While I agree with the general thrust of Chen's argument that culture and politics need not be linked, Chen seems to have adopted the inflexible position that Chinese culture should necessarily be a source of pride and should not be criticized or "removed." But if we understand culture as a set of socially and historically acquired symbols, beliefs and practices, we can see that some of these elements may be outdated and others even pernicious.
Speaking of concrete policies, relative to what they learn now, Taiwanese students are better off learning more Taiwanese history and less Chinese history, more composition in modern Mandarin and less memorization of literary Chinese. The traditional "Chinese" method of education by rote should be reduced in favor of methods that foster the qualities of creativity and rational reflection.
To return to Chen's article, I'd like to draw the reader's attention to several misleading statements. First, he writes that hopefully unification will "happen when the political and economic systems of the two sides are compatible" -- but the real question is if this will occur, not when. Second, he calls Hoklo a "dialect," but judged on non-political, linguistic terms, Hoklo is clearly a language, not a dialect. Chen writes that "some politicians have made meticulous calculations to claim that the Taiwanese have long since ceased to have very much Chinese blood in their veins." In doing so, he builds a straw man and ignores the recent research of professional scientists and scholars showing substantial biological and historical connections between Han and non-Han populations -- connections that were previously unknown or suppressed.
Perhaps it would be easier to think more clearly about these debates if we used the word "Chinese" more narrowly to refer to the culture or citizens of the PRC.
What people now call "Chinese culture" could more accurately be labeled "Sinitic culture" or "Han culture" ("Han" being primarily a historical/cultural rather than biological category).
To draw a parallel, we know that Jews are not necessarily Israelis, and Israelis are not necessarily Jews -- and so Jews outside Israel thankfully don't fret over "de-Israelization" when deciding whether or not to send their children to Hebrew school.
Douglas Gildow
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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