Print

Mail

wiki links

Letter: Taiwan is not alone

Your editorial ("The value of traditional script," March 29, page 8) states that the UN's plan to abandon the use of full-form Chinese characters in 2008 will make "Taiwan the last independent repository (unlike Hong Kong) of traditional Chinese script."

The Taipei Times frequently reflects a lack of world knowledge prevalent in Taiwan's society that contributes to the nation's isolation.

Ethnic Chinese communities across the world, including in nearby countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, continue to use full-form Chinese characters.

Signage, newspapers, and the like are printed using full-form characters.

Although your use of "independent" seems to have a flexible meaning to suit your political whims, these other countries are independent (of China) by any definition. The members of these ethnic Chinese communities are often the current generation of families that have lived in these places for many decades prior to the end of the Chinese civil war, and thus, their use of full-form characters is now and would continue to be unrelated to China, Taiwan, or the UN's choice of characters.

Ross Feingold
Singapore

This story has been viewed 2030 times.