Will Mandarin ever overtake English as the world's common language? Probably not, but as Time notes, "just as knowing English proved a key to getting ahead in the 20th century, learning Chinese will provide an edge in the 21st." This was a good point and was an important theme of the entire cover story. But by ignoring Taiwan -- not mentioning Taiwan even once in the entire feature -- the magazine's editors showed their ignorance and bias against Taiwan, even though they work and live in Asia.
Taipei is a very good place to learn and live the Chinese language, and Time magazine did a huge disservice to its readers around the world by ignoring Taiwan completely in its June 19 cover story.
Wake up, Time magazine, China does not have a monopoly on Chinese-language centers and Mandarin schools. Wake up and smell the coffee -- in Taiwan, too.
Dan Bloom is a freelance writer based in Chiayi.
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