At the London School of Economics (LSE) last Thursday, Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (
Tu, an LSE graduate, was invited to deliver a speech on educational reforms and the future of the nation. He was introduced as the education minister of Taiwan.
During his speech, Chinese students in the audience held up signs reading: "Stop cultural brainwashing" and "Taiwan is a part of China."
A shouting match between Chinese and Taiwanese students broke out. Tu was also challenged by Chinese students during a question and answer session following his speech.
They asked Tu whether he "acknowledged" Chinese culture and what he meant by "Taiwan's sovereignty" in his speech.
In view of the disruption and attempted provocation, Tu performed admirably. He did not avoid the questions.
Tu, poised and unperturbed, responded calmly, noting Taiwan's values, rights and freedoms. He emphasized to his audience that Taiwan, as a democratic country, would decide its own future according to the will of its people.
Taiwan needs more officials like Tu -- officials who are unyielding in stressful situations that are used to belittle the nation.
Also last week, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen downplayed the event afterwards, saying it resulted from the general international confusion regarding Taiwan and China. Whatever the reason behind such confusion, Chen, as head of state, should have taken a more active gesture and lodged a protest.
It is the government's job to uphold the identity and dignity of the nation, both in word and deed.
After all, China is China and Taiwan is Taiwan. The two should not be confused, even if the majority of the international community purposely does so.
Taiwan is a sovereign state with its own government, elections, currency and territory. It negotiates its own treaties and has its own president.
Let Taiwanese keep Taiwan, and by the same token, let the Chinese keep China.
The international community talking so highly of democracy is being hypocritical by ignoring Taiwan's plight. Taiwan must demand respect from the international community and make its identity clear. If Taiwan does not work to counter international "confusion" itself, we cannot expect the situation to improve.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky said: "If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you."
The same applies to Taiwan's situation and international ignorance, indifference or confusion about Taiwan and China.
No one, especially officials, should give anyone the opportunity to insult Taiwan.
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS