China's camps just a ploy
Ahead of summer vacation, Chinese central and provincial authorities have arranged summer camps to attract Taiwanese students. Beijing advertises the camps as a way for Taiwanese to learn more about Chinese history and culture, giving them a more complete picture of China.
In addition, it says the youth of Taiwan can, through attending the camps, learn about their ancestors on a journey back to their "roots."
Beijing's ulterior motives here are clear. Since 2003, the Chinese government has broadened its "Three Warfares" strategy, designed to force Taiwan to accept a "one country, two systems" charade.
As part of this strategy, Chinese officials proudly publicize the country's rapid economic growth and military might, while taking great pains to cover up severe human rights abuses, including the suppression of freedom of speech, religion and political association. I urge the public not to turn a blind eye to the real incentive behind China's "root-searching" camps.
The reality is that Taiwan and China have been administered by two separate governments since 1949 and are quite simply two sovereign states. Jut because most US citizens are at least partly descended from UK emigrants does not mean that Americans consider themselves British. We are Taiwanese, not Chinese.
The nation's future can only be decided by 23 million citizens of Taiwan, and not by Beijing.
China's summer camps are no more than a propaganda scheme to indoctrinate Taiwanese youth into believing in the "one China" myth. Whenever Beijing benevolently invites us to camps, conferences, or anything else where it wants to teach us about who we are, we must not forget what it is up to.
LIN Ren-Jie
Puhsin, Changhua County
An English problem indeed
Stephen Krashen implies in his letter (Letters, July 25, page 8) that there is no problem with the standard of English in Taiwan.
I do not know where he got his facts, but as a professor of English with a doctorate and having taught at several Taiwanese universities, I can attest to the fact that even the best students have a minimum understanding of the basics of written English.
Just ask any instructor who has taught writing and spent hours trying to grade students' written papers. Even the most rudimentary skills in this medium are lacking.
Not all Taiwanese students suffer from this lack of skills, but the majority do. I have had countless students come to me and ask me to write their entrance essays to US universities for them after they have been rejected time and time again for lack of these skills. This is sometimes interesting, as their spoken English is usually quite good.
The National Education Association of America (NEA), which tracks students from all over the world coming to the US to study, has found that students who scored extremely high on the TOEFL have been rejected from universities because of the poor writing skills revealed in their entrance essays.
Remember, most students try to fast-track around the TOEFL by attending cram schools to learn the test rather than learning how to write.
Taiwanese students then get around the entrance essay portion of their application by paying some Western teacher at a bushiban to write the essay, thus passing the screening process for universities.
They then pay huge amounts of money to US students to write their papers for them at university.
It is unfortunate that cram schools are allowed to exist. Unscrupulous individuals open these schools and pay Western "teachers" -- usually unqualified -- to help students memorize the TOEFL.
The NEA found that Japan is the only country in Asia with a ranking in English ability lower than Taiwan's.
So, is there an English problem in Taiwan? That depends on what you consider a problem.
Sam Small
Seattle, Washington
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