Your editorial (“Are they sending the Marines?” April 22, page 8) implies that the US is trying to “justify” its presence in the region by intentionally stoking cross-strait tensions by stationing marines in the new American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) complex.
While conspiracy theories and US bashing are always crowd pleasers, there is an alternative explanation: With the KMT and vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) throwing themselves at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party even before taking office, a symbolic upgrading of AIT into a real embassy sends the signal that US support for Taiwanese sovereignty remains steadfast.
The US has always supported a strong and confident Taiwan as critical to cross-strait peace. If there is any symbolic meaning to the timing of the AIT ad, it is not to stoke cross-strait tensions (please be serious), but to give Taiwan the confidence to continue to engage China economically.
Or, more probably, the pencil-pusher at the US State Department responsible for construction procurements is not an expert on the delicacies of cross-strait relations.
If the US really wanted to create cross-strait tension, it could just support Taiwan’s UN and WHO applications, which your editors think is such a great idea. After Taiwan is reduced to rubble in the ensuing war, the US could maintain its influence in the region by stationing as much military hardware as it pleased among the smoldering wreckage.
Peter Cranston
Washington
Testees left in the dark
The Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) was established by the Ministry of Education to develop and promote an effective Chinese assessment system, the Test of Proficiency-Huayu (TOP), for Chinese learners worldwide to assess their Chinese proficiency.
Unfortunately, SC-TOP does not provide the most basic of resources for test takers. There is only one mock test available for each level and the only word list consists of 8,000 words with no translations in any language. The words are listed in order of complexity and are useless for lower-level test takers.
China’s Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi has word lists available for different levels.
TOP has been running since 2003. Why aren’t these resources available for TOP test takers?
Jeffrey Campbell
Lujhou, Taipei County
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