[LETTERS]

Ethnocentrism can backfire

Recent ethnic riots in Xinjiang and Tibet are a direct consequence of a Han-centric mentality and jingoistic patriotism, which no doubt adds fuel to the fire. As Samuel Johnson once said: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” I am not necessarily condemning patriotism — waving flags and shouting slogans to boost adrenaline levels in demonstrations or on the battlefield. Nor do I condone such irrational behavior as suicide bombers or kamikaze-like tactics.

However, we must ask ourselves why China has had problems with its neighbors, whether it is Tibet, Xinjiang, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia or Russia. Furthermore, Chinese living or traveling abroad are quite rowdy and disrespectful of local cultures in public places. I saw enough of them in the US. Though the virtue of hardworking Chinese cannot be denied in Southeast Asia, some of their unfair business practices have led to resentment toward them.

Of course it is also unfair to lay blame on the Chinese only, but a better assimilation would have been more constructive for both Chinese and locals.

To maintain stability, the Chinese must treat their neighbors as equals and respect their cultures even if they view some of them as antiquated and impractical. Minorities should not be viewed as hicks from the backwaters or barbarians; they should be treated with dignity. It seems a better solution to the conundrum in Xinjiang and Tibet is entirely plausible: Offer large-scale preferential treatment to the disadvantaged locals; tolerate and coexist with different cultures and religions.

No amount of ammunition, tanks and Han-superiority mentality can pacify the troubled regions in the long haul. Diversity, not adversity, is the key.

YANG CHIN-WEI

Chiayi

The name game

English-language newspapers in Japan have for many years been writing the names of Japanese people following the Western style: given name, surname. In addition, many Japanese businessmen and politicians have English name cards that follow the same Western style. I feel that it is time for Taiwan for start following this trend.

Instead of writing President “Ma Ying-jeou” (馬英九) in the English-language newspapers here in and in New York and London, let’s start writing his name as “Ying-jeou Ma.” As for former presidents, let’s refer to them as “Teng-hui Lee” (李登輝) and “Shui-bian Chen” (陳水扁). After all, the English-language newspapers in Taiwan call Japanese politicians by their first and then last names —“Junichiro Koizumi” and “Yukio Hatoyama” — for example, and those names are well-known in the West.

There’s another reason I suggest writing Taiwanese names in English news stories in the Western style: This style will help differentiate Taiwan from China, and readers in the West will come to understand that “Ying-jeou Ma” must be from Taiwan, since he uses the new system of naming, while Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) must be from China, since he uses the old system.

There is already a small difference between the way names are written in English in China and Taiwan: Notice that it’s “Ma Ying-jeou” with a hyphen between “Ying” and “jeou,” while Chinese do not usually include hyphens when Romanizing their names.

This way, foreigners understand that Hu Jintao is from China, while Ma Ying-jeou (or in the new system “Ying-jeou Ma”) is from Taiwan.