Just as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is about to celebrate the signing of an historic trade agreement with China, Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) once again managed to draw attention to himself.
Yaung’s latest faux pas — made while he was in the US — involved publicly expressing his intense dislike of Koreans, who he said had copied Taiwan’s health system but would never admit doing so.
Not only were such comments inappropriate for a public official, they also reflected a view propagated by an increasingly nationalist China. In other words, not only was our health minister making a fool of himself while abroad, he was also spewing Chinese propaganda.
This incident is unlikely to be well received by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which is facing a crisis in popularity ahead of important municipal elections in November. At a time when it is striving to rebuild its credibility and mend fences with countries supposedly alienated by the previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, Yaung’s remarks can only make that task more onerous.
For the DPP, Yaung’s lack of discretion is a godsend, providing additional ammunition as it prepares to hold a mass rally in Taipei to oppose the controversial economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
The Ma administration has a week to distance itself from Yaung’s insulting rhetoric. Should it remain silent on the matter, we could only conclude that it condones such ugly Chinese nationalism and Yaung could well be added to the list of things to be targeted during the protests on Saturday.
Supporters of Taiwan not only have the responsibility to ensure the nation’s survival, but to protect its image abroad by displaying maturity, openness and respect for differences. The importance of distancing ourselves from the racism espoused by Yaung cannot be overstated, not only because it represents an effort to combat “Han” chauvinism, but also because it highlights the type of maturity that the world expects from a democracy.
Regardless of who is in power, Taiwan is in no position to insult other nations through its officials — especially through a crass form of nationalism for which Chinese officials have often been ridiculed. If we fail to condemn this type of behavior, we are no better than the Chinese officials we laugh at for their lack of tact.
Ultimately, a politician’s ability to conduct himself or herself properly serves as an indicator of their ability to oversee national policies. As Yaung is closely involved in managing the debilitated National Health Insurance (NHI) program — one that should be the envy of many countries but that is becoming increasingly unsustainable — his inability to behave like a professional politician raises questions about his qualifications. Are those of us who contribute to the NHI plan and rely on it in times of need really willing to trust someone who engages in such open bigotry to steer the nation’s health program in the right direction?
During the protest on Saturday, let’s hope that among all the placards criticizing the Ma administration and opposing an ECFA that is being forced on us, there will also be a few that give voice to the respect and openness of mind and spirit that far better represent the feelings of Taiwanese people than the racist comments of our health minister.
We love Taiwan and we love South Korea.
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses on the wrong issue. The problem is not last year’s outcomes failing to meet the bilingual education vision; the issue is that the ministry has abandoned the program that originally justified such a large expenditure. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) earlier this month said it is necessary for her to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and it would be a “huge boost” to the party’s local election results in November, but many KMT members have expressed different opinions, indicating a struggle between different groups in the party. Since Cheng was elected as party chairwoman in October last year, she has repeatedly expressed support for increased exchanges with China, saying that it would bring peace and prosperity to Taiwan, and that a meeting with Xi in Beijing takes priority over meeting
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva on Monday said that Manila’s claims in the South China Sea are backed by international law. Villanueva was responding to a social media post by the Chinese embassy alleging that a former Philippine ambassador in 1990 had written a letter to a German radio operator stating that the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) did not fall within Manila’s territory. “Sovereignty is not merely claimed, it is exercised,” Villanueva said. The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in
RSS