New name, new start
In the wake of the recent Double Ten National Day festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the revolutionary uprising that led to the founding of the Republic of China in 1912 — a day here of sky-high dreams and soaring memories — I would like to quietly suggest that for the next 100 years, Taiwan be referred to as “New Taiwan.”
This new moniker is meant to symbolize the fact that a new Taiwan is rising from the history of the first 100 years, and that the next century might be a time when old, outdated ethnic divisions and political party mudslinging will be transformed into ethnic harmony and political cooperation across party lines.
This New Taiwan could become a beacon of hope for the 23 million people living here, as well as for overseas Taiwanese living in Japan, North America, Europe and elsewhere.
And who knows, by the year 2111, the population could reach 40 million or more, some of whom will be descendants of new immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand and China.
Think of it. A New Taiwan — out with the old, in the with new.
There is already New Taipei City (新北市), and many other place names around the world with “new” in their names, such as New Zealand and New Caledonia, New Orleans and New York, New Mexico and New Jersey.
Certainly there is room for a “New Taiwan” to signal a new century of life for this tasty, terrific and tantalizing island nation that never gives up.
Dan Bloom
Chiayi
Not bigger, but better
The recent statement by the leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for Taiwan to become a political part of the PRC must be rejected with great force.
The government of Taiwan is far more advanced than the PRC government. Taiwan has greater democracy and a superior economy.
Taiwan re-asserted its independence in the 1940s when the PRC only succeeded in taking mainland China. The PRC is not the rightful successor to the emperor’s government, but a government established by a military revolution.
In the PRC, there are far larger numbers of extremely poor people than in Taiwan. The manipulation of the yuan is leading to a financial catastrophe from which Taiwan must protect itself.
Taiwan is historically an independent free country. If Palestine can petition the UN to be recognized as an independent government, then it is time for Taiwan to be recognized.
Mark John Hunter
Alpena, Michigan
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