In praise of diversity
A video in which self-proclaimed citizen reporter Hung Su-chu (洪素珠) verbally attacked veterans, calling them “Chinese refugees,” has received a lot of criticism. Watching the video was a very sad experience.
Taiwan is a small nation made up of several different groups of people, such as Aborigines, new immigrants, Hoklo, Mainlanders and Hakka. Although these groups all have different historical backgrounds, we all walk on the same land, work and live together, marry each other and have children and grandchildren together.
Regardless of where we come from, our education should teach us love, tolerance and mutual respect, and regardless of who we are and where we end up when we die, we choose to spend eternity in Taiwan.
Looking at the disasters that have occurred over the past two years, be it the gas explosions in Kaohsiung or the building that collapsed in Tainan following an earthquake, people who could afford it offered money and others offered help, whether they lived in the north or the south.
No one brought up any animosity between north and south, and everyone sat in front of their televisions worrying about how many more people might not be saved. No one gave any consideration to which ethnic group these people belonged to, because we are all Taiwanese.
Hung’s inappropriate language is dividing ethnic groups, but she is part of a small minority of extremists.
Such isolated incidents should not be given too much space. That only further hurts veterans and it sets a bad example for the young generation.
We can only hope that media outlets will not repeatedly broadcast Hung’s video. Surely doing so would only serve to further hurt veterans.
Please stop broadcasting such incendiary images, it can only result in more hurt and division.
The government should also remember that the Taiwan Civil Government (TCG, 台灣民政府) is not your average non-governmental organization. A closer look shows that there are lots of incidents and victims.
The TCG is an irresponsible organization that uses the freedom of association as an excuse to paint a US dream aimed at defrauding members of the public.
There are no guarantees that people will not continue to be deceived into giving their hard-earned savings — gathered during a long working life — to this kind of organization. When the government tries to intervene, it is often too late.
Finally, any politician that thinks they can use Hung’s video to provoke ethnic conflict should remember that they would only be sowing the seeds of their own destruction, because Taiwanese are clear-eyed and not easily deceived.
Chen Yi-chun
Taipei
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