Taiwan has Hakka and Aboriginal-language TV stations and is looking at making English an official language — but somehow, despite being relatively widely spoken compared with the aforementioned tongues, Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) is still being suppressed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the very group that imposed Mandarin on Taiwanese, leading to the rapid demise of various local languages that had already seen a decline under Japanese rule.
In August, it was announced that a public Hoklo-language TV channel would be established by the middle of next year, with a budget of NT$400 million (US$12.98 million) from the Ministry of Culture. While there is room to debate whether there is true practical use for a channel that broadcasts exclusively in Hoklo, especially as many channels already provide significant Hoklo programming, there is no doubt that the language is in decline and as much effort as possible is needed to keep children learning it.
Although it survived better due to a larger number of speakers, Hoklo was suppressed just as much as Hakka and the Aboriginal tongues during the Martial Law era, and there is no reason that it should not have a channel of its own. As Taiwan tries to promote and save its dying languages, it is only fair that all of them be treated equally.
It makes less sense given that Hakka TV has been in operation since 2003 and the Aboriginal channel since 2014. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had earmarked NT$3.45 billion for a Hoklo TV headquarters in Kaohsiung, but the project was shelved after the KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took over the presidency in 2008.
At last it seemed like the station would finally be established, but last week during the current legislative session, KMT and Non-Partisan Solidarity Union lawmakers attempted to cut or even eliminate the budget.
The good news is that after several delays, a national languages development act passed its third reading at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, which should provide legal backing for the channel’s creation and hopefully silence its critics.
However, it is beyond ironic that KMT lawmakers even attempted to block the channel, as it is the party’s Mandarin-only policies that led to today’s linguistic situation in Taiwan. Even today, more than 31 years after martial law was lifted, in a climate where KMT politicians such as Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) often have to speak broken Hoklo and sing Hoklo songs to appeal to voters, the language is still being opposed for what seem to be political reasons.
Their rationale makes absolutely no sense, especially the arguments coming from Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator May Chin (高金素梅), who, as an Aboriginal, is herself a victim of the government’s past language policies. Would she object if someone said that there was no need for Taiwan Indigenous Television and that Aboriginal-language programs could just be shown on existing channels?
She also expressed problems with the commonly used term “Taiwanese” for Hoklo, saying that the real “Taiwanese” should be Aboriginal languages. While logically that could be true, it is essentially nothing but semantic nitpicking to further her platform, using the common tactic of ethnic division that has plagued this nation’s political scene.
Taiwan has witnessed linguistic extinction firsthand with the disappearance of a number of Aboriginal languages, and not letting any more die out should be a shared vision for all politicians, regardless of political affiliation.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath