TSU lawmakers say they will petition the Legislative Yuan to make Hokkien Taiwan's second official language alongside Mandarin.
They plan to make the proposal next week at the legislature and if successful in their venture, demand the Ministry of Education to adjust school syllabuses to increase the number of hours that youngsters would be required to spend studying Hokkien.
They said the initiative is not intended to exacerbate ethnic tensions, but rather to ease strain between different ethnic groups by acknowledging that Taiwan is a multi-cultural society.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING,TAIPEI TIMES
The idea, however, has drawn flak from opposition parties, who called upon the TSU to stop raising politically sensitive issues.
Just two weeks after the beginning of the legislative session, the pro-Taiwan political group has whipped up a media frenzy by championing highly controversial policies.
The language issue comes hot on the heels of TSU proposals to halve the number of legislative seats and to require presidential candidates to be born in Taiwan.
However, TSU legislators deflected accusations that they harbor extreme political ideologies.
"Many democratic nations have long accepted the notion that a country does not necessarily need to have just one official language. Multiple-language policy has been adopted in many countries," TSU lawmaker Cheng Chen-lung (
Singapore, Finland and Canada all have two official languages, whereas Switzerland has four, according to Cheng.
Cheng said in light of the fact that more than 75 percent of people in Taiwan speak Hokkien fluently, there is no reason why Hokkien can't be designated as an official language.
The lawmaker stated that his proposal will pacify, not inflame the ethnic tension in Taiwan if everybody speaks the same language because "the cultural gap will instantly vanish."
The lawmaker also pointed out that learning native languages for just four hours a week at the elementary-school level is insufficient. He said teaching hours should be extended for students to achieve a greater level of language ability.
Students of grades one through six are currently required to select at least one language, either Hokkien, Hakka or one of the numerous Aboriginal languages. The language course only accounts for one-tenth of the entire weekly learning hours.
Cheng's initiative won endorsement from his party's allied DPP lawmakers, but the motion was attacked by opposition parties.
Throwing his weight behind the initiative, lawmaker Wang Tuoh (王拓), a DPP caucus leader, said there is "nothing outrageous in officially designating Hokkien as the second national language," given that the language is prevalently used in society.
"This matter can be discussed, it is not sensitive anymore. It is unnecessary to politicize the issue," Wang said.
He added that officially recognizing diverse languages will benefit the government showing that Taiwan is a democratic and open society.
KMT legislator Apollo Chen (
He said the TSU's initiative favors only Hokkien. "What about other native languages such as Hakka or the Aboriginal languages?" he asked.
PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安) said there is no need to further burden already-overworked students by prolonging hours set aside for for native-language study.
"Our students already shoulder too much stress from school studies. The proposal will further burden students merely to satisfy adults' [political] considerations," she said.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS