Global weekly The Economist has blamed Taiwanese media for “gross mistranslations” of its article that branded President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) a “bumbler” and caused a recent stir in Taiwanese politics, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday
Ministry spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said Dominic Ziegler, Asia editor of the weekly magazine, said he had noticed that “bumbler” had been “irresponsibly mistranslated” by some Taiwanese media as “笨蛋” (or “dimwit”), which he said was a “gross mistranslation.”
Ziegler said the two Chinese characters used in local media were an incorrect translation of “bumbler.”
Ziegler sent an e-mail reply to Representative to the UK Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡), Hsia said, in response to the ministry’s reaction to the article titled “Ma the bumbler” in its current edition, which in its body calls Ma an “ineffectual bumbler.”
Hsia quoted Ziegler as saying that the word “bumbler” is not an insult to Ma because it describes a man “who acts indecisively or in a slightly confused manner.”
Ziegler, who is on a trip overseas, also expressed his willingness to explain the matter in person to the Taiwanese government, Hsia said.
The Taipei Representative Office in the UK “registered concern” over the article, which was published on Friday last week, and received the reply from Ziegler on Monday, Hsia said.
The Ma administration reacted strongly to the article.
On Friday night, the Presidential Office called an impromptu press conference, timed to give a response to the piece, followed by Ma’s remarks the next day that he felt “distressed and wronged by incorrect reports,” in an apparent reaction to the article.
On Sunday, the ministry was reportedly told by the Presidential Office to file a complaint with The Economist, which was met by the disapproval of politicians across party lines. That led the ministry to clarify the issue to the media, saying that it had contacted The Economist to explain Ma’s policies, not to lodge a protest.
The Taipei Representative Office in the UK is preparing an article addressed to The Economist to explain in detail the achievements the government has made in every field since Ma assumed office in May 2008, Hsia said.
The Taiwanese economy posted an average growth rate of 3.43 percent between 2009 and last year, outperforming both South Korea and Hong Kong; while Taiwan outpaced the UK in terms of per capital income when adjusted for purchasing power parity last year — known as PPP-based per capita GDP — for the first time in history, Hsia said.
“Not to mention the achievements in diplomacy and cross-strait affairs — Ma’s policies have resulted in the signing of 18 cross-strait agreements, the maintaining of relations with all 23 of the nation’s diplomatic allies and the granting of visa-waiver privileges by 129 countries and regions,” Hsia said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS