A Taipei City Government official said yesterday an agreement by the Ministry of Education about standardizing Mandarin Romanization was politically motivated and a deliberate attempt to challenge the system used in China and other Mandarin-speaking countries.
"The conclusion to adopt the Tongyong Pinyin system (通用拼音) was made for political reasons and demonstrates the new government's anxiety over unification with China.
"The fear is shown in purposely disregarding the system employed in China -- the Hanyu Pinyin system (漢語拼音)," said Lin Cheng-hsiou (林正修), director of the city government's Bureau of Civil Affairs. "Also, the decision flies in the face of the consensus reached last year to make use of the Hanyu system in Taiwan ? The new government owes the public a reasonable explanation. How come a formally agreed upon policy could be so drastically changed within a year?"
Lin's remarks were made at the end of a meeting by the Mandarin Promotion Council (MPC), under the Ministry of Education, that decided the Tongyong system would be the standardized Mandarin Romanization system in Taiwan.
In addition to officials from the civil affairs bureau, other attendees at the meeting included representatives from the the railways and highways department of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, and various linguistics scholars.
Director of the Mandarin Promotion Council, Tsao Feng-fu (
Tsao said even if the Tongyong system was made official it would not affect children who are learning with the current phonetic system. But, from next year, elementary school students will have to learn two systems simultaneously.
He said that in the past, people in Taiwan did not use any Romanization system -- implying the Hanyu system did not have an advantage in Taiwan. "It is time for us to choose a favorable Romanization system and make it standard in our country," he said.
Chiang Wen-yu (
Tsao said now that a choice had been made, attention should switch to how the system would be introduced. He said he would be looking for help from the administration and hoped the Romanized spelling of street signs would be standardized.
Inconsistencies in the Romanization system used in Taiwan has long been a contentious issue. Foreign visitors have often complained that discrepancies in street signs have made it hard to get around in the country.
Hanyu Pinyin was invented in China and accepted by the UN in 1986 as a standardized Mandarin Romanization system, whereas the Tongyong Pinyin system was designed by Yu Po-chuan (
The main difference between the two systems is that the Tongyong system uses a lot of local words and dialects.
This, say some experts, will cause confusion for foreigners.
Citing Wanhua (
Talung street in Taipei City is, under the new system, Paronpon street, a name acquired during the Dutch colonization period in the 17th century.
"How can you expect a foreigner to know that Wanhua was previously called Menjia, and Talung street is Paronpon?" said Lin Cheng-hsiou.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned