The abusive language and hostile rhetoric used by many pan-green supporters is harmful to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's goal of forging a unified national identity for Taiwan, academics said yesterday.
At a seminar held to discuss the DPP's plan of codifying the spirit of ethnic equality in the party charter, Lee Chien-hung (李健鴻), a professor at Da Yeh University, yesterday suggested that party officials discourage its followers from using "socially exclusive language" toward Mainlanders living in Taiwan.
"The use of derogatory terms such as `Mainlander pigs go back to China' or saying someone was `selling out' Taiwan ... has caused a negative psychological impact on Mainlanders and led to their mistrust of the DPP government," Lee said.
The seminar, presided over by DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), with high-ranking party officials and academics taking part as guest speakers, was designed to come up with policy suggestions to ease the ethnic confrontations between Hoklo Taiwanese and Mainlanders in the wake of the March 20 presidential election.
Although DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (
Lee Chien-hung said that DPP authorities should take steps to prevent and discourage divisive remarks.
Chang Mao-keui (
Lee Chien-hung suggested that the DPP take concrete steps to embrace the Mainlander community and highlight the value of their contributions.
Preserving Mainlander culture and villages, as the government did for the Hakka and Aboriginal cultures, would be conducive to ethnic harmony, Lee said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President