With the expressions hen Tai (很台, "you are very Tai [Taiwanese]") and Taike (台客, "Taiwaners") becoming more widespread, language activists yesterday protested against what they called the "defamatory implications" of the expressions and asked media outlets to exercise caution in using them.
"It is unfair for the media to portray Taiwanese people and language in such a defamatory and demeaning manner," said Chang Shu-fen (
Born and raised in Taiwan, Chang said it was unfathomable to her why it was wrong for Taiwanese people to be "very Tai."
"So I'm `Tai' and `very Tai.' I'd like to know what they mean by being `very Tai.' Taiwan isn't part of China, so what's wrong with being `very Taiwanese?'" she asked.
"I demand an explanation for the term `very Tai,'" she added angrily, pounding her hands on the table.
The increasingly popular expressions were recently used by some TV stations to describe women participating in this year's Miss Taiwan Beauty Pageant.
Chang said that when she was at high school, she had been called a Taike and that the term had taken deeper roots over time.
Actors and actresses speaking "Taiwanese Mandarin" usually land parts such as idiots, hillbillies or domestic maids, Chang said, while those speaking "Beijing Mandarin" get roles as leading men or women in love stories.
"Don't they also eat Taiwan's rice and drink Taiwan's water? How come they aren't described as `very Tai'?" she asked.
Chang said the association's appeal was simple: The media must stop using the terms in a degrading fashion that humiliates Taiwanese men and women.
Chet Yang (楊文嘉), secretary-general of the Northern Taiwan Society, called on the media to exercise self-restraint in spreading such "uncivilized" terms as Taike, which he said did not deserve to exist in a civilized and pluralistic democracy.
Taiwan Association of University Professors president Tai Pao-tsun (
Such a suppressive language policy, Tai said, had created the stereotypes that people in the south of the country speak Hoklo (more commonly known as Taiwanese) while those in the north speak Mandarin; that those wanting to curse use Hoklo, but those wishing to offer compliments use Mandarin; and those chewing betel nut speak Hoklo, while those who wear a suit and tie speak Mandarin.
Although "Taiwan Province" has more or less ceased to exist, Tai said that some people still preferred to use the term "provincial." He said people should stop adopting such Chinese terms and refrain from calling China the "mainland."
Tai said that his group was not trying to incite cultural or linguistic conflict, but instead trying to inculcate self-respect and dignity.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS