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 magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS