The inclusion of the translation industry in the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement could allow China to dominate Taiwan’s linguistic development and pave the way for its cultural assimilation, Taiwan Democracy Watch secretary-general Chen Kuan-yu (陳冠宇) said yesterday.
Chen issued the warning following the conclusion of the Ninth Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum on Oct. 27, during which representatives from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party called for the pact’s speedy passage and implementation.
The agreement, which, if ratified, will see Taiwan open up 64 service sectors to China, is still pending legislative approval, as lawmakers are under pressure from industry representatives who are wary of its potentially adverse impact on businesses and the nation’s economy.
“Translation is a culture-oriented job, because it is closely linked to the translators’ cultural background, national identity and linguistic habits,” Chen said.
“China is notorious for its stringent censorship of the cultural industry, and Taiwan’s vibrant cultural development could be severely hindered if the government opens the door to Chinese translators,” Chen said.
Chen cited as an example the Chinese translation of Irish political scientist Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Academia Sinica associate research fellow Wu Rwei-ren (吳叡人).
“The Chinese translation was published in Taiwan and China by two different publishing houses,” Chen said.
“Readers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should have gotten the same content, but everything relating to the history of Taiwan’s independence movement and Taiwanese nationalism in the original work was edited out of the version available in China,” Chen said.
The disappearance of sensitive content from China’s published version exemplifies Beijing’s firm grip on free expression and spells trouble for Taiwan’s linguistic and cultural subjectivity should lower-cost Chinese workers squeeze out Taiwanese linguistic professionals, Chen said.
It has become a common practice for Taiwanese publishers to buy directly from their Chinese counterparts the copyrights of their translated editions of foreign publications to reduce costs, Chen added.
“Chinese simplified translations can be found everywhere, whether in a brick-and-mortar shop or an online bookstore,” he said.
“The number of translated glossaries of academic terminology by Chinese translators in the local market is also gradually increasing,” he added.
Given that the majority of Taiwanese translators are freelance workers and are not covered by the labor insurance program, they could be left out in the cold without any help from the government if they are driven out of business by Chinese translators, Chen said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS