If there is one topic that is guaranteed to generate letters to this newspaper it is the issue of Romanization. This is surprising given the extent of Taiwan's myriad social, political and economic problems, measured against which the issue of which Romanization system to use could hardly be of less importance. Nevertheless, since this is a matter so fecund in the debate that it generates, we might as well have our own say, though that constitutes less of an opinion on the issue, but rather some questions designed to focus the subject in a way that seems all the more badly needed as intensity of debate increases.
What is the new Romanization system for? It appears to have two aims. The first is to facilitate the teaching of local languages -- Hokkien, Hakka and Aboriginal tongues -- at school. The second appears to be to introduce a standard Romanization system to help non-Mandarin speakers find their way around in Taiwan and to render documents containing Chinese names or words intelligible outside Taiwan.
To what extent do Tongyong Pinyin
As to the second goal, much is claimed for Hanyu by way of being an international standard. But this doesn't carry nearly the weight that Hanyu's many supporters seem to think. All it means in reality is that if you have learned some Mandarin you will probably be familiar with Hanyu. Surely what is wanted, however, is a Romanization system which facilitates reasonably correct pronunciation by people who haven't learned any Mandarin at all, something which Hanyu with its "c" "q" and "zh" certainly does not do (unless you are Russian, of course). Most of the pro-Hanyu lobby writing to this newspaper are students or ex-students of Mandarin, who have a vested interest in the use of the system they have learned. What we still await is significant correspondence from businessmen or other visitors to the island who know no Mandarin but pine for Hanyu, which is, by and large, as unfamiliar to them as Tongyong would be.
As to the internationalization argument, consider this: It has nothing to do with Romanization. But it does put the insignificance of the Romanization debate into perspective. People seem to readily forget that there are two systems of Chinese characters in use in the world, actually even in China itself, since Hong Kong still uses long-form characters. Nobody has suggested that Taiwan switch to short-form characters in the interests of internationalization. Of course not. Twenty-two million Taiwanese are not going to learn to read all over again. Seen in this light, that the Romanization debate exists is an interesting measure of how little it really matters.
There are moments in history when America has turned its back on its principles and withdrawn from past commitments in service of higher goals. For example, US-Soviet Cold War competition compelled America to make a range of deals with unsavory and undemocratic figures across Latin America and Africa in service of geostrategic aims. The United States overlooked mass atrocities against the Bengali population in modern-day Bangladesh in the early 1970s in service of its tilt toward Pakistan, a relationship the Nixon administration deemed critical to its larger aims in developing relations with China. Then, of course, America switched diplomatic recognition
The international women’s soccer match between Taiwan and New Zealand at the Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday last week, was canceled at the last minute amid safety concerns over poor field conditions raised by the visiting team. The Football Ferns, as New Zealand’s women’s soccer team are known, had arrived in Taiwan one week earlier to prepare and soon raised their concerns. Efforts were made to improve the field, but the replacement patches of grass could not grow fast enough. The Football Ferns canceled the closed-door training match and then days later, the main event against Team Taiwan. The safety
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Strategic thinker Carl von Clausewitz has said that “war is politics by other means,” while investment guru Warren Buffett has said that “tariffs are an act of war.” Both aphorisms apply to China, which has long been engaged in a multifront political, economic and informational war against the US and the rest of the West. Kinetically also, China has launched the early stages of actual global conflict with its threats and aggressive moves against Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, and its support for North Korea’s reckless actions against South Korea that could reignite the Korean War. Former US presidents Barack Obama
RSS