Words That Fluster?
Dear Johnny,
After reading all the various articles on the latest World Health Organization fiasco, including your own column ("No more trunk calls to the WHO," May 19, page 8), now may be the time for some summer fun.
How about a reader challenge? Let's take abbreviations and rewrite them using the initials to reflect the true nature of these organizations -- after firstly adding your own acerbic titles.
More power to your elbow, Sir.
Michael Wise
Tamsui
Johnny replies: You're asking for it, Michael. Alright ... see what you think of these:
World Health Organization: What Hubris ... Ouch!
World Organization for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties): Oaaggh, In English!
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Missed Opportunities, Failed Ambassadors
Overseas Compatriots Affairs Commission: Once Chinese, Always Chinese
Department of Health: Delirious Over H5N1
Republic of China: Running On Chips
People's Republic of China: Proletarian Revolution's Collapse
Chinese Communist Party: Comrades of Capitalist Persuasion
Democratic Progressive Party: Disingenuous, Platitudinous Patriotism
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT): Kissed Mao's Tush
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu: Shit, Could This Title Placate Knobhead Marxists?
Now I don't like to distract my readers from the main message by turning to crass marketing and personal appearances. But hey, I'll try anything demeaning once if there's a buck in it. So here's the offer, dear reader: Send in your best abbreviations. Best entries will be published and the authors will receive an autographed photo of me and my gal Cathy Pacific in a pose you won't soon forget.
Openness? That's radical
Dear Johnny,
I am writing to thank you for providing a few moments of entertaining reading as my thoughts turn to Taiwan.
If you are an expat, as your critics suggest, your participation in Taiwan's public (and especially political) discourse is bold, along with your penchant for airing opinions of foreigners.
I was advised during my 1993-to-1995 stay that foreigners (and particularly Americans) were expected to keep their political opinions private and never attend political rallies.
It seems the climate has changed radically since then (though my current president perhaps demonstrates the value of American silence now more than ever).
Has this openness contributed positively to Taiwan? I'd be interested to hear your views on how.
Gilbert Saldivar
Houston, Texas
Johnny replies: Interesting question. I think the answer is yes, though I feel that this openness is not so much an ideological phenomenon as a sociological one. There are very few Taiwanese who would get jumpy if a foreigner got deported for getting on stage during a rally (a visa violation), because Taiwanese are of a mind that if you do something illegal that is incredibly conspicuous then you are stupid and deserve little sympathy, regardless of the human rights involved.
Paradoxically, when foreigners get up on stage during a political rally and have their say, few Taiwanese feel affronted. Curiosity, even pride, are more common reactions -- as long as the oaf with the microphone doesn't say something inordinately stupid or inflammatory.
So, as long as you aren't into agit prop, the police would rather leave you alone. And foreign political scientists, for example, are no longer the hot ticket for up-and-coming spooks. Except on the east coast -- but that's another story.
So next time you come, you will find that you can express any opinion you like.
And simply being here is the best way of understanding how openness has helped this country.
Just be tactful if you insist on talking politics. If you're among Taiwanese, they'll have heard it all before. And if you're among foreigners, they'll probably tell you to change subjects or get the hell out of the bar.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
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US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
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