Telling it like it is
In support of Dan Bloom, (Letters, March 26, page 8), I would like to add the following comments. Yesterday I received an e-mail from the BBC Global Minds asking me to join its viewers’ panel. While completing the survey I came across a perturbing part and sent the BBC the following e-mail.
“I have just completed your online questionnaire and have found one part extremely disturbing which I am going to report to the British Trade and Cultural Office, Taipei. Under the section ‘which country do you live in,’ you have listed Taiwan as ‘Taiwan, Province of China.’ I have previously written to you about this on two occasions but you still persist with this title. Once again, TAIWAN HAS NEVER BEEN A PROVINCE OF CHINA and, for the sake of all Taiwanese people in general and my wife in particular, I hope it never will be. Yours sincerely, Michael Wise, Taiwan, ROC.”
I have also found this to be the case in most UK government Web sites and also the Halifax, Plc Web site.
It is getting harder to know what the name of this beautiful island is and what its people are called, not only for anyone living abroad, but also for those of us who have chosen to live here and call it home. Especially when we read the following quotation from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九): “Let’s begin today and work toward ethnic and social harmony, and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “Let’s work together so the Chinese people can pursue progress and world peace in an amicable atmosphere” (“Kuo’s articles discriminatory, Ma says,” March 25, page 1).
I’m happy that Ma is preaching to the Chinese people about world peace or anything else, but I’m also confused, so my question to him is: “Do only Chinese people live in the Taiwan Strait?”
MICHAEL WISE
Tamsui
With the Year of the Snake reaching its conclusion on Monday next week, now is an opportune moment to reflect on the past year — a year marked by institutional strain and national resilience. For Taiwan, the Year of the Snake was a composite of political friction, economic momentum, social unease and strategic consolidation. In the political sphere, it was defined less by legislative productivity and more by partisan confrontation. The mass recall movement sought to remove 31 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators following the passage of controversial bills that expanded legislative powers and imposed sweeping budget cuts. While the effort
There is a story in India about a boy called Prahlad who was an ardent worshipper of Lord Narayana, whom his father considered an enemy. His son’s devotion vexed the father to the extent that he asked his sister, Holika, who could not be burned by fire, to sit with the boy in her lap and burn him to death. Prahlad knew about this evil plan, but sat in his aunt’s lap anyway. His faith won, as he remained unscathed by the fire, while his aunt was devoured by the flames. In some small way, Prahlad reminds me of Taiwan
When Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced newspaper owner Jimmy Lai (黎智英) to 20 years in prison this week, officials declared that his “heinous crimes” had long poisoned society and that his punishment represented justice restored. In their telling, Lai is the mastermind of Hong Kong’s unrest — the architect of a vast conspiracy that manipulated an otherwise contented population into defiance. They imply that removing him would lead to the return of stability. It is a politically convenient narrative — and a profoundly false one. Lai did not radicalize Hong Kong. He belonged to the same generation that fled from the Chinese
President William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on their historic landslide victory in Japan’s general election. The LDP secured the largest single-party majority in post-World War II Japan, winning 316 seats. The win is expected to strengthen ties with Japan’s allies and potentially deter Chinese aggression in the region. American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene on Monday said that under Takaichi’s leadership, he anticipates deeper coordination among the US, Japan and Taiwan to promote regional stability and prosperity. US President Donald Trump has also shown his strong support for Takaichi,
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