Mother’s name is Taiwan
Taiwanese must feel disappointed or betrayed when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is afraid to utter the word “Taiwan” (“Ma afraid to speak Taiwan’s name,” July 25, page 8).
Ma should speak for Taiwan instead of China.
Although Ma was not born in Taiwan, he was raised, educated and elected twice to the highest political position in the nation.
He does not seem to understand that as president he should be loyal to Taiwan and treat her like his mother.
Ma should join Taiwanese in singing the song Mother’s name is Taiwan.
Taiwanese are tired of Ma’s reiteration of the so-called “1992 consensus” based on the myth of “one China with different interpretations.”
According to the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty and the 1952 Taipei Treaty, Japan gave up Taiwan without specifying the beneficiary. The Republic of China (ROC) has administered Taiwan as if it were the beneficiary. Beijing adheres to the fictitious “one China” concept and is deaf to any alternative views.
If Ma wants to reiterate the “1992 consensus” next time, he should remind himself of Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” or indeed, the Taiwanese metaphor: “The balloon will burst if you keep blowing it up.”
“Japanese occupation” (日據) is a poor choice of term to describe Japan’s administration of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, since Taiwan was ceded to Japan permanently, according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
A better term is the “Japanese era” (日本時代) commonly used by Taiwanese and having no political implications. This term can be pronounced easily in both Taiwanese and Mandarin.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
The joy of stamps: request
My name is George Phillips and I am an 84-year-old resident of Manitoba, Canada.
As a young boy I had the privilege of collecting stamps/coins/postcards from around the world.
There was no Internet or mass media back then and this was one of the ways that one could discover more about the the world.
I would like to pass this down to my great grandson Tristan Phillips, so he too may enjoy a hobby that was once popular, but is now fading.
Even at the age of four, Tristan has shown interest in stamps/coins/postcards.
With this in mind, we would greatly appreciate it, if you, the reader of this request, may find time to send Tristan some stamps, coins or postcards from your country so that I may assist him in the start of what may be a lifetime passion.
Tristan Phillips c/o Great Grandfather George Phillips Box 106 Grosse Isle Manitoba ROC IGO Canada
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