English ability is lacking
As we wrap up a two-week jaunt around Taiwan, we are of course impressed by the scenery and friendly Taiwanese.
However, truth be told, there is also some sadness in realizing the government and people did not have a more forward-thinking plan to make themselves stand out more to the world decades ago.
Had the government made English a mandatory second language from first grade up decades ago, Taiwan could have stood out as different and separate from China in a much more stark way.
It could have said: “We speak Taiwanese and Mandarin [and various other] languages here, but we have made huge efforts to be an independent global entity.”
Speaking Chinese-oriented languages and not caring enough to educate its public in a more worldly way has only made it easier for China to say that Taiwan looks a lot like China, is located like a province of China and sounds a lot like China.
Yes, many Taiwanese have worked hard to learn English, but Taiwan’s very special circumstances certainly warrant a concerted public effort if they are really serious about having the world recognize Taiwan as a separate and different country from China.
The knowledge of English here is, quite bluntly, really lame. One person’s opinion looking in from the outside.
Matt Jacobson
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Fair treatment for migrants
Ben Goren’s piece (“Foreign workers deserve better,” Sept. 28, page 8) regarding the police fatally shooting an unarmed naked man offers no suggestions to prevent similar incidents.
Here are eight things that could be done:
First, there must be an investigation into this incident. The investigation could be carried out by the Criminal Investigation Bureau or another government body with legal power that supersedes the police — police are not above the law.
Second, the victim’s family must file a lawsuit against the police. If they do not have the money to travel to Taiwan, an attorney should pay for them and take up their case pro bono.
Third, if you see police doing something, anything, record them with your smartphone. Go to Facebook live. If police officers stop you, sue them, then submit the video as evidence. Police serve the people. If people cannot record police, then they are not free and police are gangsters.
Fourth, require all police officers to wear body cameras. The more evidence the better.
Fifth, require all police officers to have Tasers. If their baton and pepper spray fail to subdue a suspect, they can use Tasers.
Sixth, ban the practice of forbidding foreign workers from leaving their dorms at night. What we do when we are not working is none of our employers’ business. Forbidding movement is imprisonment. It is slavery.
Seventh, investigate racial profiling. The Vietnamese migrant worker who was killed had previously claimed that the police had harassed him.
It is no secret that many Taiwanese like white people. It is also no secret that many Taiwanese do not like Vietnamese or Filipinos.
Even our daily language is racist. White people who legally work in Taiwan teaching English are not referred to as migrant workers, but female Vietnamese or Filipina factory workers are referred to as migrant workers.
Finally, give Republic of China (ROC) citizenship to all migrant workers. This includes Vietnamese, Filipino, all factory and domestic workers, and all foreign English teachers after we have been here for five years, and give ROC citizenship to everyone who is born here.
One reason foreign workers flee from their jobs is because they are paying extortionate fees to agents and brokers who are actually human traffickers and part of organized crime. Make them citizens and they would no longer need agents and brokers.
Democracy is for everyone. Taiwan is for everyone who lives here. This is our home. This is our country. This country belongs to all of us.
Andres Chang
Taipei
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