There are two types of government employees: administrative officers and official officers, each with different attitudes and missions. In the US and Europe an officer is considered a public servant who serves the taxpayer, but in Taiwan some officers act like masters with power to govern people.
July 8 was a busy day for Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興). In the morning he attended the 34th Taiwanese and Chinese-American Athletic Tournament (第卅四屆金山灣區華人運動大會) of the San Francisco Bay Area at Cupertino High School. Although the tournament’s name starts with the word “Taiwanese,” it does not appear in its Mandarin version.
The tournament used to be attended by more than 12,000 athletes, but participation has dwindled to a mere 3,000 competitors.
Wu also attended a luncheon with board members of several Taiwanese chambers of commerce at Hong Fu restaurant in Cupertino.
He visited the Taiwanese-American Center of Northern California (TACNC, 北加州台灣會館) in the afternoon and had a closed-door meeting with local Taiwanese community leaders for about two-and-a-half hours.
During the meeting, Wu was asked how he felt about the reduced participation at the tournament, why the council kept mixing Taiwanese and Chinese, and why did the council not promote activities in response to the US’ Taiwan Travel Act?
He was also told that using Taiwanese taxpayers’ money to support a tournament for Chinese-Americans does not make any sense.
Wu said that attending the tournament was part of his official business and should not be questioned; that Taiwan needs to make friends and not enemies, adding that “if we do not hold on to them they will go to the other side”; and that there are many events banned by the US government.
As for the criticism, Wu said that there are taxpayers both from the pan-green and the pan-blue camps, and the council must take care of all of them.
In the evening, Wu attended a meeting of the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of the San Francisco Bay Area (舊金山灣區台灣商會) at China Stix restaurant to inaugurate the chambers’ new board members.
He congratulated the chambers, which in turn said it was an honor to have him and other distinguished guests from overseas.
The chambers also reminded him that other guests, such as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), visited the chambers in 2001 and all American Institute in Taiwan chairmen visited in different years.
Formosa Alliance (喜樂島聯盟) founder and Formosa TV chairman Kuo Pei-hung (郭倍宏) visited TACNC on Monday last week and delivered a speech to the Taiwanese community.
He said he supports a referendum on Taiwan’s self-determination and independence.
“Taiwanese should have the right to decide their future,” he said and explained why the referendum is so important to Taiwan and why the timing is critical for Taiwanese to cherish the friendship and favors given by the administration of US President Donald Trump to Taiwan.
His message hit the nail on the head, winning him a big round of applause.
Wu’s and Kuo’s speeches delivered two totally different messages: Identifying as Chinese to make more friends or supporting Taiwanese self-determination to build the nation’s dignity and integrity: Which one is for you?
John Hsieh is the founder of the Asian-American Federation of California for Asian Festival and the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce of the San Francisco Bay Area. He lives in Hayward, California.
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