The divisive issue of language reared its head in the legislature yesterday, as lawmakers argued about whether Hokkien could be used over Mandarin.
During the Organic Laws Committee (司法委員會) and the Education and Culture Committee's (教育及文化委員會) joint session yesterday morning, KMT Legislator Kwan Yuk-noan (關沃暖) interrupted DPP lawmaker Tai Chen-yao (戴振耀) -- who was speaking in Hokkien -- saying that Tai was disrespecting the Legislative Yuan by not speaking in Mandarin.
According to Kwan, the meeting's convener, the KMT's Yang Tzuo-chow (楊作洲), and some other lawmakers, including himself, did not speak the language and could not understand what Tai was talking about.
"I asked Tai to speak in Mandarin, the ROC's official language," Kwan said yesterday.
Tai, however, said that he had always spoken in Hokkien -- his mother tongue -- at the legislature, and that Kwan should respect his choice.
Tai said that he was a legislator elected by the people of Taiwan, of whom a majority are Hokkien-speakers, and that he saw nothing wrong with speaking the language in the Legislative Yuan.
The session was adjourned for five minutes due to the argument. During the break, however, DPP lawmaker Wang Shih-hsun (王世勛) scolded Kwan for not respecting others.
"If Kwan does not understand Hokkien, he should go and look for an interpreter," Wang said.
Meanwhile, DPP lawmaker Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) questioned Kwan's motives, saying that perhaps Kwan viewed Hokkien as an unworthy foreign language.
DPP lawmaker Wang Li-ping (
The argument reached a conclusion, however, when an interpreter was assigned to Kwan for the duration of Tai's speech.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China. “We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address. In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that
RSS