Sun, Jan 13, 2002 page2

• Scholars laud government attempts to update identity

  NATIONAL PRIDE The addition of the name `Taiwan' to the country's new passports and the removal of China's image from the GIO emblem have sparked lively debate

  • By Tsai Ting-I / STAFF REPORTER
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  Ditching the image of China's map from the Government Information Office's (GIO) emblem, adding the word "Taiwan" to newly issued passports and removing from the walls pictures of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) reflect government pragmatism, scholars and politicians say.

  On the other hand, some argue that these changes are indicative of the ruling DPP's pro-independence stance.

  According to a rule revised by the Ministry of the Interior on Friday, government offices and public schools in Taiwan will no longer need to hang any pictures of the country's former presidents on their walls .

  Meanwhile, the GIO has officially abandoned an emblem it has used for the past decade. The old GIO emblem features an ROC national flag and a map of China.

  Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) made a proposal last month to add the word "Taiwan" to newly issued passports.

  GIO Director General Su Tzeng-ping (蘇正平) said the move to use a new GIO emblem stems from pragmatic, rather than political, considerations.

  According to Su, the old emblem featured a map of China that includes Outer Mongolia, even though the area has been an independent sovereign republic since 1921. Using the emblem created too much confusion, Su said.

  Cheng Ching-jen (鄭欽仁), who is a professor of history at National Taiwan University, an advisor to the president and an activist in the "Call Me Taiwan" campaign, says the series of moves by the government are very progressive.

  "Ideology is not the only issue here. Things such as the ROC passport have messed up our lives," Chang says. "Does the Taiwan [government] represent Taiwan in the international community? Taiwanese have been lied to for decades," he said.

  According to Cheng and other activists urging the government to distinguish Taiwanese passports from Chinese passports, many Taiwanese have experienced trouble as a result of confusion over Taiwan's Republic of China pass-ports and China's People's Republic of China's passports.

  Many ROC passport holders, mistaken for PRC citizens, have had trouble with international airport and airline employees when traveling.

  In order to distinguish ROC passports from their Chinese counterparts, MOFA has decided to add the word "Taiwan" on newly issued passports.

  Opposition politicians and supporters, however, oppose MOFA's proposal. Some legislators have even tried to cut MOFA's budget in an attempt to keep the ministry from adding the word "Taiwan" to the new passports.

  "Changing our country's English name is tantamount to changing its official name. This requires an amendment of the Constitution," says Loh I-cheng (陸以正), a retired diplomat and KMT stalwart.

  PFP legislator Chou Hsi-wei (周錫偉) says that adding the word "Taiwan" on newly issued passports is not only unnecessary but will also cause disputes over people's sense of national identity.

  Many government offices and public schools, however, are discovering problems with the practice of hanging pictures of Taiwan's former presidents on their walls, especially pictures of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).

  "Change of the ruling party has become routine under Taiwan's political democracy. There will be many former presidents and there won't be enough walls to hang up pictures of all of them. For these reasons, there is no longer a need to hang the pictures of former presidents," said Vice Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋).

  Currently, government offices and public schools must comply with the "Regulations on the Hanging of the National Flag, and Pictures of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, former president Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo."

  The said regulation was passed by the interior ministry in 1988 and made it mandatory for government offices and public schools to hang the pictures of the two Chiangs.

  After revision, the regulation now only requires the hanging of national flag, and pictures of Sun Yat-sen and the president.

  Senior Advisor to the President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), remarks that the revision is a positive step in the eradication of ignorant idol-worship.

  "Taiwan is a democratic country. I don't even think it's necessary to hang the pictures of Dr. Sun Yat-sen," Yao said.

  However, these moves by the government have been attacked by opposition parties as government efforts toward gradual de-Sinicization (去中國化).

  Chang Mau-kuei (張茂桂), a noted researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Academia Sinica, however, says these moves reflect a change of political landscape. "It's impossible to achieve de-Sinicization in Taiwan. The moves are simply removing symbols of Sinicism," Chang says.

  Cheng Ching-jen, national policy adviser to the president, emphasizes that "Taiwan has to re-define itself for survival, especially since the international community does not recognize the ROC."
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