[3130] Taiwanese scholars slam linguistic and cultural integration attempts by President Ma

Taiwanese scholars slam linguistic and cultural integration attempts by President Ma

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma

At the launching of the Chinese Language Knowledge Database on February 8, 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou remarked that in view of the frequent exchanges between Taiwan and China, there is a pressing need to establish a national database contrasting the differences between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. He hoped that such a gesture would boost cultural exchanges and eventually result in a common system that could be used and accepted by both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

In response to Ma’s comments, Taiwan Association of University Professors called a press conference to express their opposition to Ma’s usage of Taiwan’s national language as a tool to facilitate unification with China. The association also criticized Ma for his attempts to link Taiwan and China together economically, politically, and now, culturally as well. In so doing, Ma is virtually exterminating Taiwanese language, history, and culture, and Taiwan’s cultural edge in the world.

The association pointed out that during Ma’s election campaign, he visited a Hakka community and identified himself as a Hakka before visiting indigenous reservations to promise that his administration would prioritize the development of indigenous culture. However, in the 4 years that Ma has been in office, the Ministry of Education has not only cancelled “Taiwanese Mother Language Day” by citing lack of adequate funding, but also relegated the “Language Equality Law” legislation proposed by the DPP to the backburner. This legislation had been proposed by the DPP during the Chen presidency but repeatedly blocked by the KMT-controlled legislature.

In contrast, the Ma administration spent 3 years and called on 70 Taiwanese scholars to research and promote the Chinese Language Knowledge Database.

Chung Shan Medical University School of Taiwanese Languages Associate Professor and PCT pastor Rev. Chang Te-lin said that Taiwan is a multicultural country and the Han culture is one aspect of Taiwan’s culture. In his view, Taiwan’s use of the Traditional Chinese character system is an asset instead of a liability. He also pointed out that many Chinese classics, such as the Analects of Confucius, are written in Traditional Chinese. However, because China adopted Simplified Chinese in the 1950s, younger generations in China are not able to read such literary classics.

Chang further underscored that people in China and Taiwan write Chinese differently today and many identical terms have come to mean different things altogether. ”Simplified Chinese is like a foreign language to Taiwanese people, it must be learned from the beginning,” he said.

He cautioned that regardless of whether the Ma administration plans to overtly or covertly promote Simplified Chinese at the expense of Traditional Chinese, such a policy will have enormous and negative repercussions on Taiwanese society.