A Chinese dictionary long overdue

“Whether a written consensus will be reached on depends on the progress of the discussion,” Chang said. “But we'll push the issue forward.” Wu Poh-hsiung, the KMT chairman, will head a delegation to the forum, the fifth of its kind since April 2006 when the first forum was held in Beijing following a historic meeting between then KMT Chairman Lien Chan and his mainland counterpart Hu Jintao in 2005. The rendezvous triggered a thaw in relations between the two sides.

Ma, a staunch defender of traditional characters, which he has insisted on calling “zhengtizi” (正體字), meaning orthodox characters, set off an uproar last month by airing the provocative “shizheng shujian.” Even many in his own camp of pan-blue diehards were skeptical. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party accused Ma of “leaning toward China” by scheming to “promote” simplified characters in Taiwan. Many conservatives in Ma's own camp balked at the mere mentioning of simplified characters which they regarded as a disfiguration of the beautiful, millennia-old characters. The issue is polarized, not only in Taiwan, but also on the mainland. An animated discussion on the controversy is expected to take place in the forthcoming forum.

Whatever the results, there is a common ground for discussion. Mainland China today is no longer monolithic. Diversity, however weak, is palpable. There was a cry in the wilderness early this year at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference when a proposal was raised demanding the teaching of traditional characters in elementary schools to preserve China's cultural heritage. The idea would have been unthinkable before China's opening-up 30 years ago. So, President Ma's “shizheng shujian” may resonate in China. This week, Ma made public an article expounding the meaning of his proposition. “Shizheng shujian' is applicable only to the mainland. I have always been a passionate supporter of traditional characters,” he wrote.

The article should lay to rest some strident criticisms of his brainchild. He took pains to explain that “shujian,” using simplified characters in writing and print, is not intended for Taiwan.

The forum in Changsha will become an important milestone in the evolution of Chinese culture if the powwow can lead to the birth of a comprehensive dictionary of Chinese language and the revival of traditional characters in China.

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