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Updated Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:41 am TWN, The China Post news staff DPP blasts Ma's China proposal as trashing Taiwan's integrityCritics from the Democratic Progressive Party accused Ma of trashing the country's culture while kowtowing to China. But the Presidential Office clarified that Ma only meant to urge people from China to learn the traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan. Ma on Tuesday pointed out that the traditional characters in use in Taiwan are representative of the Chinese culture, but the simplified version is the standard in China. Ma proposed a formula to better understanding between the people from both sides — “know the traditional and the write the simplified,” according to the Central News Agency. He was cited by the CNA as expressing hope that Taiwan and China can reach an agreement on this formula in future negotiations. China simplified the Chinese characters that had been in use for centuries — and are still in use in Taiwan, Hong Kong and many other Chinese communities around the world — in order to make it easier to learn the words and improve the nation's literacy. People from Taiwan and China may need to learn the other side's writing system before they can recognize their characters. Ma's remarks, made during a meeting with overseas Chinese, were widely taken to mean that he was leading the nation towards abandoning the traditional system for the simplified version. “President Ma, as head of the state, should have been highly sensitive and cautious about the nation's cultural autonomy,” said DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang. “But he is following the lead of China to promote simplified Chinese. He is trashing the nation's cultural integrity,” he said. He described a campaign to change the writing system as a “stupid move” that would incite objection from the people. DPP Legislator Kuan Pi-ling said the traditional version is an advantage for Taiwan, questioning why the island should be abandoning the system when it is not unifying with China. Even Legislator Kuo Shu-chun from the ruling Kuomintang said such a campaign would not succeed. DPP lawmakers pressed Vice Education Minister Wu Tsai-shun to promise that it would not become a policy of his ministry to adopt the simplified version for teaching. Wu said he had not been aware of any proposed changes, and the traditional version remains the medium for teaching, writing and reading at school. A presidential spokesman, Tsai Chung-li, claimed that Ma was making the proposal to the 1.3 billion people in China, urging them to learn the traditional version while continuing using their simplified system. Lai Hsing-yuan, chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, dismissed the suggestion that Ma's call for the Chinese people to learn the traditional system was meant to help pave the way for students from China to study in Taiwan. Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here Comments June 11, 2009 edchoa@ Reply A language needs to assimilate in order to keep itself alive. First, I believe the Chinese language needs to unify. Traditional Chinese has been around for thousands of years. It is more picturesque and meaningful. Simplified has been around less than a century. It has proven to be easier to use and had been accepted internationally. More people use the Simplified. Besides, even Traditional Chinese had also evolved from its original form. Thus, my question is, why cannot these two versions of Chinese “just simply get along?” If we can get along, I would not doubt that Chinese could eventually become the lingua franca of this century. National identity is important, but let us not allow it to blind us from humanity. June 11, 2009 bankonline@ This is the first time ever that the DPP and the green have realized that the Traditional Chinese Character is the Chinese Cultural Heritage. Now you must identify yourself as Taiwanese Chinese because your ancestor is Chinese. In Taiwan and all the smaller islands will forever be Republic of China. And there will never be as your own imaginary Republic of Taiwan. June 11, 2009 hft33362003@ Putting politics aside and taking the situation as it is, meaning for China to reverse back to the traditional writing, is like pulling the cow up a tree. So for Taiwan people to know more of China in terms of doing business, the goings-on in China to make balance decision, it is best that Taiwanese know how to read the simplified version. You need not get used to writing it if you don't want to. After all you are in Taiwan. For that matter, if a person can speak, write and understand various main languages of the world be it English, French or for that matter Russian it is advantageous to the person. You have to be aware that some overseas Chinese Language experts are slowly turning to use the Simplified version.As for DPP jumping like a Monkey to self proclaim they are the protector of Taiwan traditional language is a hallmark of DPP. Spinning, turning, twisting, bluffing.....and pouncing on any subject to show they are the one and only party that has the heart for Taiwan. They have been using the catch phrase "LOVE TAIWAN" with all their might and only gotten some Taiwanese to listen and follow them. I said SOME Taiwanese as can be gauged by the 2008 election drubbing of DPP. |
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