Dear Editor:
In your November 1998 issue (overseas edition) your lively report on social change in Taiwan was so inspiring that I couldn't put it down, and even read it twice. But it seems that some readers were not happy about the topic. I would like to say a few words about this.
"Why is the designation "Taiwanese" exclusively the property of people of Fujianese descent?" The reason 'Taiwanese' is used to describe the dialect of Taiwan people of Fujianese ancestry is not because they were the first to come to Taiwan, nor because they are the largest ethnic group in Taiwan. It is because their originally Fujian dialect long ago established deep roots in Taiwan.
"Is it really true that everyone can communicate in Taiwanese?" Virtually all the people born and raised in Taiwan can use Taiwanese; even if they can't speak it well, they can certainly understand it. It is a simple fact that the Fujianese dialect spoken in Taiwan has come to be "Taiwanese," so there's nothing strange about the writers at Sinorama calling it by that name.
In my home country of Malaysia, we also have a multi-ethnic culture with three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. The Malays came here long ago from Sumatra, now part of Indonesia, and they are also the largest ethnic group. So Malay is our national language. Meanwhile, Chinese and Tamil are also recognized and protected by the government so that they can be preserved. By the same logic, I hope that the government of the ROC will support Taiwan's aboriginal languages, so that their languages can be passed along to their children generation after generation.
Learning About Taiwan From Sinorama
Dear Editor:
Hello! My name is Angel. I am an undergraduate at the City University of Hong Kong. I have been your faithful reader since December 1997 and I really appreciate the high quality of the bilingual editing in this periodical.
Through the sharp pen of the editors, the current political and social situation comes vividly to life before my eyes. Besides learning key vocabulary from this magazine, I have also started to pay more attention to Taiwan news and I recognize that there is a similarity in terms of social structure between Taiwan and Hong Kong. This remarkable correlation spurs me to read through the whole periodical every time.
Since Sinorama reflects the times and is an indispensable witness to them, it should be recommended to those pillars of society who have the mission to build a better and well educated community for our next generation. Taiwan is now marching towards the 21st century. I hope it will be "a new era for Taiwan and a new era for Sinorama."
Angel, Hong Kong
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