Dear Editor:
Ju Gao-jeng's principle of "Rethinking Taiwan Consciousness," which your magazine ran in the Potpourri section of the May 1998 edition (June 1998 of the overseas editions), cites examples from the classics. However, it fails to account for the problem obstructing reunification with mainland China: the authoritarian rule of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The mainland Chinese authorities currently subject the mainland's own opposition parties to repression and maltreatment. Given this, it seems to me that reunification is still a very long way off.
In its early days, the Taiwan independence movement was opposed to the KMT. Behind it, fanning the flames of conflict, moved the hand of the Chinese communists. Worse still, this early movement led to the tragedy of the February 28 Incident. In contrast, the modern Taiwan independence movement is opposed to the authoritarian rule of the mainland communists and reunification with the People's Republic of China. Now, those proposing self-rule for Taiwan include not only people of Taiwanese ancestry, but also people of mainland ancestry. This latter movement is distinct from that of the Taiwanese in that it calls for "autonomy" for the island. But whatever the ancestry of their members, the seemingly insurmountable problem faced by both groups is the authoritarian rule of the mainland communists.
Mr. Ju once said of himself that with one phone call, he could delay a communist attack on Taiwan by several hours. I wish that Mr. Ju could use his one phone call to tell the CPC that they are the only obstacle to Taiwan's reunification with mainland China.
Those Taiwanese businessmen who do business on the mainland will only talk of reunification when they have something to gain. But the people of Taiwan are not so self-interested at heart. Taiwan has recently implemented a national health insurance system, reflecting the strength of the Taiwanese desire to help others. If there is to be a reunification with China, a spirit of "treating all the elderly as if they were your own family's elderly, and treating all children as if they were your own children" is desperately needed.
A Castle, Not a University Building
Owen Kosling
Dear Editor:
The picture on page 112 captioned as the being the University of Heidelberg is in fact the famous ruined castle at the university city of Heidelberg. The university itself is on the other side of town.
Notwithstanding the small error, we think Sinorama is a great magazine (we just renewed our subscription) and we particularly liked this month's article on language usage (Taiwanese, etc). Our own household is even more multi-lingual, as we live on the Dutch-German border. I live in the Netherlands but I work in Germany; I am English and my wife Chinese, and all four languages are in daily use.
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)