A Brief Taiwanese Lesson

The Gods Favor the Ignorant:

thiⁿ-khong-thiàⁿ-gōng-lâng

Pronounced: tee - kong - tee-yah - gong - lang

Example: Bé-Eng-Káu-sêng-kong-liáu... thiⁿ-khong-thiàⁿ-gōng-lâng

Bei ing gow seng kong lou... tee kong teeyah gong lang

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Moved Blog

I Moved My Blog From Blogger To Here.

Posted by taiwanrox8 at 02:09 PM on June 27, 2009

Here's my old blog: http://taiwanrox.blogspot.com/

This is my new blog: http://taiwanrox8.webs.com/apps/blog/show/1267566-i-moved-my-blog-from-blogger-to-here-

Why'd I change? Cause I felt like it.

(And also cause I accidentally deleted the top photo and now I dunno how to get it back)

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Ma Ying Jeou's quest to become KMT Chairman

We all though that the rumors of Ma aspiring to become the KMT Chairman were ridiculous...until they turned out to be true. Ma recently confirmed that he was to attempt to become KMT Chairman, and registered on June 15. Either Ma is getting bored of being president or something else. Maybe that something else is a power struggle between Wu Poh-hsiung and Ma Ying Jeou. You might call me a conspiracist, but that ECFA thing has been stuck there for some time now. Beijing has already stated that it is ready to negotiate for the ECFA. While the delay might be partially because of the DPP, the DPP does not own many seats in Taiwan's legislature, so maybe, its because Wu Poh Hsiung (the former Chairman) disagrees with the ECFA, even though the Majority of the KMT supports it. Or perhaps Ma is planning to introduce something new, something that Wu would disagree with. Either way, Ma as the Chairman of the Kuomingtang and President of Taiwan might give Ma too much power, and disrupt the check and balance system of Taiwan. Already, the democracy of Taiwan is being slowed eroded by this "president" soon to become dictator.

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Ma Supports Simplified Chinese

Already, Ma Yin Jeou has replaced Tongyong Pinyin with Han Yu pinyin, a type of Pinyin considered "Chinese" by the Taiwanese. Now, perhaps he will give up Traditional Chinese, the Chinese which has been placed in China by the communists? Simplified Chinese is for simplified minds.

From the Taipei Times

"Lawmakers across the political spectrum yesterday denounced President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) proposal that Taiwan and China come to an agreement on the use of Chinese characters.

Ma on Tuesday said he hoped Taipei and Beijing could reach an agreement on the teaching of traditional and simplified Chinese characters at schools for overseas Taiwanese and Chinese, so that students would be taught to read traditional characters and write simplified characters.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said Ma, as the head of state, should have been more sensitive to issues dealing with cultural sovereignty.

“Instead, Ma chose to cooperate with China to promote simplified Chinese characters, trampling on the nation's cultural integrity,” Cheng said.

Saying that Ma first replaced Tongyong Pinyin with Hanyu Pinyin as the official Romanization system for Chinese after assuming the presidency last year, which was followed by a proposal to allow Chinese students to enroll at Taiwanese schools and his recent remarks on simplified Chinese, DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said: “Obviously Ma is using culture [as a tool] to promote unification with China.”

DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that traditional Chinese would be lost forever if schools were encouraged to teach simplified Chinese.

“I am shocked to hear the president intends to consign our ancestors' memorial tablets to the gutter,” she said. “Any three-year-old knows what he said is a lie. To abandon traditional Chinese is to sell out the country.”"

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/06/11/2003445914

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KMT Calls Taiwan an "Island"

Wow, they called us a freaking island... now I'm convinced this Ma guy really sucks.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/05/28/2003444743

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday shrugged off criticism of his use of the term daonei (島內, “on the island”) to refer to Taiwan during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Tuesday, and called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) not to over-interpret the issue.

Wu used the term in his meeting with Hu in Beijing. During the meeting, Hu emphasized that Taiwan and China belonged to “one China,” and said they had agreed to promote peace and oppose Taiwanese independence.

In response to DPP criticism that Wu was belittling Taiwan’s sovereignty, Wu said his meeting with Hu had proceeded on a reciprocal basis and that he also used the phrase “on the mainland” when referring to China during the meeting.

“We never belittle ourselves ... the KMT pays extra attention to make sure cross-strait exchanges proceed on an equal footing,” Wu said yesterday in Beijing, urging the public not to interpret his words negatively.

KMT Spokesman Lee Chien-rong (李建榮) later urged the DPP not to shift the focus of the Wu-Hu meeting by politicizing Wu’s remarks.

Lee said recent polls showed popular support for Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) visit to China. 

Many DPP politicians have also visited China over the years, Lee said, adding that the DPP should make public its frequent communications with China.

DPP legislators yesterday asked Wu to apologize for his use of the expression daonei.

“If Taiwan is daonei, [President] Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] is just an island chief, not a head of state. It is unbelievable that the KMT chairman belittled the country to such a degree. The KMT is like a vassal that belittles itself when dealing with the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said.

Gao said people were worried that KMT officials do not have Taiwan’s interests in mind when they engage China.

DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said Wu had avoided referring to Ma as president, in contrast with Chen’s statements last week, and his remarks implied that Taiwan was part of China.

In response, a number of KMT legislators defended Wu’s use of the term daonei.

Urging the DPP not to humiliate the KMT chairman, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said it was just a general term and did not undermine the nation’s sovereignty.

KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said he “almost fainted” when he heard Wu use the term, but added that it must have been a slip of the tongue.

KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said the party chairman was a hero in cross-strait relations and has long been dedicated to promoting cross-strait peace.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also downplayed Wu Poh-hsiung’s turn of phrase, calling it “a term of tacit understanding” between the KMT and the CCP.

“In a bid to enhance interactions between the KMT and the CCP, they have their own language,” Wang said, without elaborating.

However, Chen said Wu Poh-hsiung’s use of language highlighted the differences between the DPP and the KMT.

KMT caucus secretary- general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said Hu’s references to “Chinese Taipei” during his meeting with Wu Poh- hsiung were a goodwill gesture.

Yang said this could be seen as recognition by Hu of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Wu Poh-hsiung is on an eight-day visit to China that coincides with the 80th anniversary of the relocation of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) remains to a mausoleum in Nanjing. He and the KMT delegation left for Chongqing yesterday after meeting Hu in Beijing.

Wu Poh-hsiung is scheduled to visit China again in July to attend an annual forum between the KMT and CCP.

KMT Vice Secretary-General Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) yesterday defended the importance of the KMT-CCP forum on cross-strait relations in response to critics’ complaints that the forum had been made redundant by the Straits Exchange Foundation’s resumption of talks with China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.

Chang said cross-strait relations, like any bilateral relations, developed through various communication channels. The KMT-CCP forum was a form of “party diplomacy” and would continue serving as a major communication channel for the government.

The KMT-CCP forum was initiated after former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) visited China in 2005.

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