The Examination Yuan has come up with "four noes" as guidelines for the setting of national-level exams. About three of these noes, no political ideology in questions, no racial or sexual discrimination and no classical Chinese literature, we have no complaint. But given the importance of building a Taiwan-centered consciousness, not only among the public at large but in the bureaucracy -- which since 1945 has been a redoubt of an ethnic group with very mixed loyalties -- the fourth no can only be regarded as a huge mistake.
We refer, of course, to the decision that exams are not to be based on any "dialects that have not been accepted by the general public." This weasel phrase actually means languages spoken by the people of Taiwan, such as Hoklo, Hakka or Aboriginal tongues.
So what language is to be used for exams? Well, the very one which almost no native used in Taiwan until it was imposed upon Taiwanese by their foreign overlords in 1945 and ruthlessly promoted during the decades of colonial government that followed -- namely, Mandarin Chinese. So amid efforts to raise a national consciousness, exams for the civil service must be taken in the language of Taiwan's former oppressors and current enemies. It is hard to think of anything more crass.
The reason why Mandarin Chinese has been chosen as the only medium for national exams is that it is the one language that everybody who has been through the education system -- which presumably includes all those likely to sit for civil service exams -- can be guaranteed to speak, so well did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) do its work. So by adopting the Mandarin-only rule, examiners can ensure that no ethnic group is left out.
But Taiwan needs civil servants who identify with Taiwan, and it would seem reasonable to expect that someone born and educated here who identifies with the country might -- in fact should -- be expected to speak one of its languages. So some kind of local language component in the exams should be a priority and all exams should have a local-language component.
This could be a simply an extra paper testing candidates' ability in a local language. Or this paper could be dropped for those who choose take a paper in any other subject using a local language. The idea is a simple one. Have exams mainly in Mandarin if you wish, but make sure that all candidates are fluent in at least one of the island's languages as well. And, of course, it should be up to the candidates to choose which local language they wish to be tested in.
One problem about such a system is that it will make the Examination Yuan's task significantly harder; it will have to set and mark exams not only in Mandarin but also Hoklo, Hakka and any of the 12 recognized Aboriginal languages. Who in the Examination Yuan is capable of setting or marking an exam in the Tao language spoken on Orchid Island? On the other hand, this is a wonderful chance to bring one of the stuffiest of Taiwan's bureaucracies into contact with a wonderful range of linguistic and cultural diversity.
One group is sure to complain about such an arrangement, and that is the small number of Mainlander Mandarin monoglots who monopolized Taiwan's bureaucracy for half a century. They will protest about a "linguistic apartheid." Yet of course it is they who practiced linguistic apartheid, and the system we propose which could bring this to an end. Nothing prevents Mainlanders from learning a local language, as People First Party Chairman James Soong (
What Taiwan needs is an exam system in tune with both its cultural and ethnic diversity and responsive to the nation's needs. The Examination Yuan's new language rule is exactly the opposite.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
RSS