Last Saturday, at the opening ceremony of the President's Cup sports meet for central government civil servants, President Chen Shui-bian (
Unlike other nations, singing the national anthem in Taiwan often gives rise to embarrassment, for the lyrics are an adaptation of a speech originally given by Sun Yat-sen (
As a declaration of loyalty to the party-state, the anthem was sung at all public functions. Even before the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), there had already been a strong movement rejecting it. Before the abolition of martial law in 1987, then Ilan County commissioner and later minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) abolished the requirement that the anthem be sung at cinemas, a move that infuriated the central government. With such a history, it is no surprise that many people either refuse to sing the anthem, or only mutter it under their breath.
The current national anthem also rubs China up the wrong way. Taiwanese pop diva A-Mei (
The fact that the anthem's lyrics are associated with the KMT is not really a serious issue. Most national anthems date back many years and they do not always reflect contemporary reality. But if there is a common attachment to the song, it does not undermine a nation's sense of identity. Americans sing The Star-Spangled Banner, the French the Marseillaise and the Japanese the Kimigayo, and these anthems do not interfere with their sense of identity, or their loyalty to the national anthem and the national flag. But Taiwan's national anthem is a reflection of the divisions in Taiwan's sense of identity, and it is pulling the nation apart rather than conferring any solidarity.
If the public cannot identify with the national anthem and it is divisive, then it is a failure. No wonder US President George W. Bush did not support a Spanish version of The Star-Spangled Banner. In an era of party politics, using the KMT's party anthem as the national anthem is inappropriate. Changing the lyrics should be an easier process -- unlike the national flag, the Constitution does not prevent changes to the lyrics of the national anthem.
Thus, as long as agreement can be reached between the ruling and opposition parties, the Cabinet can issue an order to revise the lyrics or even replace the current anthem with a new one. If this change can be given final approval by the public through a referendum, the new national anthem will win greater legitimacy and wider acceptance.
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to