Is renaming an airport embracing reality or hiding from the past?
I still remember my first visit to Taiwan in 1996: confusion. I disembarked from the American Airlines plane that I had taken from the US and walked through a long corridor. I was confronted by a security check point with a large sign overhead that read "Republic of China, ROC."
I was confused. Had I ended up in China somehow?
Does that sound ignorant or naive?
In fact, at no time did I see a "Welcome to Taiwan" sign. Not at the airport, nowhere. Of course I am familiar enough with "ROC" to recognize that it's the politically friendly name maintained to keep Communist China at bay and to make post-1949 immigrants feel some connection to the mainland. That is not my point.
My airline ticket showed my destination as "Taiwan." My travel guide-books talked about Taiwan. The travel programs that I watched on TV spoke of Taiwan. My travel agent understood Taiwan as my destination. My business associates in the US, Japan and South Korea know it as Taiwan. Europeans know it as Taiwan. Everyone knows except the Taiwanese, apparently.
Of course I know of the long-running debate: "Are we an independent country or are we part of China." That issue has nothing to do with what the rest of the world recognizes you as: Taiwan. Embrace the name that you are recognized by. Only in the political confines of Taiwan-China politics is Taiwan readily recognized as the ROC.
Ask any American or European if they know where Taiwan and the ROC are located on the globe. You'll find they consistently know where Taiwan is but frequently confuse the ROC with China or do not know what the ROC is.
This isn't the result of a poor education, in marketing it's called "branding." You're most readily known as Taiwan, embrace it and love it. Leave politics out of your name. Products made the last 40 years and sold the world over have "marketed" you as Taiwan, "Made in Taiwan."
No amount of public relations or even the saviest marketing skills will take that mind-share away. Embrace your land and your "brand."
Troy Henley
Columbus, Ohio
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS