A recent controversy over the use of the word “Taiwan” at an event in Taipei City has highlighted the absurdity of China’s sensitivity to the name and cast doubt on the city government’s commitment to upholding the nation’s dignity.
With the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers in Taipei this week for exhibition games, preparations were under way at the Taipei Arena ahead of the first game today.
But a banner on the side of the stadium to welcome the US National Basketball Association (NBA) teams was changed at the last minute to replace the word “Taiwan” with the word “Taipei.”
Another victory for Beijing — on Taiwan’s own turf.
The sign that read “Taiwan Welcomes the NBA” became “Taipei Welcomes the NBA.”
This change could only be intended as a gesture to China, signaling that the city hopes to avoid controversy.
It gives the impression that the Taipei City Government and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are more than happy to avoid the name “Taiwan.”
While the city government would be right to want to promote city pride by emphasizing that the capital is hosting the event, it is highly doubtful that this was the motive.
Hosting basketball games with athletes of this caliber is an exciting event for fans of the sport across the country — not just in Taipei. From this perspective, changing the sign was dismissive of the enthusiasm of fans outside the capital.
The episode showcases how often the name “Taiwan” is avoided and, sadly, how little this seems to bother the public.
During election campaigns, or when leaders seek to improve their image in the wake of a scandal or administrative failures, it is common to see politicians don sports uniforms, vests or caps bearing the word “Taiwan.” They make a point of using the word “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese” throughout campaign speeches.
By showing a bit of “Taiwan” pride, politicians hope to bridge the distance between themselves and their constituents — and often they succeed in convincing the latter that their show is genuine.
It is intriguing, then, to see these same politicians drop the word “Taiwan” when they have an excellent opportunity to raise the nation’s visibility at international events.
While Taipei deserves to be rebuked for casting the name “Taiwan” aside at its convenience, the public must realize that it plays a role in such abuses by failing to demand that their leaders stand up for the name. Avoiding the word “Taiwan” is harmful to the nation’s dignity.
The public permits leaders and politicians to treat the word “Taiwan” as disposable. In doing so, it allows its leaders to be disrespectful.
Unless the public demands better of its politicians, it cannot expect to have leaders willing to uphold the nation’s dignity and work toward increasing its international visibility.
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
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
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS