The Taiwanese are an outstanding people, they just do not know it. Centuries of colonial education have kept Taiwanese from forming and recognizing their own identity and establishing a Taiwanese subjectivity.
It was not until 1997 that the class “Understanding Taiwan” (認識臺灣) was added to the junior high school curriculum, introducing students to the study of Taiwanese society, history and geography. Previously, most Taiwanese had very limited knowledge about Taiwan’s history, culture and core values.
The Cairo Declaration — an unsigned press communique expressing the intent of the US, the UK and China that has falsely been regarded as legally binding — has been consistently taught in school. By contrast, the Treaty of Peace with Japan was never mentioned in textbooks.
When we strove for the establishment of Taiwanese literature departments in universities, we were often mocked by people saying that while there might be a few Taiwanese works, the quality was insufficient to justify a proper university department. Today, departments and graduate institutes of Taiwanese literature are highly renowned.
Taiwanese language, culture and arts also enjoy world renown. Tungfangpai’s (東方白) epic novel A Cinematic Journey (浪淘沙) is comparable to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind; Hsiao Tyzen’s (蕭泰然) works are no less romantically captivating than Sergei Rachmaninoff’s; Then Yi-hien (鄧雨賢) is a composer of classical nationalism just like Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky.
Taiwanese Nobel laureate in chemistry Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) stands on an equal footing with Chinese Nobel laureate in physics Yang Chen-Ning (楊振寧); Tan Ting-pho’s (陳澄波) paintings shine along with Huang Tu-shui’s (黃土水) down-to-earth sculptures.
In March last year, Taiwanese-American professor of surgery W.P. Andrew Lee (李為平) led the world’s first total penis and scrotum transplant on a US veteran wounded in Afghanistan. The operation was so successful that the veteran is expected to regain “near-normal urinary and sexual functions.”
Taiwanese technological talent is equally amazing: As many as one-quarter of top-class luxury sports cars, like Lamborghinis and Ferraris, use air suspension systems made by Changhua County-based AirREX Global. An award for the world’s best single malt whiskey in 2015 went to Yilan-based Kavalan Distillery’s Solist Vinho Barrique.
More than a decade ago, Chen Rui-wen (陳瑞文), who holds only a junior-high school diploma, invented a technology that helps roads breathe and obtained patents in more than 30 countries. Many countries are eager to acquire the product; the invention is not widely known in Taiwan.
Inventor Huang Chien-chung (黃千鐘) and his team last year won praise for a technology to produce biodegradable straws using sugarcane fiber. It drew attention from almost 20 Chinese firms offering high prices for exclusive patent rights, but Huang turned them down.
Although Taiwan lacks petroleum and other natural resources, its great biodiversity can be used to develop biotechnology, including cosmetics, medicine — cancer-fighting drugs in particular — and health foods.
Formosa lambsquarters and Antrodia cinnamomea, better known locally as “bovine tree fungus” (牛樟芝), have been largely neglected, but they are yielding brilliant research results. Uses for many other unknown species are awaiting discovery.
Many other topics deserve closer study, such as local politics, culture, religion, folk tradition, economy, military and even the climate, geology, philosophy and life-and-death studies. Together, these subjects make up Taiwan Studies. It is time to more firmly establish Taiwanology.
Tiunn Hok Chu is a former president of the Southern Taiwan Society.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
Somehow, US intelligence identified “the Houthis’ top missile guy” and pinpointed his exact location. At 1348 hours (Washington time), March 15, President Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz texted, “positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building.” The unsuspecting Romeo entered. High above, the drone monitoring the building registered a flash. When the smoke cleared, Mr. Waltz texted, “…And it’s now collapsed.” RIP. The star-crossed “top missile guy” had been target number one in the now uproarious US Navy bombing campaign on that Sunday against the Yemeni rebels who have been holding the Red Sea hostage since October 19,
Deflation in China is persisting, raising growing concerns domestically and internationally. Beijing’s stimulus policies introduced in September last year have largely been short-lived in financial markets and negligible in the real economy. Recent data showing disproportionately low bank loan growth relative to the expansion of the money supply suggest the limited effectiveness of the measures. Many have urged the government to take more decisive action, particularly through fiscal expansion, to avoid a deep deflationary spiral akin to Japan’s experience in the early 1990s. While Beijing’s policy choices remain uncertain, questions abound about the possible endgame for the Chinese economy if no decisive
Actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) on March 13 posted an Instagram caption after the opening of Tiffany’s Taipei flagship store two days earlier that read: “Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China.” We know that Yeoh knows Taipei is in Taiwan, not China, because the caption was posted following comments she made — in English — in which she said: “Thank you to Tiffany for bringing me to Taipei, because I do love this country very much.” Her remarks and the subsequent Instagram caption were reported in Taiwan, in Chinese and English- language media such as Radio Free Asia, and overseas,
China poses a dire threat to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry as it steps up efforts to poach Taiwan’s top chip talent, following the US’ implementation of stringent chip restrictions. Beijing is keen to develop its own semiconductor technologies, leveraging skilled engineers from Taiwan, Europe and other countries to circumvent US restrictions on providing China access to advanced US chips, particularly those used in artificial intelligence applications, as well as other chip technologies and manufacturing equipment. Taiwan has always contended with talent competition from China, but the situation is worsening. The Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday said that China’s ARK Semi and
RSS