The English translation of the new name of Taipei County after it is upgraded in December has sparked controversy, with some residents protesting against the county government’s decision to adopt Hanyu Pinyin and romanizing it as “Xinbei City” (新北市).
Taipei County’s Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Yang Yi-te (楊義德) said the county government used “Xinbei City” as the city’s official English name because “New Taipei City” would be too similar to “Taipei City.”
‘NEW TAIPEI CITY’
PHOTO: HE YU-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES
The city’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫), however, suggested the city be named “New Taipei City.”
“I prefer the name ‘New Taipei City’ because it is more reflective of the spirit of a new city after its upgrading and meets public expectations,” he said when approached for comments.
Speaking at a campaign stop in Taipei County, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also expressed her support for the name “New Taipei City.”
Tsai, who doubles as DPP chairperson, said that an English translation was for foreign visitors to better understand the name of the city, a task that would be better accomplished by calling it “New Taipei City.”
“If I were a foreigner, I wouldn’t understand what Xinbei City meant,” Tsai said.
“But if it was New Taipei City — the meaning would be very clear, a new area currently under development,” she said.
NO TO ‘XINBEI’
A small group of protesters yesterday challenged the county government’s adoption of Hanyu Pinyin in front of the Taipei County Hall, shouting “we don’t want Xinbei City” in protest against the decision.
“As a resident, I protest against Chou Hsi-wei’s (周錫瑋) decision to change my hometown’s name without seeking the residents’ agreement. We do not want to use Hanyu Pinyin, which China uses,” said Chang Shu-feng (張淑芬), director of Taiwan Pinyin League.
Chang said the county government should either use “Sinbei City” — based on the Tongyong Pinyin system developed by Taiwan — or “New Taipei City” as the city’s English name.
Yang dismissed accusations that the county government chose the Hanyu Pinyin system to pander to China, saying Hanyu Pinyin has been officially adopted by the central government.
Yang said the English name of the upgraded city still requires final approval from the Taipei County Council. The final version will be determined in September.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
A 23-year-old Taichung man vowed to drink more water after his heavy consumption of sugary tea landed him in hospital with a kidney infection and sepsis. The man, surnamed Lin (林), used to drink two cups of half-sugar oolong tea while working at a food stall, where he often had to wait a long time before urinating. Lin developed kidney stones and noticed blood in his urine, but ignored the issue after taking medication for three days. A month later, he went to the emergency room after experiencing a recurring fever and was diagnosed with a kidney infection that led to sepsis, landing
RSS