In 2004, Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲) wrote a letter to fellow Buddhists during the Lunar New Year, saying that Taiwanese were originally from provinces in China, which means the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are essentially Chinese.
On Jan. 6, I visited Buddhist organization Fo Guang Shan to explain to Hsing Yun the notion that Taiwanese are not Chinese, and I asked Abbot Hui Lun (慧倫) to pass on historical documents, my works and other materials.
The documents I gave Hsing Yun were great in detail and number.
I gave him two simple examples of evidence:
First, page 60 of Volume 3 of Lien Heng’s (連橫) The General History of Taiwan (台灣通史) says that in the 23rd year of Emperor Qianlong’s (乾隆帝) reign — 1758 — Taiwanese were ordered to change their surnames to Han Chinese surnames.
Second, Volume 15 of General History, “The Book of Settlement and Appeasement,” says that “the domesticated savages were gradually assimilated into the Han culture. To fall in line with the national system, they were ordered to shave their heads and were given Han surnames.”
If Taiwanese were from provinces in China, why would they need to change their surnames? This proves that Hsing Yun’s theory that Taiwanese are Chinese is false.
Hui Lun must have passed the information on to Hsing Yun, because on May 13, 2010, when Hsing Yun met with Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), then-chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, in Beijing, he said: “Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese,” but the next day, when he met with Wang Yi (王毅), who was director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office at the time, he did not make the same statement again.
He only used the word “compatriots,” and did not mention Taiwanese or Chinese.
In Buddhist terms, he must have repented.
The evidence is sufficient to show that it is false for Taiwan’s history textbooks to claim that “Taiwanese are part of an immigrant society from China.”
If Taiwanese were truly Chinese immigrants, they would have already had Han Chinese surnames, and therefore would have had no need to change them.
Sim Kiantek is a former associate professor in the Department of Business Administration at National Chung Hsing University.
Translated by Rita Wang
There are moments in history when America has turned its back on its principles and withdrawn from past commitments in service of higher goals. For example, US-Soviet Cold War competition compelled America to make a range of deals with unsavory and undemocratic figures across Latin America and Africa in service of geostrategic aims. The United States overlooked mass atrocities against the Bengali population in modern-day Bangladesh in the early 1970s in service of its tilt toward Pakistan, a relationship the Nixon administration deemed critical to its larger aims in developing relations with China. Then, of course, America switched diplomatic recognition
The international women’s soccer match between Taiwan and New Zealand at the Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday last week, was canceled at the last minute amid safety concerns over poor field conditions raised by the visiting team. The Football Ferns, as New Zealand’s women’s soccer team are known, had arrived in Taiwan one week earlier to prepare and soon raised their concerns. Efforts were made to improve the field, but the replacement patches of grass could not grow fast enough. The Football Ferns canceled the closed-door training match and then days later, the main event against Team Taiwan. The safety
The National Immigration Agency on Tuesday said it had notified some naturalized citizens from China that they still had to renounce their People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizenship. They must provide proof that they have canceled their household registration in China within three months of the receipt of the notice. If they do not, the agency said it would cancel their household registration in Taiwan. Chinese are required to give up their PRC citizenship and household registration to become Republic of China (ROC) nationals, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. He was referring to Article 9-1 of the Act
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
RSS