China’s unofficial propaganda machine has come up with a predictable response to Taiwan’s recent approval of an official romanization for Hoklo/Taiwanese, calling it an attempt at wenhua Tai-Du (“cultural Taiwanese independence”). And Beijing doesn’t much care for earlier developments, either:
Lìngwài jù bàodào, zǎo zài 2002 nián Táiwān dāngjú “Jiàoyùbù” jiù zuòchū juéyì, Táiwān xuésheng cóng xiǎoxué sānniánjí kāishǐ tíqián shíshī xiāngtǔ yǔyán Mǐnnányǔ, Kèjiāyǔ de “yīnbiāo fúhào” xìtǒng jiāoxué, yǐ tú jìnyībù qiēduàn Táiwān yǔ zǔguó dàlù de wénhuà niǔdài. Rújīn yòu zài Táiwān gè zhōng-xiǎoxué tuīxíng “Táiwān Mǐnnányǔ Luómǎzì pīnyīn fāng’àn”, qǐtú yǐcǐ ruòhuà yǔ Pǔtōnghuà jiējìn de “Guóyǔ” zài Táiwān de dìwèi. Zhèizhǒng kèyì zài wénhuà shàng zhìzào Táiwān yǔ zǔguó dàlù de chāyì yǔ qūfēn, shì Táiwān dāngjú chìluǒluǒ de “wénhuà Tái-Dú” tǐxiàn.
(另据报道，早在2002年台湾当局“教育部”就做出决议，台湾学生从小学三年级开始提前实施乡土语言闽南语、客家语的“音标符号”系统教学，以图进一步切断台湾与祖国大陆的文化纽带。如今又在台湾各中小学推“台湾闽南语罗马字拼音方案”，企图以此弱化与普通话接近的“国语”在台湾的地位。这种刻意在文化上制造台湾与祖国大陆的差异与区分，是台当局赤裸裸的“文化台独”体现。)
Blah, blah, blah.
source: “Wénhuà Tái-Dú” — Mǐnnányǔ pīnyīn xìtǒng chūlú (［两岸纪行］“文化台独” 闽南语拼音系统出炉), October 17, 2006, ChinaTaiwan.org
I am very disappointed at Beijing’s reaction. It views the teaching of Minnan and Hakka in Taiwan as a conspiracy to sever the links across the Strait. Never mind that those vernaculars are spoken by over 50 million Chinese citizens. Never mind that in the last fifty years the PRC has been broadcasting propaganda in Minnan no less — if nothing else, then to remind the Taiwanese of their Minnan ties.
A more defensible claim would be that the “Taiwan authorities” are engaged in Greater Minnan and Greaker Hakka-ism — i.e. regionalism or ethnolinguistic nationalism. This conspiracy would have the Taiwanese trying to secure the loyalty of their cultural/linguistic relatives across the Strait.
Yet that is not Beijing’s claim. Instead, they’re saying promoting Hoklo and Hakka romanization weakens Mandarin, the basis for cross-strait commonality. Clearly Beijing has a chauvinistic anti-vernacular agenda. That kind of attitude not only hinders cross-strait integration but, as well, hurts the feelings of many Chinese.
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I had also wrote one on that, in Wu.
A more defensible claim would be that the “Taiwan authorities” are engaged in Greater Minnan and Greater Hakka-ism — i.e. regionalism or ethnolinguistic nationalism. This conspiracy would have the Taiwanese trying to secure the loyalty of their cultural/linguistic relatives across the Strait.
Interesting. Can you point to examples of anything like that happening? I’d love to see Taiwan find a way to be able to build such a bridge across the strait. But I haven’t noticed much interest from the government in that sort of approach. And the pan-blues would almost certainly be even less likely to evoke Hoklo as cultural connection.
And I thought that Beijing is always using Holo (Hakka in a significantly less frequency) as something of a cultural tie in the “United Front”, heh.
Isn’t it amazing how those are the exact same complaints the KMT has?
Tim Maddog
wtf is Bejing complaining about? they don’t even use Chinese anyway. they can only read some watered-down simplified bullshit.
Hoklo & Hakka both are subculture of Chinese culture.That’s ridiculous to make such an accusation. What if Taiwan government announced English as ONE of the official languages?(We all know that it’s impossible for the time being.) Will China launch the missle because of Taiwan’s language policy toward English?
Open your mind. The issue of “Taiwan independence” will make you think differently sometimes. You don’t have to stand for Taiwan, but you may try to think in the stance of Taiwan. Maybe it will help China sometimes.
Even more reason why Taiwan needs to say “Screw you China” and just continue to be independent. China is like a big brother bullying a smaller brother. Hell, China can’t even get along with other peoples that it has illegally occuppied including Tibeteans and Turkish Muslims in Xinjiang Province. Why should Taiwan listen to such bull crap from China? Maybe China is just talking to itself.