What's in
the name "Taiwan"?
2001/11/22
/ Guest Opinion
By Shane Lee
A name is a word (or words) by which a person, animal, place,
thing, nation (country), etc. is known and spoken to or of. Like
a person, a country must have a name so that when it is spoken
to or of, one knows what it is. Taiwan has so many names that
no one knows what it is when it is spoken to or of.
Taiwan's official country name is "the Republic of China"
(R.O.C.) because the Kuomintang (KMT) regime which ruled Taiwan
until year 2000 insisted on it ever since it came to occupy
Taiwan after World War II and because the regime was recognized
by most major countries of the world and by the United Nations
until 1971. Since 1971, Taiwan has been de-recognized by most
nations and international organizations, and it has been forced
to adopt a vast number of names for various reasons and purposes.
By some counts, Taiwan has used more than one hundred names,
ranging from an association to a travel service. For example,
In Brunei Darussalam, it is "Far East Trade & Cultural
Center" (Brunei is hardly located in the Far East); in
the USA, it was once "Coordination Council for North American
Affairs" (However, the council did not cover business in
Canada or Mexico); in Hong Kong, it is "Chung Hwa Travel
Service"; in France, it is "Association for the Promotion
of Commercial & Tourist Exchange with Taiwan." (This
is the only case that Taiwan appears as a part of the name).
Since "Taiwan" or the "Republic of China"
or "R.O.C." was nowhere to be found in the local telephone
directories in these countries, many visitors in the past had
applied to local "Taiwanese Associations" for entry
visas. Taiwanese associations are in fact anti-KMT organizations
formed by overseas Taiwanese dissidents who were banned to return
to Taiwan by the KMT regime.
In recent years, these names have been more unified as "Taipei
Economic & Cultural Office". It is said that the KMT
steadfastly rejected the name of Taiwan for any official representations
overseas; instead it preferred Taipei. Now many overseas representative
offices are called Taipei Cultural and Economic Offices. This
has been satirized and protested by the City of Kaoshiung and
other cities, which demanded to set up their own overseas offices
because Taipei does not represent them.
In 1976, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changed
the name of the R.O.C. Olympic Committee into "Chinese
Taipei" under China's pressure. At that time, many hailed
it as "a creative expediency" that allowed Taiwan's
athletes to participate in the Olympics in Montreal, Canada.
This name, ironically, planted a seed for very serious trouble
for Taiwan.
Taiwan's longed-for and celebrated entry into the WTO recently
rekindles the headache of the name problem. Taiwan entered the
WTO under the name of "Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Separate
Customs Territory," abbreviated as "Chinese Taipei,"
the so-called ingeniously created name for the Olympic Games
and for the World Baseball Championship just completed in Taipei.
China adamantly insists that the People's Republic of China
is the sole China, thus "Chinese" means "of China."
Under this interpretation, Taipei is part of China. So Taiwan
is now caught in this semantic trap.
In anticipation of China's incessant affronts after the entry
into WTO, the Foreign Ministry of the Chen Shui-bian administration
has issued a list of acceptable names as a reference for non-governmental
organizations (NGO's) when they apply for memberships in international
organizations. In the order of preference, they are (with the
Ministry's notes) as follows: 1. R.O.C. (Taiwan), meaning the
R.O.C. on Taiwan; 2. China (Taipei), meaning the R.O.C. in Taipei;
3. China (Taiwan), meaning China on Taiwan; 4. China-Taipei,
meaning China in Taipei; 5. China-Taiwan, meaning China on Taiwan;
6. Taipei China, meaning China of Taipei; 7. Taipei, meaning
a country with its capital in Taipei; and 8. Taiwan, meaning
the country now rules over Taiwan.
I can't help but think this is another
self-serving ingenuity on the part of the Ministry. First of
all, Taiwan is a name widely known to the international community;
it's short, clear and easy to call, and yet it's placed in the
last of preference order. Secondly, any name containing the
word China or Chinese inevitably connotes China in any shape
or form. It's quixotic to think that a parenthesis, a hyphen,
or any variation thereof can change what China or Chinese connotes.
Thirdly, if the Ministry realizes "Chinese Taipei"
puts Taiwan in a disadvantaged position, which it does, why
the Ministry thinks that all these names it provides, with the
exception of the last place "Taiwan," would do any
better?
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was originally opposed
to the name of the R.O.C. and put into its party constitution
a stance that the party was dedicated to the building of the
Republic of Taiwan. But as it has gained more and more political
power by winning government positions including the presidency
in 2000 under the R.O.C. Constitution, it now, like the KMT
before, holds fast to the name of the R.O.C. This is understandable
because it now enjoys all the laurels and trims that the R.O.C.
bestows upon it.
The time has come for the DPP government to boldly break away
from the trap that the KMT fell into when it insisted on China
or Chinese in its name. It is incomprehensible that while the
DPP has realized "Chinese Taipei" will do Taiwan no
good, it continues to shy away from the name of Taiwan. If the
U.S. can call Taiwan "Taiwan" (as in the "Taiwan
Relations Act"), I fail to see the reason why Taiwan cannot
call itself Taiwan.
The author is the professor of Chang-Jung Christain university.He
is also the member of Taiwan Professor Association.