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Taiwanese are
‘detestable,’ publisher of ‘UDN’ says, stirring Internet outrage
By Jason Pan / Staff writer
The publisher of the Chinese-language United Daily News (UDN), Wang Shaw-lan
(王效蘭), has stirred an uproar on the Intenet in recent days after saying that
Taiwanese people are “detestable.”
Wang made the remarks while commenting on the sovereignty row over the Diaoyutai
Islands (釣魚台) and in the wake of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) saying that
the Diaoyutais belong to Japan.
Voicing her opposition to Lee’s statement, Wang said: “You Taiwanese are so
detestable (你們台灣人真可惡).”
“I don’t want to live in Taiwan anymore. I get angry when I think of Taiwanese
people,” the 71-year-old said on the sidelines of the Cross-Strait Book Fair in
Taipei on Friday.
Her remarks were posted on YouTube (http://youtu.be/PxnHu1f90Gg) and quickly
went viral, drawing heated discussion.
Wang said she had ignored Lee in the past when Lee greeted her by nodding his
head, saying she had also walked away when then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
walked toward her.
In response to her outburst, award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng
(馮光遠) yesterday posted an article on his blog, saying: “Ms Wang’s decision was
commendable and a very honest one. I urge people to go to the airport and send
her off with good wishes, as she no longer wants to stay in Taiwan.”
“Many Taiwanese would be quite happy to see her returning to the embrace of her
People’s Republic of China motherland,” wrote Peng, whose article was
accompanied by a picture illustration of Wang sitting in an airplane.
Peng went on and posed questions to Wang and the paper, such as “Can we accuse
her of breaking her promise if she continues to live in Taiwan?” and “When she
leaves, will she also take her United Daily News with her?”
“It is a good thing that her departure from Taiwan came from her own
willingness. We can all breathe a sigh of relief now,” Peng wrote, concluding
his article with: “Goodbye to Ms Wang Shaw-lan. When you arrive in Beijing, you
will not be angry anymore. Goodbye!”
Other comments by netizens on Wang’s outburst included: “Wang doesn’t like
Taiwanese, but yet she continues to make money from Taiwanese.”
United Daily News spokesperson George Shuang (項國寧) said that Wang was
merely expressing her strong opposition to Lee’s position on the Daoyutai
Islands.
Her words should not be misrepresented or taken out of context, he said.
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