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Translators voice
concern on effect of China accord
By Chen Yi-ching, Rachel Lin and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporters,
with staff writer
Several linguistic experts and translators on Monday voiced concern over the
cross-strait service trade agreement, saying the nation¡¦s translation service
industry could become a tool for China to manipulate Taiwanese public opinion if
the pact is implemented.
¡§Taiwanese should be particularly vigilant after the agreement takes effect, as
it would open the door to the nation¡¦s translation industry to Chinese investors
and allow them to purchase translation rights for foreign publications in the
name of Taiwanese translation companies,¡¨ said Chen Chao-ming (³¯¶W©ú), a chair
professor at Shih Chien University¡¦s Department of Applied Foreign Languages.
Chen said the public¡¦s right to information could be severely undermined if
Chinese investors obtained the right to decide how content should be translated
and interpreted, and to edit parts that run counter to their ideology.
Taiwanese translation companies provide a wide range of services, including
general text translation, business document translation and interpreting
services, Chen said, adding that demand for the last two types of services has
drastically declined following an exodus of Taiwanese firms to China in recent
years.
Chen said Taiwanese publishing houses began to entrust China-based firms to
translate general text about eight years ago because they offer lower rates.
¡§However, these publishing houses often ended up spending more money because the
quality of translation done by translators in China was so poor it often
required revisions,¡¨ Chen said.
¡§That is why most Taiwanese publishers have run back to local translators for
higher-quality work over the past years,¡¨ he added.
Chen said while Taiwanese translators could undoubtedly stand up to competition
from their Chinese counterparts, he was concerned about Chinese firms buying out
Taiwan¡¦s translation rights for certain publications.
Taiwan Association of Translation and Interpretation (TATI) chairperson Yang
Cheng-shu (·¨©Ó²Q) said the industry is already in bad shape because of a
government policy setting fee charges for translation services.
¡§Establishing a fee-charging system rather than letting the quality of
translation determine the value has resulted in a vicious price war,¡¨ Yang said.
The service trade agreement should enforce the same rules for Taiwanese and
Chinese businesses to put them on equal footing, Yang said, adding that the
government should keep its eyes open when signing treaties.
Leung Yan-wing (±çªYºa), chairman of National Taiwan University¡¦s Department of
Foreign Languages and Literature and a skilled translator, said the policy has
stifled the industry¡¦s development and undermined the professional image of
translators.
¡§Why doesn¡¦t the government establish a fee-charging standard for legal
services? Does this mean that translators are less professional than lawyers?¡¨
Leung asked.
TATI supervisor Lan Yu-su (ÂŤë¯À), an associate professor at Chang Jung Christian
University¡¦s Department of Translation and Interpretation Studies, said the
industry has been battered by China¡¦s low labor costs and the emergence of
machine translation technologies.
¡§Hopefully, the agreement really does expand Taiwan¡¦s translation industry as
the government has promised and bring in more translation job opportunities from
China to the country,¡¨ Lan said.
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