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Translation may
become tool for China
¡¥ASSIMILATION¡¦: Opening the translation industry
to China risks opening Taiwan to cultural dominance by China, which strictly
censors free expression, an activist said
By Chen Yan-ting and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff
writer
The inclusion of the translation industry in the controversial cross-strait
service trade agreement could allow China to dominate Taiwan¡¦s linguistic
development and pave the way for its cultural assimilation, Taiwan Democracy
Watch secretary-general Chen Kuan-yu (³¯«a¦t) said yesterday.
Chen issued the warning following the conclusion of the Ninth Cross-Strait
Economic, Trade and Culture Forum on Oct. 27, during which representatives from
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party called for
the pact¡¦s speedy passage and implementation.
The agreement, which, if ratified, will see Taiwan open up 64 service sectors to
China, is still pending legislative approval, as lawmakers are under pressure
from industry representatives who are wary of its potentially adverse impact on
businesses and the nation¡¦s economy.
¡§Translation is a culture-oriented job, because it is closely linked to the
translators¡¦ cultural background, national identity and linguistic habits,¡¨ Chen
said.
¡§China is notorious for its stringent censorship of the cultural industry, and
Taiwan¡¦s vibrant cultural development could be severely hindered if the
government opens the door to Chinese translators,¡¨ Chen said.
Chen cited as an example the Chinese translation of Irish political scientist
Benedict Anderson¡¦s Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread
of Nationalism by Academia Sinica associate research fellow Wu Rwei-ren (§dèû¤H).
¡§The Chinese translation was published in Taiwan and China by two different
publishing houses,¡¨ Chen said.
¡§Readers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should have gotten the same content,
but everything relating to the history of Taiwan¡¦s independence movement and
Taiwanese nationalism in the original work was edited out of the version
available in China,¡¨ Chen said.
The disappearance of sensitive content from China¡¦s published version
exemplifies Beijing¡¦s firm grip on free expression and spells trouble for
Taiwan¡¦s linguistic and cultural subjectivity should lower-cost Chinese workers
squeeze out Taiwanese linguistic professionals, Chen said.
It has become a common practice for Taiwanese publishers to buy directly from
their Chinese counterparts the copyrights of their translated editions of
foreign publications to reduce costs, Chen added.
¡§Chinese simplified translations can be found everywhere, whether in a
brick-and-mortar shop or an online bookstore,¡¨ he said.
¡§The number of translated glossaries of academic terminology by Chinese
translators in the local market is also gradually increasing,¡¨ he added.
Given that the majority of Taiwanese translators are freelance workers and are
not covered by the labor insurance program, they could be left out in the cold
without any help from the government if they are driven out of business by
Chinese translators, Chen said.
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