Taiwan Ministry Issues Statement In Simplified Chinese, To The Chagrin Of Mainlanders

SupChina
Date:   July 4, 2018
By: Tianyu M. Fang

The traditional, unsimplified Chinese script, for many in Taiwan, forms a basis for national identity. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan recently made the decision — an intentional and pointed one, observers say — to issue a statement in simplified Chinese, in response to a remark by Beijing.

The remark in question was made on June 28 by Senior Colonel Wu Qian 吴谦, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference. “The idea [of leasing the Taiping Island 太平岛 to the U.S.] is very dangerous,” he said, emphasizing that the People’s Liberation Army would defend “integrity of [China’s] sovereignty.”

The only problem is that Taiwan has never officially said it intended to lease Taiping Island — also known as Itu Aba, the largest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, off the west coast of the Philippines, administered by the Republic of China — to the U.S. or any other country.

The confusion was likely due to a report by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research — a think tank established by the Taiwanese government in May — which suggested that Taipei should lease Taiping Island to the U.S. military for humanitarian purposes.    [FULL  STORY]