Be Proud of the Name "Taiwan"

Lung-chu Chen

During President Chen Shui-bian's recent trans-continental journey of democratic diplomacy and friendship, his official visit began with the Dominican Republic. President Chen led a huge delegation to attend the inauguration of the new president of the Dominican Republic on August 15, and was given the most honored and prominent place among the special delegations. However, it was regrettable that members of his delegation were given the blue name tags that identified them as "Delegation China." According to the explanation of Taiwan's Embassy, this was neither a mistake nor an oversight, because the Dominican Republic has always maintained that "One China means the Republic of China." This self-justification is not at all convincing. Taiwan's president, representing the people of Taiwan and symbolizing Taiwan's democratic experience, was simply misidentified as "Delegation China." China got the credit, not Taiwan. It has clearly shown the serious damage the so-called "one China" has done to Taiwan over the years: it not only creates the false impression that Taiwan is part of China, but also makes Taiwan live under the constant shadow of China internationally, unable to develop its own independent national identity.