According to a translation in today’s Taipei Times, the new minister of education, Huang Jong-tsun, is leaning toward using tongyong.
This is not a surprise, given how much heat his predecessor had to take over not giving in to the phony claims of the tongyong supporters.
Huang repeated the bullshit claim that tongyong and hanyu are 85 percent the same.
Things might be happening on this quickly.
As much as I love HanYu pinyin, China would consider it a political coup if Taiwan decides to use Hanyu pinyin.
Is it true that the Pro-China unification mainlanders KMT Ma and PFP Soong support Hanyu pinyin? If so, that is enough for me to not support it. If on the otherhand there were no political concerns I would choose Hanyu pinyin for Taiwan.
Taiwan needs some kind of standard on its street signs. Now it is a mess.
As far as Chinese language education, the locals will continue to use BoPoMoFo and the foreigners will continue to use either HanYu Pinyin and/or BoPoMoFo. So I guess this is about street signs no?
I favor creating a new one that a stranger to Chinese could read, something similar to English phonetics that anyone familar with English would be able to read. Like Joong Shao Dong Lu. Zhong Xiao Dong Lu might be too difficult for first timers.
However, I think we should continue to use HanYu Pin Yin for teaching foreigners Chinese, and have this new romanization for the laymen. When referring to Taiwanese places or things, I think they should use whatever Romanization Taiwan chooses in the end, and I can understand and respect their decision to be different from the PRC.
I have gotten around Taiwan fine for the past 5 years with its crazy romanization and my so so Chinese reading ability, I think all of us will survive no matter which romanization that Taiwan chooses.
The government has a choice here: either utilize Hanyu Pinyin and get in step with the international community, or put into place Tongyong and see it ignored by the very demographic it is supposed to benefit. After all, for all of their posturing, it is the international community who decides whether these systems are of any use or not.
If they choose Tongyong, then it will just be a repeat of the ill-fated “Street Numbering” plan. They’ll put up signs which may or may not make any sense, foreigners will continue to scratch their heads and get lost, and nothing will change. It will just be another in a long line of romanization systems that, in their efforts to “be different” (contrary to the definition of “standard”), ends up on the trash heap, a waste of money and effort. Taiwan will continue to be a place where each pseudo-romanized street sign will just be another reminder that the government places its own misquided version of politics before usefulness or the welfare of the groups properly romanized signs would benefit.
I don’t see why Hobart cares so much of what Beijing thinks or is likely to say. Surely the benefit to Taiwan is a more important consideration than empty PRC rhetoric.
Considering that they threw out Tseng for his stance on romanization, I would predict that the new guy’s going to make the “right” choice and keep his job. The message is pretty clear.
However, if the majority of foreigners here can’t be bothered with Tongyong, i.e. the newspapers (not likely since two of them are already in the government’s pocket. The News is already supposedly using Tongyong, which just makes it even more laughable and like a DPP-newsletter) and in general, than perhaps sooner or later the government will wake up and realize how inane they’re being, and that they are only hurting Taiwan by refusing to internationalize their romanization, etc.
That’s probably too much to hope for, though. Nothing’s going to change, I think.
quote:By that logic, what would you do if they openly expressed their admiration for the metric system? Advocate the imperial system just to be different? Don't start getting silly again about romanization systems, Hobart. Your past arguments were none-too-delicately picked apart on these forums by a number of posters, or have you already forgotten? Still, if you want to be reminded of how illogical Tongyong is, keep posting... We'll straighten you out sooner or later... [img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]
Originally posted by Hobart: Is it true that the Pro-China unification mainlanders KMT Ma and PFP Soong support Hanyu pinyin? If so, that is enough for me to not support it.
quote:
Originally posted by Hobart: I think all of us will survive no matter which romanization that Taiwan chooses.
Fei Hua…
Hobart: I told my relative that when I go to Taibei, I do not ever
ride the [Jieyun] rapid transit, because SHE works there. Clever,
aren’t I.
Who knows or cares if the ‘Pro-China unification mainlanders KMT Ma
and PFP Song’ support whatever pinyin. Actually Ma supports it mainly
because we [foreigners] told him to, hence I support Ma, even though I
am pro independence. It is so clear that Ma’s brain is much better
than Chen Shuibian who let Yu Boquan go wild with Taibei street signs,
however, one does wonder if Ma were mayor at the time, perhaps we
would be stuck with Zhuyin Ershi, so gotta hand it to Yu for finally
breaking the “anti-communist grasp” on those signs… indeed when he
first started it looked very much like hanyu pinyin, which is why you
see photos of me hanging out with him on my website. However, the
brain tumor increased [else how do you explain it], causing his system
to get further and further out of line [my party hearty line].
Here’s my secret new system that has ‘I love Taiwan’ screaming out in
every syllable: T-Yu T-Bo T-Quan, T-Wo T-Ai T-Ni —Not!
Actually when I called former Ed. Minister Zeng Zhilang on the phone
back when he was vice pres. of Yangming Univ. he said “it is
impossible for the Taiwanese to accept hanyu pinyin” … interesting
how his thoughts changed later as he had a chance to think further
about the issue.