Since I don't read Chinese, I don't really have any personal stake in the debate Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou started a few days ago about whether Taiwanese should learn the Simplified Chinese characters that are used in China, or whether Chinese should learn the Traditional characters used in Taiwan.
Nonetheless, the fact that the topic is being broached now gives the lie to Ma's claim that his "One-China Trade Market" is an economic issue only. Because if China truly is Taiwan's economic savior and an agreement is reached, then some sort of linguistic harmonization is going to take place. Business between the two countries will need to communicate intelligibly with each other. As foreigners we're all aware of the efforts Taiwanese make to learn English — similar efforts to learn Simplified script may someday also be undertaken.
Without making any value judgments about this, it's clear that the Chinese Nationalist Party's "One-China Trade Market" is not just an economic issue, but a cultural issue as well. Will the Taiwanese be permitted to have anything to say about a policy which affects these two areas?
Not if the KMT has anything to do with it. The unwashed proles mustn't be allowed to vote on issues already decided upon by their political betters.
The Simplified vs. Traditional character proposal also finds its origins in the Chinese Nationalist Party's "One-China Educational Market" as well. Once Taiwanese students begin studying in China, they'll need to be able to write using Simplified characters, while Chinese students in Taiwan will need to be able to read Traditional characters. And it's dishonest for anyone to claim that this isn't going to have a cultural impact.
Postscript: An even more dishonest argument that's being made is that opening Taiwan's educational system to Chinese will increase the number of students in Taiwanese universities.
Well, of course the number of CHINESE students in Taiwan will increase, but since Taiwanese students will also leave the country to study in China, the number of TAIWANESE students here will necessarily decrease.
Whether there'll be a net gain or loss is anybody's guess. * But what's truly maddening is that the same people who loudly trumpet the GAINS from an influx of Chinese students are noticibly quiet when it comes to mentioning the LOSSES from the expected China-bound exit of Taiwanese students.
Which suggests that those in favor of the "One-China Educational Market" aren't really interested in the net result at all, and that they're actually arguing in bad faith . . .
* Did I say anybody's guess? Leaving aside the issue of the difference in tuition rates, there was an interesting story recently that the Taiwanese government would like to raise the educational requirements for university entrance.
Of course, no one wants to climb up on a soap box and speak in favor of low educational standards. But raising entrance requirements will inevitably lock some Taiwanese students out of the Taiwanese university system.
Leaving them with nowhere to go, but less picky universities in the People's Republic of China. Or as the KMT calls it, "Mother China".