If changing a signboard could solve a national crisis, there probably wouldn’t be any incompetent leaders left in the world. Recent news indicates that the “General Association of Chinese Culture,” an organization that once sought to connect history with the future, will officially erase the word “Chinese” under the sheer political coercion of the DPP government next week. This is no transitional justice; it is an outright “cultural castration” and the final act of “ideological plastic surgery” by a ruling party facing exhausted resources and an empty track record.
”Label Changing Self-Indulgence” of an Empty Regime
We must ask bluntly: When the DPP is so eager to eliminate the word “Chinese,” what exactly is left of the “Taiwanese culture” they speak of?
Culture should fundamentally be about inclusion and accumulation, but in the hands of the “ruling successors” Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te, culture has been reduced to a mere “political sticker.” This act of renaming under false pretenses is essentially discrimination and persecution against historical and ethnic identities. They attempt to mask their embarrassing inability to reach new cultural heights by castrating the historical context.
This deliberate brainwashing of “de-Sinicization” is nothing but a spiritual victory method for the ruling party, retreating to “label changing self-indulgence” at home after suffering setbacks in actual governance. They have severed the ties with the past, leaving only dry, empty, and hostile political slogans.
A Decade of the Same: What Else Can You Do Besides Changing Names?
What is most infuriating and shameful is that the scorecard delivered by the DPP government in core governance over the past decade is absolutely disastrous. Aside from constantly repeating these low-cost, highly mobilized “petty manipulations” on signboards, passports, and textbooks, which of Taiwan’s core problems has been solved?
- Energy and Livelihoods: Flawed energy policies have led to power shortages and soaring electricity rates. The entire island is caught in a cycle of blackouts and price hikes, while businesses cry out in pain.
- Housing Tragedy: Ten years of shouting for housing justice have resulted in a continuous collapse of the housing price-to-income ratio, making basic survival a luxury for young people.
- International Predicament: The number of diplomatic allies continues to plummet toward zero, and the international space for survival has shrunk to its most dangerous edge ever due to ideological clashes.
- Governance Stagnation: All reforms have ultimately devolved into the division of spoils among officials and factions.
Looking back at this decade, Tsai and Lai have absolutely no constructive policies that they can genuinely be proud of or that are internationally recognized, other than their two eternal panaceas: “changing names” and “resisting China to protect Taiwan.” When livelihoods are withered and basic infrastructure lags, their best “painkiller” is to find a signboard to rename. Changing “Chinese” to “Taiwan” seems to magically change their luck in a political illusion, letting their supporters temporarily forget their empty pockets and grim future.
Have Some Shame! This is Populist Bullying Against the Entire Nation
This act of forced renaming signifies a regime so incompetent that it can only find a sense of existence on official documents and signboards. This is not promoting Taiwanese culture; it is consuming Taiwan, using the word “Taiwan” to package the paleness of their governance.
You act subserviently internationally, you are helpless in cross-strait relations, your domestic governance is riddled with holes, and in the end, you can only take your frustration out on the name of a cultural organization? This act of narrowing Taiwan and self-mutilating culture exposes the extreme inferiority deep within the rulers’ hearts—because you cannot create strength worthy of being handed down, you can only destroy the heritage of others.
If the ruling party still has even the slightest sense of responsibility toward the people of the Republic of China, please stop this deceptive self-indulgent show.
A regime that cannot provide stable electricity, cannot secure livelihoods, and cannot even offer basic justice has absolutely no right to talk about culture; and a regime that only knows how to change names will eventually be swept into the pillar of shame of “mediocrity and incompetence” by history.