A few days ago, it was nice and sunny outside, so I went to take a walk in a park. There, I overheard an elementary-school student ask: What countries do you like besides Taiwan?
The child called Taiwan by its name and said it was a country, showing that consciousness of “Taiwan is a nation” has been internalized, which delights me.
There are a few other examples of this.
As of this year, 110 countries recognize the Taiwanese passport and allow entry without a visa. Twelve of these have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan — and welcome Taiwanese with open arms — while the rest use our country’s name, Taiwan.