Write in Taiwan
Students in the Taiwan American Organization at the University of California-Irvine have come up with a plan to use the upcoming U.S. Census to promote a Taiwanese identity. The effort is also advocated by the Taiwanese American Civil League and other groups around the country.
The Census Bureau becomes the subject of debates over how to count and categorize the population every ten years. Changing sensitivities and a blending population create problems for those who seek to label people into a particular ethnic group or race.
Persons residing in the United States will be asked to self-identify their race on their Census form. As in prior Census counts, the race options are an “apples and oranges” mixture of skin color, language, or nationality. Choices include:, White, Black, American Indian, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese. Taiwanese is not an option.
The college students are urging all Taiwanese-Americans to self-identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese by using the “Other” box and writing in Taiwanese.
Two creative and talented students in the group even wrote and produced their own Public Service Announcement to help the Census get an accurate population count and allow people to respond to the Census form without betraying their own heritage.
The student-produced PSA is starting to make the rounds on the internet and has gained favorable acclaim on the Taiwan pro-independence list-serves and blogs.
Meanwhile at the Federal building
Meanwhile, also in California, a dozen faithful demonstrators keep up a weekly vigil outside the Los Angeles Federal Building urging an end to the control of Taiwan by the Republic of China in-exile.
Other Taiwanese-Americans are preparing to travel to Taiwan at the end of February and participate in a March for Taiwan to coincide with commemoration events for the victims of the 228 Massacre when the Republic of China imposed a harsh and brutal martial law on the island.
Taiwan was Japanese territory at the end of World War II and Japan ceded all claim to Taiwan at the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Harry Truman was president when the treaty was ratified but declared that until there was peace in the Pacific that Taiwan’s status would remain unresolved.
Last year the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals found Taiwan’s residents to be “stateless” and living in “political purgatory” because of the president’s refusal to identify the actual sovereignty of Taiwan.
To read more about the Taiwan option on the Census form see link:
http://www.census2010.tacl.org/contact.html
Source: Taiwan Policy Examiner - Michael Richardson
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