Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Nvidia CEO sparks new interest in Taiwanese

Tshua Siu-ui 蔡守崴

Since Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) arrival in Taiwan on May 26, he has dominated headlines across multiple local news outlets. Rather than speaking English, he has been seen several times conversing with locals in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), a local language no longer commonly used by the public.

Due to his growing popularity and use of Hoklo, issues surrounding the preservation of native languages have resurfaced. Contrary to the stigmatizing belief that Hoklo is merely a language spoken by the uneducated, Huang’s actions have inspired many of his fans to revive their respective mother tongues.

Unfortunately, even if that momentum continues, there is still a long way to go to thoroughly protect endangered native languages.

Proper way of constitutional reform

Yao Meng-chang 姚孟昌

The constitution lays down two guiding principles for the Republic of China’s governmental structure: the “separation of powers and of checks and balances” and the “cooperation between state organs to uphold each other’s effectiveness.”

The grand justices have often reinforced these two principles through constitutional interpretations, emphasizing that all constitutional bodies have a duty of loyalty to the “constitutional order of liberal democracy.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) recently challenged the roles of the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan, two of the five branches of government.

Security stepped up after incursion: Cho

Taipei Times

Taiwan has stepped up national security measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, after a former Chinese navy captain was arrested for illegally entering the nation on a motorboat.

“National security cannot be neglected for a minute,” he said, adding that security units had been instructed to “immediately strengthen protective measures.”

Coast guard personnel arrested the man, surnamed Ruan (阮), on Sunday after his boat collided with other vessels at a ferry terminal on the Tamsui River (淡水河) in the north. Before that, he reportedly sailed the vessel into a harbor near the mouth of the river.

KMT, TPP test limits of democracy

The Liberty Times Editorial

A bill forced through the Legislative Yuan on May 28 by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers to expand the legislature’s power is procedurally unjust. The package of amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) would prohibit government officials from counter-questioning legislators, create a “contempt of the legislature” offense and increase the body’s investigative and examination powers. The changes would even require the president to immediately answer any legislators’ questions after delivering a “state of the nation” report at the Legislative Yuan. The reforms are widely regarded as an excessive expansion of the legislature’s power and an infringement of human rights.

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