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8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H: Dan)

發表於 : 週五 8月 10, 2018 1:29 am
Dan
SESSION I

Racism in Taiwan

The U.S. has a terrible history of racism and serious problems continue to this day.

Most racists naturally don’t think they are racist. But the high incidence of racial discrimination and abuse in the U.S. is difficult to ignore. And given the highly diverse population in the U.S., racial tensions often lie just under the surface.

Perhaps inevitably, Americans have engaged in a national discussion about race.

In the homogeneous society of Taiwan, on the other hand, there is little discussion about racism or ethnocentrism (a belief that one’s ethnic group is better than others), and most Taiwanese would probably say there are few if any racial problems here.

But Taiwanese aboriginals and the large population of Southeast Asians who live here might beg to differ, and so might the much smaller population black Africans and other racial and ethnic groups.

Let’s talk about race relations in Taiwan. Following is some reading material to stimulate the discussion. I welcome YoYo members posting their own articles or videos, including those expressing opposing views to the views expressed in these articles:

Examples or views on racism and discrimination against Taiwanese aborigines and Southeast Asians:
http://www.ketagalanmedia.com/2016/03/1 ... in-taiwan/
https://www.foreignersintaiwan.com/blog ... nt-workers
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/a ... 2003691780
https://newbloommag.net/2017/09/20/migr ... sm-taiwan/

Examples or views on racism and discrimination against blacks:
https://nextshark.com/taiwanese-school- ... -teachers/
https://taiwanobserver.tw/2017/08/27/th ... in-taiwan/
https://medium.com/@nicolecoop/black-in ... 05e120d323

Examples or views on racism and discrimination against whites:
http://www.startabusinessintaiwan.tw/bl ... ways-to-go
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-34882824

Views on “unconscious bias”:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... ys-racists

Questions for Discussion
Session I
1. Do you consider racism to be a problem in Taiwan? Is there a significant incidence of prejudice and discrimination against different racial and ethnic groups here?

2. Do you think Taiwan should have a national discussion about race (which would include prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s skin color or ethnic group).

3. Have you ever seen or experienced racism or ethnocentrism in Taiwan?

4. Do you think many of the incidents of prejudice or discrimination against different racial and ethnic groups is the result of unconscious bias?

SESSION II:

Are Taiwanese People Chinese?


Surveys over recent years have consistently shown that a majority of people in Taiwan identify themselves as Taiwanese only, while only a small percentage identify as Chinese only. But many Taiwanese still consider themselves to be part of one big family with people in China—culturally and genetically--even if they don’t want Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic of China.

Whether Taiwanese deep down see themselves as Chinese or not has broad implications for the future of Taiwan.

Just a few articles here since you already have enough reading to do!:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mon ... 117fefe2b9
https://www.taiwanenews.com/doc/emerson20090810.php
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ ... 2003681322
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7TEsewura4
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/a ... 2003697945

Questions for Discussion
Session II

1. Does Taiwan have a separate and distinct culture from China? If so, please offer some examples of unique Taiwanese cultural characteristics or practices. Note: Bubble tea doesn’t count.

2. Many if not most Taiwanese have some aboriginal bloodlines, but would you agree with the controversial conclusions of noted Taiwanese hematologist Marie Lin that Taiwanese people are ethnically “distinct from the Han Chinese people” and instead are more closely related to aboriginal Austronesians and Pacific islanders?
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ ... 2003681322

3. To what extent have political parties and politicians determined or heavily influenced the views Taiwanese people hold about their ethnicity?

*******************************************************************************************************************************************
Agenda:
6:50~ 7:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
7:00 ~ 7:20pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:20 ~ 8:00pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
8:00 ~ 8:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:20 ~ 8:30pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:30 ~ 9:10pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
9:10 ~ 9:30pm Summarization / Concluding Remarks / Announcements (20 mins) ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期:列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間:請準時 7:00 pm 到 ~ 約 9:30 pm 左右結束
星期二聚會地點:丹堤濟南店
地址、電話:台北市濟南路三段25號 地圖 (02) 2740-2350
捷運站:板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法:出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後,沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘,到了濟南路口,左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
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Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週五 8月 10, 2018 9:32 pm
Rock
It's so much fun to join Dan's meetings. We rarely have chances to talk about these sensitive issues in Yoyo. Thanks to Dan's curiosity, we can share our opinions. Some may feel uncomfortable talking about them. But, as Plato said, we cannot refuse politics or we'd end up being ruled by the inferiors. He is right. Check out the politicians in Taiwan. :lol:

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週五 8月 10, 2018 10:51 pm
Rock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_by_country

Wiki says racism is a global thing. Taiwan has it, too.
But is it a problem?
https://www.quora.com/Are-Taiwanese-racist
Personally, I don't think it's a problem. It's true that many Taiwanese hold a "racial food chain" that white people on the top and darker skinned people in the lower part, but I've seldom heard Taiwanese abuse others racially. It's either because Taiwanese are nice, shy, cowardly, hypocritical, or anything.

As for how aboriginals are treated, I happened to have first hand experiences. There are many aboriginals in my neighborhood. They are not so different from us. Some of them are smart and talented. In fact, the director in my office is an aboriginal. He is a happy guy and there is no such thing as discrimination to him, I can assure you.

It is true that some aboriginal families are relatively poor and disadvantaged, but it's more like sins of the fathers because now the opportunities actually are more than equal to our aboriginal students. They can get into better schools with the same scores in big exams. Here in Taiwan, better schools means better jobs, for all the kids, aboriginals or not.

As of history, it's hard to say who took whose land. Just ask the American Indians. 8)

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週五 8月 10, 2018 11:38 pm
Rock
Come to think about it, this meeting is not about politics. Shoot, I'm stupid.

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週六 8月 11, 2018 2:46 pm
Dan
Thanks for the comments, Rock.

Well, politics affects (or as some people might say, "infects") all of these issues, especially the session on identity. But, of course, we need not let politics play too big a role in the discussion Tuesday. :wink:

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週一 8月 13, 2018 5:18 am
Michael-liu
Rock 寫:Come to think about it, this meeting is not about politics. Shoot, I'm stupid.
Well, Session 1 is not about politics, but Session 2 is.........

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週一 8月 13, 2018 6:04 pm
Iris Wu
The first topic serves a good reminder for our fellow compatriots of Taiwan. As most articles pointed out we don’t have a lot of violent racial clashes, but unconscious bias or certain racial prejudice do exist. We can definitely deal with that from many aspects, such as government policy, education, and promoting cultural exchange, etc., but fundamentally I am afraid it is just unlikely to completely eradicate the bias, the prejudice or the partiality.

Until we can all treat each other as a global citizen, I don’t think we can get rid of our cultural baggage. The world has never been fair to an individual nor to any country or ethnic group and we inevitably favor the group with success and power. I am not saying it’s right, but it is just difficult for most people not to possess certain types of bias or prejudice consciously or unconsciously, however the racial bias tends to go away once people know each other better over time.

For me, the exposure to a different society long enough seems helpful to know that people are all the same; most people, regardless their race, color, are decent, but anomalies (exceptions) exist even in our own countrymen.

As for session II, I don't think we need to take it completely from political point of view. Actually that's the question we constantly encounter while traveling. It should be a good practice for us to impart on this subject when needed.

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週一 8月 13, 2018 6:34 pm
Rock
I have a question about the definition of discrimination. My wife studied in UK for one year, she says that most UK people are "always seemingly polite and fair, but will never make friends with us because we are Taiwanese". Is it racial discrimination?

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週一 8月 13, 2018 9:25 pm
Rock

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週一 8月 13, 2018 9:26 pm
Rock

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週二 8月 14, 2018 6:07 am
Michael-liu
Rock 寫:I have a question about the definition of discrimination. My wife studied in UK for one year, she says that most UK people are "always seemingly polite and fair, but will never make friends with us because we are Taiwanese". Is it racial discrimination?
If deep down in their mind, they don't want to make friends with you just because you are Taiwanese, then, in essence, yes, it is racism.

But, if you wanna accuse them of racial discrimination, they can defend themselves by saying "I have freedom to choose whom I want make friends with"

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週二 8月 14, 2018 3:48 pm
Leon
Michael-liu 寫:
Rock 寫:I have a question about the definition of discrimination. My wife studied in UK for one year, she says that most UK people are "always seemingly polite and fair, but will never make friends with us because we are Taiwanese". Is it racial discrimination?
If deep down in their mind, they don't want to make friends with you just because you are Taiwanese, then, in essence, yes, it is racism.

But, if you wanna accuse them of racial discrimination, they can defend themselves by saying "I have freedom to choose whom I want make friends with"

Maybe we can call it as implicit discrimination.
This kind implicit discrimination happens much more than explicit discrimination in modern society.

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週二 8月 14, 2018 10:53 pm
Rock
Thank you, guys. The definition is perfect. :lol:

Re: 8/14(Tue.) Racism in Taiwan; Are Taiwanese Chinese? (H:

發表於 : 週日 8月 19, 2018 11:20 am
Kooper
Attendees(20): Amber Chang, Amy Chen, Brian, Christine Hsiu, Dan (host), Devry, Felicidad, Gloria, Iris, John Huang, Johnny (newcomer), Michael, Miller, Ramesh, Rock, Shirley, Steve Cheng, Wen-han, Tim, Yvonne Chen