It is now well over an entire week since the Climategate story broke, and, despite three letters urging them to report on the story, the Taipei Times has shamefully evaded it. It is not as though they couldn't have reported on the simple facts but with a bit of left-wing spin thrown in either - no they couldn't do anything less than simply ignore it. I wouldn't mind if I had been addressing my complaint to another blogger with no other responsibility than to himself - but a newspaper is different. A newspaper is an institution whose most basic purpose is to keep its' readers informed on the unfolding of world events; particularly those events of major political import. At least, that is the naive view. The editorial staff at the Taipei Times are not acting with integrity to that purpose. The alternative can only be...
At any rate, my question to them: if you will not even inform your readers of the basic facts, however uncomfortable they may be to you, then where can I draw the boundary line for the contempt in which I hold you?
Where does this leave my project?
The essential value to me, in all of this - and however seemingly small and insignificant my efforts are, is the attempt to erode the grip of collectivist principles of political action in Taiwanese culture. My letters to the Taipei Times are just the principle method. Of the twenty seven letters I have written them so far since the beginning of 2009, they have published just ten. Translating into Mandarin and sending them to the Mandarin dailies has long been the obvious next step. Until the practical difficulties with that are out of the way (i.e. getting my Mandarin up to the required standard), I will just keep plugging the Taipei Times.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
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do translate yr missives into Chinese for the Chinese language newspapers in your country, sir. good idea. pritning them in English in a local expat paper does absolutely no good at all. you are preaching to the choir. you wanna reach the people of your country, get yr letters in their Mandarin newspapers. Expats don't give a shit. I know. I am an expat in my own country!
ReplyDeletesincerely,
Robert Greaves, London