來自慕尼黑謝同學的分享!
陳導演妳好：
非常感謝昨天妳跟我分享的時光，雖是雙向溝通但個人深覺獲益良多。
由於我時間上有限，非常遺憾無法再與妳多交流，但是我非常喜歡"Dear Taiwan"，也很想把這部片子跟我的英國男友分享，我在youtube 上面看到的是沒有英文的版本，不知道能在那裡下載到昨天那樣有英文字幕的片子?? [編按:請至本頁]
我常為台灣人在國際上的位置而感到難過，因為工作的關係我常到世界各國旅行，南非、印度、杜拜、美國等等；讓我印象最難忘的是有一次在南非入境時，因為我護照上印有"TAIWAN"，所以海關人員對我百般阻撓，非得要我說明為何上面ROC又下面寫TAIWAN，查問了我四十多分鐘才讓我入境，當時我急著出海關因為我客戶在機場外等我，要接我出去開會，心裡既無耐又心急。在杜拜也曾有類似的情況，因為海關不知道TAIWAN在那裡，他說這不是一個國家，到底你是ROC還是TAIWAN來的.....因為十幾年來的國際旅行， 我身為一個台灣人民，最大的無力感莫過於國際上的認同了。
看了這部片子，我的心裡百感交集，但莫過於一句"感謝"。雖然自我的認同跟國際上的認同是二件事，但有了自我的認同，下一步能達到"被別人認同"也就指日可待了。我希望將這部片子跟更多人分享，因為關於政治的話題一向是我個人不避諱的談論話題。
最後，祝妳在德國的旅行順利、影片製作順心。
謝佳祝
TU München
After reading about the recent legislative elections and the upcoming
presidential election, I'm intrigued by how voters in Taiwan grapple
with the issue of national identity.
Having immigrated to the US
at age six, I crossed cultural borders constantly during my childhood.
Each morning, I would leave a house filled with Asian customs and
traditions and then go to school surrounded by American culture.
When
the "where are you from" question was asked from time to time, I
usually replied "China," which was geographically accurate, as my family
left Shanghai for the US.
However the "Chinese-American" label wasn't so accurate.
My father grew up in Taiwan, my mother grew up in Japan and my brother was born in Japan.
All four of my grandparents grew up in Taiwan speaking Taiwanese as their primary language.
Nevertheless,
I described myself as Chinese-American to others throughout my
childhood in spite of the obvious fact that I didn't have Chinese
heritage.
Years later, while in graduate school, one of my
roommates, a Taiwanese, was having a lively discussion with one of his
close friends, a speaker of Cantonese.
The Cantonese friend thought of himself as Chinese and considered Taiwan as part of a greater China.
My roommate disagreed -- for obvious reasons -- and then turned to me to ask: "What do you consider yourself?"
I tersely replied "Chinese" while grabbing a quick bite during a study break.
Aware of my family's background, my roommate became exasperated and gave me a look.
Not being politically savvy, I simply finished my snack and went back to hitting the books.
A
few years later, I heard the distinct sound of Taiwanese as my father
was chatting on the phone. I assumed that he was talking to someone on
his side of the family.
However, my mother said that he was on the phone with one of my cousins on her side of the family.
Unlike most of my cousins on her side, that particular cousin grew up in Taiwan.
They
were discussing the upcoming 2000 presidential election, when it seemed
the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) could replace the Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT).
A few months later, that cousin visited
us for the Thanksgiving holiday and cheerfully discussed with my father
the first Taiwanese party to capture the presidency.
They spoke of
that election with the same emotion felt when describing a profoundly
meaningful personal event, such as one's wedding day or the birth of
one's child.
I was disappointed in myself that I had not understood before how much significance this event held for my father.
The
clues were there. He was born in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule,
witnessed second-class treatment at the hands of the KMT during his
childhood and ultimately had to leave his native Taiwan for a chance at a
better life as an adult.
Add on the fact that none of my
grandparents lived to see a Taiwanese elected to preside over their own
country and it's clear why that election was so significant.
While
one election certainly didn't undo decades of injustice, at least it
gave hope to my father that the ship continued to point in the right
direction.
As for my journey to the obvious, I'm not exactly sure what took so long.
Perhaps
I was so focused on school that I didn't reflect fully on my origins.
Perhaps it was fear that kept my parents from discussing sensitive
political topics. Perhaps it was the hassle of having to explain the
distinction between Chinese and Taiwanese to everyone.
Circling back to the issue of the upcoming presidential election, as
Taiwanese voters proceed to the polls again, they need to carefully
consider their own history in order to build that path to a better
future.
I suspect that many are realizing now that they themselves have essentially handed the legislature to a foreign regime.
If
the Taiwanese truly understand who they are, then they should be
extremely wary of the KMT, who are likely to appease communist China,
export strategic technology to China and shackle Taiwan to a Chinese
economy that may well be a bubble on the verge of collapse.
The Taiwanese should make a stand now so that the ship continues to point in the direction of freedom.
Otherwise, they will hand their destiny over to the same people who forced suffering upon them for decades.
As
a person of Taiwanese heritage with a US viewpoint, it is obvious that
Taiwan must acknowledge its soul or risk losing that and much more in
the future.
Carl Chiang
Richmond, California