In
the article “Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous?”, Levi (2012) suggests that
not every part of the world is bitten by the social media bug. This
is clearly evident in areas where the access to Internet is scarce, such as
undeveloped areas or regions facing political instability. In addition, Levi
adds that the unavailability of languages contribute to the lack of prevalence,
though the problem is lessen by the availability of second languages. To avoid
any political complications, the author highlights that Facebook has
intentionally omitted some languages, such as Taiwanese and Tibetan.
Political
disputes between countries may result in severe consequences. In worst case
scenarios, countries may eventually wage wars and cause serious harm towards
themselves, their people and also neighbouring countries. In addition to death
tolls and massive damages to infrastructures, such devastating occurrence
will lead to a economic meltdown throughout the world. As such,
maintaining political ties is extremely important between countries. Because of
this threat that might be imposed, it is advisable that social media sites
exclude the language supportability of countries such as Taiwan and adopt a
"wait-and-see" approach before making these national languages
available on its platform.
On
Mar 8, 2008, China released details of the planned new anti-secession bill
during its annual session of parliament. The bill stressed that any attempt of
secession by the Taiwanese government will result in an initiation of war,
something which Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress
(NPC) said that China was prepared for. In addition, it was later announced
that Beijing’s arms budget would increase by 12.6% in that year (Labott .E,
Grant, S. & Duffy, T., 2014). The strong emphasis of a possible war
breakout by China had prevented Taiwan from trying any means of declaring
independence. This also explains the firm stand China is taking and how they
will not tolerate any form of attempt for Taiwan to display its independence,
even the slightest form. By introducing Taiwanese as an option in the ‘language
selection’, it may suggest that social media sites are
supporting Taiwan’s proposition of autonomy. This will then risk agitating the
Chinese, thinking how netizens or international companies are not taking their
side.
The
use of hanyu
pinyin has been accepted by the Taiwan government since more than
five years ago (The Economist, 2014). Both its president, Mr Ma Ying-jeou,
and officials supported the use of this phonetic system and agreed it would
improve Taiwan’s economic situation with other Chinese-speaking regions.
However,
this view was not shared amongst the rest of the country. The Economist (2014)
reported that major cities of the country insisted on using the former
Romanization system, which was introduced in 2002. Therefore, Facebook’s
implementation of the Taiwanese language may insinuate the view of the
opposition parties, and aggravate relations domestically as well as
internationally, between Taiwan and China. As such, the omission of the
language by social media sites would prevent any political problems
both amongst the Taiwanese and also between Taiwan and China.
Despite
all the negative effects social media sites might create upon the
official release of the Taiwanese language, it does not mean that they should
exclude this possibility as an area of development. In the article "Taiwan
stays on course for closer ties with mainland China", Chung (2015)
noted that Wang Yu-chi, the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council,
which oversees policies towards the mainland, said that one of the government's
goals this year was to engage in further talks with Beijing. Chung also
mentioned that recent polls have revealed that 80 per cent of the
Taiwanese public supports the idea of fostering closer ties with mainland
China.
In
conclusion, it is only right for social media sites to stay away from
supporting these countries’ first language on their platforms, and remain
sensitive to the political situation in these countries. Nevertheless, if
things had turned for the better, these social media sites should then follow
suit and subtly put up more languages in its options. This “wait-and-see”
approach will help prevent unnecessary unhappiness and agitation to dominant
countries.
(676 words)
References:
Chung, L. (2015). Taiwan stays on course for closer ties with mainland China. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1689369/taiwan-stays-course-closer-ties-mainland-china
Labott, E., Grant, S. & Duffy, T. (2014). U.S urges China to rethink Taiwan. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/07/china.npc.law/
Levi, D. (2012, July 24). Where ISN'T social media ubiquitous? [Web log post].Retrieved from http://www.etondigital.com/where-isnt-social-media-ubiquitous/
Murdoch, G. & Richardson, A. (2008). TIMELINE: Milestones in China-Taiwan relations since 1949. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/12/uk-china-taiwan-idUSSP28081420080612
Lost in Romanisation. (2014) The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21603500-ideological-warfare-over-spelling-lost-romanisation?zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227
Strait of alarm. [Online Video]. (2014) The Economist. Available from http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/03/taiwans-relations-china?zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227#
