Speaking in two tongues

My daughter was playing by herself in her bedroom after lunch today, and she was speaking to herself...in Chinese. Until recently, English had been her primary language, but lately she has been using Chinese more often, though never with me. Language acquisition is a concern I have living in Taiwan, as I'm Amber's primary exposure to the English language (along with some DVD's my parents have sent from the U.S.), and I don't get to spend much time with her during weekdays due to work commitments. My wife uses English with our daughter occasionally, but naturally she converses most of the time in Mandarin 中国官話. Combined with the fact that Chinese (and Taiwanese 台湾語) is what Amber hears when she goes outside, I'm worried that her English ability could start to be affected. We'll be visiting my parents for a couple of weeks next month, which will be a good experience for her linguistically, but I'm wondering if the long-term solution would be to have her grow up in an English-speaking environment, with Mandarin being reserved for the home.

On a completely different topic, the chairman of the Kuomintang 中国国民党, Wu Poh-hsiung 呉伯雄, is currently in Japan in yet another attempt to repair damaged relations. The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has the story ("Time to end Senkaku dispute: Wu"):

"Japan and Taiwan should work to settle their territorial dispute in a peaceful manner and strengthen bilateral cooperation for the development of the East China Sea 東シナ海, the chairman of Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party said Wednesday in Tōkyō 東京. 'Our position is very clear' regarding Taiwan's claim of sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 in the East China Sea, Wu...reiterated during a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. But the two sides 'should avoid any conflict,' he added."

Wu's speech comes after two Chinese survey ships were spotted on Monday near the Senkakus, in what the Japanese consider territorial waters. Was this intrusion coincidental or deliberate? As the Japan Times notes:

"Wu, whose visit to Tōkyō is the first-ever by a leader of a ruling Taiwanese party, was involved in a historic meeting in China with Chinese President Hu Jintao 胡錦濤 in May. The meeting brought together the heads of China's and Taiwan's ruling parties for the first time in over half a century. Regarding concerns that stronger ties across the Taiwan Strait 台湾海峡 may weaken ties between Tokyo and Taipei (T'aipei) 台北, Wu acknowledged that communication and exchanges between the Nationalist Party and the Japanese government were 'insufficient' during the eight years his party was out of power. But he stressed that the two countries share basic democratic values and ties with Tokyo will remain strong."

Unfortunately, those so-called shared "democratic values" seem to be weakening these days in Taiwan. As some observers pointed out in the run-up to Human Rights Day yesterday, Taiwan appears to be becoming more like China rather than the other way around. Sadly, it feels like Taiwan's wonderful experiment in political freedom is gradually coming to an end. And don't expect the likes of Wu to mourn its passing. As the article notes:

"Wu...said he supports China's position on the issue of Tibet's demand for autonomy..."

Ivan must be feeling pretty good these days.