LIBERTY TIMES (Taiwan)
TAICHUNG – Is Jeremy Lin Taiwanese or American? This dumb question, as some put it, appeared on a recent test at a Taiwanese junior high school.
Half of the students answered “Taiwanese.” Wrong! But the apparently light exam topic about an NBA basketball player has set off hot debate in Taiwan, where geopolitics, nationality and identity are often a source of confusion and consternation, reports the Liberty Times daily.
Some parents of students who were marked wrong brought this “injustice” to local city council arbitration. Both the mayor and the director of Taichung’s education department say they believe both answers should be credited, in a politically correct manner.
Jason Hu the Mayor said “Legally speaking he’s an American, whereas considering him as a Taiwanese is an emotional issue”.
Earlier this year, with the arrival of the global phenomenon known as Linsanity, the national origin of the New York Knicks guard set off a sort of standoff among America, Taiwan and China. A visiting U.S. Congressman even corrected Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou, who had referred to Lin as a “Taiwanese.” Mainland China also likes to claim him as one of their own.
So in a country where even the president considers himself to be “a Taiwanese as well a Chinese,” and the notions of nationality and diaspora can be so raw, putting a sports star on a junior high exam is not such a light question after all.
Read the full story in Chinese