Deigning to try and prevent a legislator from speaking Taiwanese, he is stuck in the Martial Law era. The incident has circulated online, evoking memories for many of being punished for “speaking dialects” in elementary school. My parents are Taiwanese, and Taiwanese is my mother tongue. I was often subject to the NT$1 fines for speaking in Taiwanese in school. The arrogance of this Chinese mindset is akin to what the Taiwanese phrase refers to when it talks of beggars moving into a temple and driving out the temple keepers.

Source: Taipei Times January 21, 2026 21:44 UTC