"Traditional Chinese characters as used in the Republic of China today are by and large the same as those used 3,000 years ago. They are a living cultural heritage and are worthy of recognition by the international community," Tzeng said in an interview with Taiwan Journal Dec. 17, 2008.
Tasked by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan with overseeing the campaign, Tzeng explained that the idea of seeking world heritage recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for traditional Chinese first occurred to him in 2003.
"At that time, I was a cultural advisor to the Taipei City Government, President Ma Ying-jeou was mayor of Taipei and the premier was president of Soochow University," he said. "The three of us discussed the issue and agreed that international recognition would help sustain the development of traditional Chinese."
Tzeng explained that Ma initially considered seeking world heritage listing for traditional Chinese in the name of Taipei City, but the plan came unstuck as Taiwan's absence of U.N. membership was considered a major obstacle. Nevertheless, promoting the cultural item has remained high on Ma's list of priorities as evidenced by his initiating of the annual Chinese Character Festival in 2005 while mayor--the first of its kind in the world dedicated to the promotion and celebration of Chinese characters.
The communists on mainland China introduced simplified Chinese characters during the 1950s in an attempt to improve literacy rates, and it is now the official writing system on that side of the Taiwan Strait.
In the wake of the mainland's rise over the past 20 years, simplified characters now prevail in overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. This places traditional Chinese, which is used by just over 30 million people around the world--mostly in Taiwan and Hong Kong--in danger of being marginalized.
According to Tzeng, the success of Taiwan's bid hinges on its acceptance with academics and Sinologists around the world. "Many experts are concerned about traditional Chinese script being competed out of existence," he said. "For this reason, and the fact that traditional Chinese characters meet the definition of 'intangible cultural heritage' as outlined in the UNESCO Convention, we have high hopes for the campaign's success."
The minister without portfolio emphasized that mainland China should not be excluded from the listing process and stated that some mainland scholars had voiced support for the campaign. "This is a purely cultural issue, not a political one," Tzeng said. "Traditional Chinese characters should be deemed a common cultural heritage for both sides of the Taiwan Strait and a treasure of world civilization. I don't see a reason for Beijing to oppose such a progressive acknowledgement."
With the Cabinet setting a four-year limit on fulfilling the goal of cultural heritage listing, Tzeng explained that soon after the Lunar New Year, a team of officials, academics and representatives of private cultural organizations would form to conduct the campaign.
"We will soon come up with a position paper in different languages, and then begin contacting international Sinological centers and universities running Chinese studies programs," he said. "I believe this is a project that will strike a resonant chord with people around the world."
Tzeng served as minister of education (2000-2002) and was a vice president of Academia Sinica (2002-2006). He is a respected scientist, recognized for his work in memory, psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience.
Write to Ellen Ko at ellenko@mail.gio.gov.tw