Taiwan Can Achieve More,
But It Takes Bilingualism
台灣可成就更高 但需要「雙語國力」

《作者從事與雙語教育相關的工作已斷斷續續30餘年。雙語已成國策，那就身體力行，開始用雙語發表意見吧。歡迎讀者對此形式提供您的意見及指教》

Among all sustaining forces, what Taiwan lacks most is the force of language. When people talk about a country’s competitiveness, most likely the main benchmarks are the military force, wealth force, technology force or even cultural force. The concept of“Force of Language”rarely came into mind. But in fact, linguistic capability is one of the key factors that can make or break a country in the long run , if not in the short.

在所有的可持續力量中，台灣最缺的就是語言的力量。當人們談論國家的競爭力時，通常主要的標竿都是軍事力量、財富力量、技術力量，甚至文化力量，而想都想不到「語言力量」這回事。但事實上，語言表達的能力，遲早也將是國家成敗的關鍵要素之一。

Examples are plenty. Take the tiny country of Singapore as a sample. Its existence and survival rests upon its capacity in applying and managing multi-lingual resources. Without that force of language, it can’t possibly thrive in a geographical setting as complex as this – with Malaysia on the north, Indonesia on the South-West, India to the West, and, particularly, the landmass of China up north. Geography is both a blessing and a curse to the country of Singapore, but its multi-linguistic capacity is a pure blessing. Without it, Singapore would still have been a trading center in that region and there is no way for it to have become one of the worldwide financial centers as today.

例子不勝枚舉，小小的新加坡就是一個樣本。它的生存，基於它運用、管理多重語言資源的氣度和能力。若缺少了這種「語言國力」，新加坡不可能在如此複雜的地理環境下茁壯 – 北有馬來西亞，西南有印度尼西亞，西有印度，尤其遠遠的北方還有中國這樣一塊大陸。地緣對新加坡這個國家既是祝福也是詛咒，但其多語能量則是百分之百的祝福。若非掌握語言國力，新加坡或許還能成為區域的貿易中心，但沒有可能變成今日的世界金融中心之一。

Hong Kong, in the past tense, also benefited tremendously from its bilingualism. By comparison, the mighty city of Shanghai in China will never replace the economic role Hong Kong used to play for China. I remember a sharp comment made by the past Premier of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Many years ago when visiting Taiwan, he was asked this question by a reporter : “Can you foresee Shanghai replacing Hong Kong one day“? “Never!”was Lee’s reply. “Why?” Here comes the issue of the force of language, “Because I simply can’t see that the Shanghainese can speak better English than the Hong Kong people”. End of discussion.

香港在過去，也大大得利於它的雙語能力。相較之下，中國上海這個巨型城市，永遠也無法取代過去香港對中國的經濟角色。我猶記得新加坡前總理李光耀的一針見血評論。多年前在造訪台灣時，記者問他：「你能預見上海有一天取代香港嗎」？「絕不可能！」李光耀回答。「為什麼呢」？這裡就看出語言的力量了，「因為我根本看不到上海人的英文能力有超過香港人的一天」。討論就此結束。

Taiwan is good at technology as well as in many other aspects. It produces over 50% of the high-end semiconductor chips for the world’s high-end industrial and military uses, and it also designs at least 25% of the chips for world’s daily electronic devices. Which means, should Taiwan’s economic activities be disrupted by a hostile party , or even worse, should the island country fall under a hostile party’s control, as a consequence, the entire world would be affected severely, even to the point of functionally inoperative.

台灣在科技上很行，其他方面也不錯。在世界的高端工業及軍事應用中，台灣生產的高端半導體晶片佔比超過50%。在日常生活的電子設備上，台灣設計的晶片也至少佔比25%。這意味著，若台灣的經濟活動被某個敵意方擾亂，或在更糟情況下台灣這個島嶼國家落入敵意方的控制，後果將嚴重波及整個世界，甚至導致世界在功能上無法運作。

On top of that, Taiwan is ingenious in meeting unconventional demands for outlandish components. The most apparent case would be that of the birth of Tesla. When Elon Musk couldn’t get designers and factories from other parts of the world to risk making his non-heard-of components, he came to Taiwan and found willing and capable suppliers. Without the ingenuity of Taiwan’s able engineers, Tesla’s EV could have been delayed for many more years and might even have missed its first-to-market timing.

此外，台灣在非傳統、奇思妙想的零組件領域也很高明。最顯著的例子就是特斯拉的誕生。當伊隆馬斯克在世界其他地方碰壁、沒有工廠和設計師願意為他冒險製造那些聽都沒聽過的零組件的時候，他來到台灣找到了出路和供應商。沒有台灣的這份高明和工程師，特斯拉的電動車可能延誤多年，甚至失去市場首發的時機。

In the political arena, Taiwan has been firmly placed in the first tier among countries of democracy. To be fair, Taiwanese citizens still stand eager for eliminating the residual, inherited authoritarian elements in its political system; however, from a global standpoint, the mere presence of this remaining endeavor, by itself, proves that Taiwan has already passed the point of no return of an evolving democratic country.

在政治競技場，台灣已經被牢牢放在了民主國家的前列。但還是得公平地說，台灣公民還在熱切得期待把自己政治體制中那些殘留的、繼承來的威權成份加以剷除。然而從全球眼光來看，這種熱切現象的本身，就足以證明台灣作為一個民主還在演化的國家，在道路上已經沒有回頭餘地了。

In any aspect, Taiwan should have received a much higher level of acknowledgement from the international community than what it gets now. It makes people wonder why it didn’t.

無論哪個角度，台灣都應該得到比現在更高的國際認可和關注。這讓人感到奇怪，為什麼不是這樣呢？

Sure, one can blame the “Cut-Taiwan-off-the-World” program that the neighboring CCP (Chinese Communist Party) exercised. But blaming is not productive, not in everyday life nor in politics. We need self-assertive solutions much more than airing complaints.

當然，我們可以歸咎於中共的「切斷台灣的世界聯繫」招數。但是，歸咎往往是不起積極作用的，在生活中如此，在政治上也一樣。自我斷然提出解決方案，遠比時時抱怨要重要的多。

Citizens in Taiwan need to be able to speak out for Taiwan, not waiting for others to speak for it. To speak out to the world, you need languages! Presently, over 90% of the citizens on this island write and speak in just one language : the written Mandarin Character and the spoken Mandarin plus dialects.

台灣公民有必要自己為台灣發聲，而不是只等待第三方替台灣發聲。既然要自己對世界發聲，那就需要語言（國力）！當前，90%的台灣公民只會用單一的語種書寫和表達：書面的華文系方塊字，和華語加上數種方言。

This causes consequences in two-folds. On the political side, when Taiwan citizens shout in Mandarin, only people who understand Mandarin in other parts of the world can know what Taiwan is shouting for. Sadly, 96% of those who understand are under the firewall enclosure in China. Furthermore, Taiwanese messages are being censored, twisted and manipulated by the CCP in order to prevent its subjects from hearing it.

這造成了雙重後果。在政治面，當台灣公民用華語呼喊時，世界上只有聽得懂華語的人知道台灣在呼喊什麼。遺憾的是，96%聽得懂華語的人被鎖在中國的防火牆內。更糟的是，中共為了防止其控制的人民聽懂，持續不斷得堵絕、扭曲、操弄來自台灣的訊息。

On the economy side, although the top-layer of the academics, businessmen and technical elites are all quite proficient with a second language, mostly English or Japanese, the majority of the able engineers and middle managers in Taiwan cannot communicate efficiently enough to bring out their personal or organizational potentials.

在經濟面，雖然頂端的學術工作者、企業家、技術精英都有不錯的外語能力，例如英文或日文，但是大多數的能幹工程師和中層管理者，還無法有效的通過外語溝通以展示他們自身或組織的真實潛力。

It’s such an obvious yet ignored national issue : Taiwan needs bilingualism for its political sustainability and economic prosperity. A thriving bilingualism in Taiwan can be achieved by flipping its mentality towards education, or by changing its attitudes towards “outsiders” and installing a more open-minded immigration policy.

如此明顯的國家級議題卻遭到忽視：台灣的政治可持續及經濟的繁榮，非需要「雙語國力」不可。若想如火如荼的推動雙語國力，有兩條路可走，一是翻轉其對教育之心態，或改變對「外來者」的態度、建立一套更開放的移民政策。

Either way, Taiwan must implement a bold and innovative approach to this “force of language” challenge. And that approach can start today. Are you ready? Yes, I meant YOU！

不論採哪一種方式，台灣對這「語言國力」的挑戰，必須實施一種既大膽又創新的路數。今天就可以開始，你準備好了嗎？沒錯，說的就是你！

* 更多有關台灣之未來，請往 《范疇 前哨預策網》InsightFan.com
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【#每日跟讀單元 405】
每日給自己15分鐘跟讀時事文章，零碎時間不放過累積聽力與口說。

摘要:
該基金會並未詢問受訪者作答的理由，但其推斷，可歸咎於近來的經濟衰退。受託進行調查的南韓民調機構「GRI研究」表示，這將對南韓成為一個多樣化且開放的社會沒有幫助。該民調的結果反映出相信同質性的傳統南韓社會。
The foundation didn’t ask for reasons behind the respondents’ viewpoint, but concluded that a recent economic downturn was to blame. GRI Research, which was commissioned to conduct the survey, said "this won’t help Korea to become a more diverse and open society." The result reflected traditional Korean society that believes in homogeneity.

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《快樂的本源即是戒》
Happiness Originates from Precepts (English version below)

常言道：苦口良藥。苦口的，真是良藥嗎？妳你若對這句話，有所疑惑，前來問吾準沒錯。所言當真？當真。乃因吾，玳瑚師父，是研習佛法及玄學多年的師父。現在就爲妳你排憂解惑。宇宙的真理是平等、平衡。套一句簡單的話，即是恰到好處。這句「恰到好處」再簡單一點，即是不多不少剛剛好也。故太苦則傷心，太甜則傷胰，太鹹則傷腎，太酸則傷胃⋯⋯。請君多珍重。

很少很少人會願意挨苦、吃苦的，這是平常的。但問題是，妳你們雖不想挨苦、吃苦，可是卻又活得越久，越老越辛苦，甚至是痛苦。這到底是怎麼一回事？有些人歸咎於命，有些人歸咎於父母，有些人歸咎於伴侶，有些人歸咎於⋯⋯。其實啊！與其妳你在那兒，浪費時光地歸咎來歸咎去，倒不如發奮圖強，力爭上游的向真正的能者討教成功之道，或立命之學，這樣才不愧對自己的生命呀！難道妳你生是苦，死也要苦嗎？在生前沒累積善功德，死後就到幽冥界受苦啊！爲何這麼笨？

根據吾多年的探討，人爲何越活越辛苦或痛苦，皆離不開「智」與「德」。因無智慧故，起心動念皆成障礙。障礙什麼？障礙入世之妻、財、子、祿。障礙出世的成就佛果。因無福德與功德故，入世出世皆障礙也。智慧絕非一般的聰明，所以才有「聰明反被聰明誤」，這句俗話也。智慧者，乃能圓滿無礙的觀破，及成就成辦一切事。福德、功德具足者，能成就無上道，能賜福賜吉祥給一切眾生。令一切眾生所求皆得圓滿。偉哉，勝哉！

咱們尊貴、慈悲、偉大的大聖佛陀，早⋯⋯在兩千六百多年前，已教導我們戒力多殊勝偉大。祂教導我們守戒才能生定，定中才能生慧。這也是所有佛教徒畢生的功課，謂之三無漏學。吾等若不依此正法修持，六道輪迴難逃唉！蓋有漏皆墮。結了婚，不守夫道婦道，風月場所流連忘返，紅杏出牆，與同事亂搞愛時，等等等。都是因爲不守戒，無定亦無慧。最後得個婚姻失敗、家庭破裂、爭奪子女扶養權、贍養費等問題。試問，要多久才能釋懷，才能重回以往的快樂？所以玳瑚師父告知妳你，快樂的本源即是戒。

.....................

As the saying goes, "Good medicine is usually bitter". Is bitter medicine really good? If you have doubts about this, you won't go wrong asking me for the answer. "Are you serious?", you might ask. Sure I am. I have immersed myself in the research and study of Dharma and Chinese Metaphysics for many years. Let me now resolve your woes and answer your questions. The truth of the Universe is equality and balance. To put it simply, that means just right. In even simpler terms, it means not too much, not too little, just hitting the right spot. If it is too bitter, the heart will be depleted. Too sweet, the spleen will be injured. Too salty, your kidneys will be hurt. Too sour, your stomach will suffer. So please keep well, my dear readers.

Very few people would be willing to endure hardships and suffer. That is normal. But while you have no wish to suffer, life is bound to be tougher as you live longer and age, even bringing with it pain and distress. What is happening? Some said it is just their lot in life. Some blamed their parents and spouse, and so on. Truth is, rather than wasting time pointing fingers, you will do better if you buck up and strive to seek advice from a genuinely able man on the formula to success or the way to creating your own destiny. Only then, you would not have lived in vain. Do you want to suffer your entire life, from birth to death? If there are no merits or virtues accumulated while alive, after your death, you will end up suffering in the Netherworld. Why will you be so foolish?

According to my years of exploration, the main reasons for Man's growing suffering in life boils down to two things: Wisdom and Virtues. When one has no wisdom, his every intention and thought become his obstacles to his worldly pursuits of spouse, wealth, descendants, fame, as well as one's spiritual aspirations towards attaining Buddhahood. Due to the absence of virtues and merits, one's path in life, be it secular or spiritual, will be fraught with obstacles.

Wisdom is not merely being clever, for as the saying goes: Clever people can end up being victims of their own cleverness. With wisdom, one attains an unimpeded penetrative view and is able to accomplish all pursuits. The wise person who accumulates sufficient good fortune, merits and virtues shall attain unsurpassed spiritual accomplishment, and in turn be able to bestow good fortune and auspiciousness to all sentient beings, allowing them to fulfil their wishes. What a great and magnificent achievement!

The esteemed, compassionate and noble Great Sage Lord Buddha taught us, 2600 years ago, the magnificence and nobility of upholding precepts. He taught us that only with adherence to precepts, can one's meditative stillness arise, and subsequently, one's wisdom develops. This is the lifelong homework of all Buddhists, known as the Threefold Non-Leakage Training. If we deviate from this path, we will not escape from the six realms of existence. When one married person commits sexual misconduct, he or she fails to uphold the precepts. Therefore there is no meditative stillness nor wisdom, ending up in a sorry state of family breakup, divorce, maintenance fees for spouse, fighting for rights to children, etc. Ask yourself, how long must you suffer before happy days return? That is why Master Dai Hi tells you that precepts is the source of all happiness.

www.masterdaihu.com/快樂的本源即是戒/