方恩格／居台三十年美國人
外交部推動一項名為「台灣獎助金」的計畫，根據網站描述「本獎助金旨在鼓勵全球對臺灣、兩岸關係、亞太區域、漢學研究等領域有興趣之專家學者來我國各大學校院或學術機構進行研究，促進學術交流」。
美籍學者格曼特‧萊拉里（Guermantes Lailari ）曾是台灣獎助金的受獎人，目前也是政治大學的訪問學者。今(2023)年8月6日，他在印度媒體《週日衛報》(The Sunday Guardian Live)上發表的專欄文章在台灣掀起輿論風波，因為文章中提到中國將在8月中攻擊東沙島，此攻擊最有可能發生在民進黨總統候選人及現任副總統賴清德過境美國並前往巴拉圭總統就職典禮的途中。
進一步檢視萊拉里先生近年在台灣撰寫的文章。
去(2022)年8月時任美國眾議院議長裴洛西(Nancy Pelosi)率領國會代表團來台，他於同月19日於《大紀元》的專欄寫道「裴洛西一行人參訪了台積電工廠」。當然，所謂的「台積電工廠」這一說法是不對的，台積電擁有眾多的晶圓廠，若裴洛西參訪了台積電，精準的說法會是，例如「參訪了台積電A15晶圓廠」，而不是像萊拉里原文所說的the TSMC factory，萊拉里的英文用詞，寫成了台積電在台灣只有一個廠，裴洛西就是去參訪該廠。不論如何，依據中央社報導裴洛西訪台約19小時，並沒有參訪台積電任何晶圓廠，萊拉里不僅對台積電的寫法有誤，對裴洛西的行程描述也有漏洞錯誤。
今年3月23日，萊拉里先生在《大紀元》談論前總統馬英九的訪中行程，當中提及「馬英九於香港出生，在台灣長大，卻從未去過中國，他怎可能在此次旅途中找到中國祖先祭拜」。馬前總統在這次的中國行中是否有祭祖，在馬英九基金會與《遠見》合作推出的《馬英九和平之旅》特刊有清楚描述，馬前總統於4月1日前往湖南湘潭祖父馬立安墓前祭拜並誦讀祭文。
萊拉里先生當然能認為中國會將在八月中攻擊東沙島，而現在已九月了，事實證明他的研判錯誤。然而，事實不準確是沒有任何藉口的。
希望曾經提供萊拉里先生台灣獎助金的外交部，以及聘請他為訪問學者的政治大學，也能認同這句話。
關於本專欄
方恩格曾任美國共和黨亞太區主席，旅居香港、新加坡等地，目前定居在台灣，並熱愛台灣這塊土地。他堅信國際間有關的台灣論述，應以最公正客觀的方式被書寫，無論這些外文論述的書寫立意原本是多麼良善，若是隔層紗看台灣、錯誤描述台灣的歷史脈絡，對台灣的國際地位可能會造成傷害。
他的《外文隔層紗看台灣》專欄，將鎖定值得探討、談台灣的英文文章，並對其內容做出反饋。
也歡迎讀者對他的文章提出反饋：[email protected]ｍ
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates a program called the “Taiwan Fellowship”, which, according to its website, “award foreign experts and scholars interested in researches related to Taiwan, cross-strait relations, Asia-Pacific region and Sinology to conduct advanced research at universities or academic institutions in Taiwan.
Guermantes Lailari is a previous Taiwan Fellowship recipient who is currently a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University. His commentary published in India’s The Sunday Guardian Live on August 6, 2023 caused much discussion in Taiwan due to his analysis that an attack by China on one of Taiwan’s offshore islands is “most likely … to occur is mid-August after Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai (and Presidential candidate) transits through the United States (12-18 August) on his way to Paraguay’s Presidential inauguration on 15 August”.
Among other things Mr. Lailari recently wrote during his time in Taiwan:
On August 19, 2022 in The Epoch Times Mr. Lailari wrote that when then-United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, her delegation “visited the TSMC factory in Taiwan”. Of course, there is no such thing as “the TSMC factory in Taiwan”, as TSMC has numerous fabs in Taiwan. More precise wording would be to identify which fab the delegation visited. Regardless, according to the Central News Agency, the delegation was in Taiwan for only 19 hours and there is no report of a visit to TSMC.
On March 23, 2023 in The Epoch Times Mr. Lailari wrote about former President Ma Ying-jeou’s trip to China, “Ma was born in Hong Kong, raised in Taiwan, and has never been to the PRC. How can he find Chinese ancestors to worship during his trip? According to a publication that the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation and Global Views Monthly co-published after the trip, Ma paid homage to his grandfather Ma Li’an on April 1st at the grandfather’s tomb in Xiangtan, Hunan.
In early August, Mr. Lailari could certainly take the view that China would attack one of Taiwan’s offshore islands in the middle of the month. As it is now September, we know his view was inaccurate. However, there is no excuse for factual inaccuracies.
Let’s hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (for recipients of the Taiwan Fellowship), and National Chengchi University (for its visiting scholars) also agree that there is no excuse for factual inaccuracies.
About the Author
Ross Feingold previously served as Republicans Abroad Asia Chairman, and he has resided in Hong Kong, Singapore. His love for Taiwan led him to become a permanent resident. Ross strongly believes foreign language commentary about Taiwan should be fair and objective, and no matter how well-intentioned, it is harmful to Taiwan when such materials lack context, or are factually inaccurate.
The “On Foreign Language Materials About Taiwan” column explores foreign language materials about Taiwan and provides feedback on their content. Email tips or feedback about this column to: [email protected]
