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| 2014-03-29: Virginia: Arlington: Message from Che-Bao Ma 馬哲保 received from Che-Bao Ma (馬哲保) |
| Taiwan Island Village: 台灣島村: Hsinchu (Xinzhu) High School Reminisced 憶竹中 忆竹中 |
| Emails from Che-Bao 馬哲保 While traveling in America, I have kept myself informed about what has being happening back home in Taipei. I am pleased to learn this morning that a strong voice against the social chaos has finally emerged from the silent majority. One small step ahead, I wrote to my former high-school classmates and teachers two days ago to express my concern. I coined the subject title as “Knowledge conquers all,” which is modeled after the popular expression of “Love conquers all” out of my belief that emphasizing the pursuit of “Knowledge” and “Love” is essential to building up an open-minded world perspective (contrary to the narrowed-minded mentality influenced strongly by chauvinistic ideology) that will guide Taiwan out of the current social turmoil toward a better future. For their reference, I will distribute this email to my friends and relatives along with the abovementioned previous email with slight revisions. (3 subsequent separate emails cited in the original message are, however, omitted.) In the context of my previous email, attached is a photo of me taken on the afternoon of 3/27 in front of The Inscription Wall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, when I was reading the inscribed quotes from King's speeches and writings. The second photo was taken on the afternoon of 3/25 in the snowy front yard of my daughter and her husband's house: my son and his fiancée together with my wife and me, just before we headed for the civil marriage ceremony of my son and his fiancée in the court house in Arlington County, Virginia. “Knowledge & Love Conquers All” is my blessings to this newly wedded couple. Regards, Che-Bao Ma 2014/03/29 Arlington, Virginia _________________________ My dear former high-school classmates and teachers, In response to some recent discussions among us, I believe that as the ever-changing modern world advances at a full-fledged speed to an unknown but for sure more complicated future, knowledge conquers all. I therefore feel pity for those students in Taiwan, who have been spending their youthful life and precious time and energy not trying hard to seek knowledge but willingly following suit after some of the local politicians, whose narrow- minded, chauvinistic ideology, I believe, would lead Taiwan to nowhere but self-destruction and weakness. At such a dark and confusing moment in Taiwan, I believe that an open-minded world perspective is what we need the most. This afternoon, I had the chance, along with my wife, my son and his newly wedded wife, to re-visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the Mall of Washington, DC. I am, as before, deeply overwhelmed in particular by one of the quotes from King's speeches, inscribed on The Inscription Wall, which I feel is more than appropriate now to share with you all --- “If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.” I am grateful to our Teacher Jerome Yen and my former INER colleague, Dr. Gann Ting, who have emailed me their collections of commentaries on Taiwan's recent chaotic situation. To provide you with a balanced view, I have just taken the liberty to forward them (2 from Yen; 1 from Ting) to you under separate emails (for your reference: Reference #1 of 3, #2 of 3, and #3 of 3). Che-Bao Ma 2014/03/27 mid-night, in Arlington, Virginia Sent from Surface |
