Letter to Mr. Yang


Henry H. Tan-Tenn
38 Park Street, Apt. 11C
Florham Park, NJ 07932
January 1, 1998
Mr. Sunny Yang
Chairman
Florida Splendid China
3000 Splendid China Blvd.
Kissimmee, Florida 34747

Dear Mr. Yang:
It has been brought to my attention the injustice which your country, represented by Florida Splendid China, has perpetrated on the so-called ethnic minorities of the People's Republic of China.
Just as your country has brutally oppressed, through political and military means, the people of Tibet, East Turkestan (so-called Xinjiang), and Southern Mongolia, so the park which you run has unjustly coopted non-Chinese icons of great significance to the project of Chinese cultural imperialism. I refer specifically to the display of the Potala Palace, Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, Mongolian Yurt, Id Gah Mosque, and the "Tomb of Xiang Fei" exhibits.
As a Taiwanese familiar with my people's longtime struggle for political independence, and whose cultural identity is constantly the object of Chinese censure, I cannot help but condemn your government's continuing attempt to mislead the American public. Just as I object to your country's attempts to incorporate Taiwan, not just politically but culturally, into "Greater China", so I must object to your country's illegal and genocidal occupation of Tibet, Southern Mongolia, and East Turkestan. I have no doubt many American citizens will agree.
For the sake of justice I urge you to remove those inappropriate displays from the park as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Henry H. Tan-Tenn,
Member of Taiwanese Collegians