Just in case any English people get offended by the earlier post, can I just mention... I do actually quite like England (And I'm sure that has you all whooping with joy). I even support the English football team ('cos Scotland's is so shite it never goes anywhere, but if it did - I would much rather support it, naturally. Hope you don't mind). I'll re-iterate my point here: I have nothing against England. Your beer is much nicer than ours, for a start.
But I'm sure you would agree, that, if you were subjected to being constantly referred to as being "Scottish", "Welsh" or "Irish" you'd get kinda narky, wouldn't you? In the same way that I constantly have to explain that "No, I'm not from England'"... "No, Scotland is not a city in England"... and "No, Scotland is not a region in England"... I'm sure you'd get tired of it, if the situation was reversed.
And that's the thing... I'm just soooo tired of the ignorance. Y'know, I made an effort to read up on Taiwanese history before I came here. I also know that if I was in the PRC the spin would be different, too. And I know that issues like this are so subjective and emotionally and politically volatile that almost anything could offend someone somewhere.
BUT, I also know my own country's history too. And I'm pretty well-versed in world geography. So I am astounded by the general lack of knowledge that permeates through the media (especially CNN, and the American news channels) and even some ex-pats living abroad...
Yes, I DO know some English people that genuinely thought Scotland was a region somewhere in the North of England. I also know some Canadians who used to think Scotland was an island near England. And I know some Taiwanese who - until they saw a world map - believed Taiwan to be bigger than China or Japan, and even the USA. I'm sure there are also spectacularly thick Scots out there too, that continue to believe Glasgow is the epicentre of the Universe... In fact, I know there are people like that out there, so hey, I'm not saying we're in any way more intelligent...
So, for the sake of Anglo-Celt peace let's just ... have a nice cup of tea, and a dram of whisky?
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