Mr. Wu Bao-chun, a Taiwanese baker, previously won the "world" championship in a private-sponsored bakery competition and had been henceforth bestowed as another "Taiwan Pride". Regardless only a Junior High School diploma ever awarded him, now he wanted to be enrolled into a EMBA program in National Chengchi University but was rejected. The media hyped the news and critized that our educational system had been ossified and anachronistic, and falsely reported that Singapore would accept Mr. Wu if he sent his application. President Ma then ordered Ministry of Education to study the case and demanded such a talent like Mr. Wu be kept in Taiwan.

I've said many times before that any glories gained in "international" cmpetition pertaining to private, prefessional performers from Taiwan should attribute to them only, for what they did were their own jobs, what they achieved were their own feats, and what they earned out of hard work were their own money. It had nothing or little to do with Taiwan. Have you ever heard that any American calling Michael Jordan "America Pride"?  He was injured during his rookie year in Chicago Bulls, so he returned to North Carolina to finish his undergraduate study and earned his BA degree; no one would give him that. Let me take Deng Yaping for another example.  She was the queen of table tennis in 90's, acquiring numerous world championships in international tournaments, including two-time Olympic singles.  I've never heard any one calling her "China pride".  When she retired from sports, she majored English at Qinghua University exactly four years.  After graduation, she went to UK for further study, and finally earned her doctorate at Cambridge.  All of her academic achievements had been in her own right; no one would give her those merits, too. 

How many time shall we need to bend the rules for coming "Taiwan Prides"?  Comparing with Michael Jordan and Deng Yaping, are our heros genuine?  Even so, all we have to do is feeling happy for them, not necessarily proud of them, nor too indulgent towards them.  Wake up or keep on basking youselves in the reflected glory of the so-called "Taiwan Prides".