Rectifying a Non-Error

Rectifying a Non-Error
Bevin Chu
May 17, 2006

US postal service rectifies Web site references to nation
Taipei Times
By Nadia Tsao
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON , WITH CNA
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has agreed to revise all references to the nation [sic] on its Web site from "a province of China" to "Taiwan" as requested by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), the Washington-based pro-Taiwan independence group said.

The postal service also issued an apology for having referred to Taiwan as a Chinese province, it added.

FAPA sent a letter to the postal service early last month at the request of its members. The letter stated that as an enterprise established by the US Congress, the postal service should abide by the rules and regulations of the US State Department, referring to a 1996 State Department memorandum that requests all relevant US government agencies and officials to refer to Taiwan as "Taiwan."

In a letter to FAPA dated May 9, the postal service stated that it regretted the error.

Comment: I know how one rectifies an error. But how does one rectify a non-error? I know that one should regret an error. But how does one regret a non-error?

Taiwan is a province of China. The Republic of China Constitution that is the basic law on the Chinese island of Taiwan says so clearly in black and white. So when Google and the USPS referred to Taiwan as "a province of China," they were absolutely correct. They had nothing to regret, nothing to rectify, and nothing to apologize for.

See: Google is still Right, Taiwan is still a Province of China

Ironically Google, which is under attack from the US federal government for allegedly caving in to pressure from Beijing, showed more respect for the truth than the USPS when Google refused to "rectify" its non-error, but instead bypassed the problem by removing all references completely.

Maybe the Hawaiian independence movement can now demand that the USPS stop referring to Hawaii as the 50th state of the union, and correctly refer to it as the Kingdom of Hawaii?

See: The Overthrow of the Monarchy

Now that would truly be rectifying an error. Now that would truly be something worth apologizing for.

Come to think of it, maybe now the US federal government can start treating all 50 states as sovereign and independent nations, as specified in the Articles of Confederation?

But don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.