In recent days the Chinese government closed down a local Wikipedia imitator, apparently for daring to refer to the Republic of China and a Falun Gong figure by name. The curious thing about this is that the Republic of China existed long before the controversy over Taiwan's status as a Chinese province, Japanese war booty or an independent state started in earnest.
The symbolism of censoring not just dissidents but also the historical record itself points to a government that is increasingly distant from the everyday world of Chinese people. But that's a problem for the Chinese people to solve.
From Taiwan's point of view, promises of a 2008 Beijing Olympics that would elevate China's status to that of responsible world player and achieve a better balance between politics and economics are looking rather empty. The threats are still there, repression is increasing and the unctuousness of the leadership entertains as thoroughly as always.
So why is our government pussy-footing around with the issue of the Olympics, given that one of its primary political functions for China will be to denigrate Taiwanese aspirations to self-determination? It's high time that the government sent out a short, sharp signal to China: cut out your patronizing and threatening behavior, or the Olympic torch will not be admitted into the country at all, regardless of where it comes from and where it then goes.
Instead, we have been witness to the same wishy-washy ambiguities that have characterized this battle over national symbolism. In the torch's case, this means the possibility of an itinerary that would allow China and Taiwan to each take a piece of the propaganda pie: Let the torch come from another country into Taiwan before hitting China, and both sides can claim whatever they want.
Need it be spelled out? Any agency that allows such ambiguity deserves to be mocked for its comprehensive tactical ineptitude. The effort to combat propaganda, if it is to have any effect whatsoever, must feature unambiguous repelling of the enemy, not just an appeasing of the treacherous and a soothing of the spineless back home.
Taiwan is a free country, at least for now. And in this spirit, Olympic officials should be duly warned: an Olympic torch that passes through Taiwan in the service of a predatory Chinese government will turn into an unprecedented debacle. Protests and specially placed activists positioned on every street corner would obstruct the relay and even extinguish the flame, maximizing embarrassing TV footage for all the world to see.
Given the unchanging tone of threat that China levels at Taiwanese, it would be a debacle richly deserved for local organizers and the International Olympic Committee, which has done Taiwan no favors by pandering to Chinese politics over the years.
Even symbolism born of racist demagoguery such as the Olympic torch relay -- courtesy of Hitler's propaganda geniuses -- can be subverted and turned into harbingers of peace. More than the others, the Sydney and Athens Olympics managed to take out much of the kitsch nonsense that accompanies Olympic ceremonial displays and turned the Games into a more human rather than nationalist event.
This will take a change for the worse with the Beijing Olympics. It is astonishing that are so many people -- including, astonishingly, opening/closing ceremony gun-for-hire Steven Spielberg -- outside of China who think otherwise. It seems that sporting glory is not the only fantasy that the Olympics are capable of producing.
A few weeks ago in Kaohsiung, tech mogul turned political pundit Robert Tsao (曹興誠) joined Western Washington University professor Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮) for a public forum in support of Taiwan’s recall campaign. Kaohsiung, already the most Taiwanese independence-minded city in Taiwan, was not in need of a recall. So Chen took a different approach: He made the case that unification with China would be too expensive to work. The argument was unusual. Most of the time, we hear that Taiwan should remain free out of respect for democracy and self-determination, but cost? That is not part of the usual script, and
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
For nearly eight decades, Taiwan has provided a home for, and shielded and nurtured, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the KMT fled to Taiwan, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of soldiers, along with people who would go on to become public servants and educators. The party settled and prospered in Taiwan, and it developed and governed the nation. Taiwan gave the party a second chance. It was Taiwanese who rebuilt order from the ruins of war, through their own sweat and tears. It was Taiwanese who joined forces with democratic activists
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