Three past Olympic cities
Since World War II, only three communist countries have been chosen to host the Olympics. Sadly, two failed to conform to the spirits of the International Olympic Movement and the third was ravaged by a civil war six years after the Games.
Moscow was the first communist city to hold the Olympics in 1980. One year earlier, the armed forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) invaded Afghanistan. The invasion drew international criticism and protests, and it resulted in a boycott of the Olympics by 62 countries, including the US. The war led to widespread destruction in Afghanistan, economic decline in the USSR, and the collapse of the superpower in 1991.
The second city, Sarajevo, successfully hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. The uneasy socialist union of various ethnic groups started to break up in 1990 under economic pressures, just six years after the Olympics were held. The breakup then escalated into a series of horrific civil wars that were characterized by ethnic cleansing.
Beijing is the third communist city to host the Olympics. China originally hoped to showcase the “peaceful rise” of the People’s Republic of China. Instead, even before the opening ceremony began, it was deeply mired in controversies relating to human rights violations.
Persecution and human rights abuses in China are incompatible with the Olympic Spirit set out in Article 1 of the Olympic Charter that seeks “respect for universal, fundamental and ethical principles.” Beijing is now besieged with paranoia of impending civil unrest. Regardless of the outcome, the Beijing Olympics have cast China in a negative way.
Furthermore, Beijing will once again intentionally humiliate Taiwan by using the incomprehensible name “Chinese Taipei.” This intentional Chinese insult is an open violation of the second principle in the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, which is concerned with the preservation of human dignity via sports.
At this time of Beijing Olympic propaganda, freedom loving peoples must be vigilant to the danger of communist expansion and infiltration under the guise of a “peaceful rise,” “harmonious society” and “one world one dream.” Do not forget the past crimes against humanity committed by communists, led by China and the former USSR. Taiwan must wake up to the evil nature of communism and avoid becoming the second Tibet.
Samuel Yang
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
An image of polar retreats
Andrew Simms’ opinion piece from the Guardian (“Time is running out to stop the climate change tipping point,” Aug. 7, page 9), has given readers a chance to glimpse what the future might be like. Simms says humankind has 100 months to tackle climate change. He is not optimistic, but neither is he pessimistic. He just wanted to yell “fire” and “[point] to the nearest emergency exit,” as he wrote.
Taiwan is not on the frontlines of the climate change battle. The frontlines are in the US, Europe, China and India, as well as the oil countries of the Middle East. There isn’t much to worry about here in Taiwan. Even if global warming becomes a reality in the future, people won’t suffer a great deal here on beautiful “Formosa.”
However, one Taiwanese man has done some deep thinking about global warming and climate change, and although he does not have a doctorate or corporate sponsorship, Deng Cheng-hong (鄧承閎) of Chiayi City has come up with a series of illustrations that show what future “Lovelock Retreats,” or “polar cities,” might look like as safe refuges for survivors of global warming in the far distant future. Nobody else in the world has done what Deng has done, and his computer-generated pictures are worth taking a look at on the Web site: polarcitylibertytimes.blogspot.com.
Dan Bloom
Chiayi City
Let’s call it like it is
While I was back on vacation from Taiwan to the UK, I recently watched the Ladies “British Open Golf 2008” on my beloved BBC. Of course I followed Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) with as much spirit and support as possible from my armchair. I was a little upset at the start as the leaderboard stated her country was TPE.
I watched her great game of golf progress through the summer wind and rain of England. Tseng’s second place was supported by the BBC’s correct recognition of her nationality — Taiwanese! Of course one should not mix politics with sports, but I was pleased with the BBC’s stance.
After all, it was the Chinese that recently changed Taiwan’s ladies team name to “Chinese Taipei,” leaving the girls in tears halfway through the South Africa world golf event. Anyway, well done to Tseng and to the great BBC.
Jon Parkes
Taoyuan
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
RSS