A woolly good idea
Dear Johnny,
My name is Bill, and although I am not Taiwanese, I live in your beautiful country and enjoy your incredible culture.
Taiwan to me, is a very Unique Country and different to any other I have traveled in. It is safe, clean and free. You also have (or did have) freedom of the press, where everyone can have a say and voice their opinion, and Taiwanese people love to do this, which adds to this vibrant and energetic lifestyle you have here.
So anyway, as I was descending Yushan the other day in my nice warm Merino woollen jersey, I had an idea.
I know a local lady that can knit very interesting and realistic creatures. I love them; she has great imagination. So I was wondering: Would it be possible for her to knit and sew two beautiful panda suits — one for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and one for his deputy?
We could put them in the zoo, and send the real Yuan-yuan and Tuan-tuan back to China where they belong. I know the zoo would lose a lot of money, but my friend would gain heaps from all the advertising.
I am sure President Ma would be happy. She could even knit him a little flag of his choice to wave to the crowds.
Oh well, just an idea.
If this seems a bit too difficult, could we just call the bears “Ma” and “Pa” and knit them both a woolly jumper, and some nice cuddly toys?
A KIWI
PS: I love the deep green color for the woolly jumper.
Johnny replies: In my homeland, there is no such thing as too cute. I strongly endorse your suggestion, and would suggest your friend set up a stall outside Taipei Zoo.
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS