Democracy in Taiwan is still in its infancy, and occasional bursts of unexpected and dramatic incidents make its often dull politics quite interesting.
The turmoil caused by Devotion (還願), a horror video game developed by the Taiwanese firm Red Candle Games, is a good example.
A scene in the game contained a curse titled “[Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) Winnie the Pooh” in red seal script, sparking furious indignation among Chinese players and a boycott.
However, the anger and boycott misfired, turning the game into a huge commercial success, with sales exceeding 1 million digital copies, although Red Candle Games said in an announcement on Facebook that sales were not that high.
On Feb. 25, the BBC published an article headlined “Taiwan game ‘Devotion’ upsets China with Winnie the Pooh reference,” which said: “Taiwan is an island that is for all practical purposes independent, but China sees it as a rebel region and insists that other countries should not have diplomatic relations with it.”
It is tantamount to rubbing salt into the wounds of the sensitive Chinese.
The next day, China Unification Promotion Party founder Chang An-le (張安樂) led a protest against Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) statement that if China attacked Taiwan, he would protect the nation, even if he only had a broom to fight with.
During the rally, Chang, also known as the “White Wolf,” stumbled and nearly fell into a prop coffin.
The scene quickly went viral online, sparking an outburst of creativity among netizens, who came up with all kinds of sarcastic comments based on homophones for the word for coffin (guan, 棺).
Chang continued to talk nonsense at the rally, saying: “If we are going to die, you go first” and that he would sacrifice his life for peaceful unification with China.
Anyone who hears him say such things and behave like that could not help but burst out laughing. It was truly a classic scene.
China does not have any freedom of speech or artistic expression, and even referring to Xi as “the steamed bun” online warrants severe punishment for “picking a quarrel and stirring up trouble.”
One netizen discovered this the hard way, and his attorney’s license was revoked.
Taiwanese do not in the slightest way identify with that country.
The only remaining allure — “going west” to make money — has evaporated following rising operating costs, the cancelation of benefits for Taiwanese businesses and the impacts of a trade dispute between Beijing and Washington.
Anyone insisting on going against the current and uniting with China is only digging a grave for themselves and their offspring, and setting themselves up for the same massive persecution suffered by Tibetans and Uighurs.
Chang’s fall onto the coffin was a friendly reminder to Taiwanese from the gods.
John Yu is a civil servant.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath