The blockbuster fantasy TV drama Game of Thrones with all of its violence and sex, may be based in part on Taiwan and the nation’s political and military struggles with China.
According to the Washington Post, the fictional island of Dragonstone — a centerpiece in the story — may in fact be a metaphor for Taiwan. The TV series created for HBO is sometimes drawn from “real historical events, and suffused with real lessons for nations and governments,” the Post said, and it does not take a tremendous leap of imagination to see a parallel with Taiwan and China.
Now commanding a worldwide audience — including HBO broadcasts in Taiwan — US President Barack Obama is among the production’s biggest fans and gets advance copies of each show.
Under the subheading “Dragonstone or Taiwan?” the Post said that the most storied house in Game of Thrones is that of the Targaryens, the silver-haired, dragon-riding family that begin the show in exile.
“We learn that the Targaryens once ruled all of Westeros until a rebellion, punctuated by a few hideous slaughters, chased them to a small, craggy isle off the coast called Dragonstone,” Post foreign affairs correspondent Ishaan Tharoor wrote. “Dragonstone exists in the series as a permanent reminder of dissent, brooding sullenly off the shores of the realm. In 1949, Mao Zedong’s [毛澤東] communists defeated the nationalist forces, the remnants of which fled en masse to the island of Taiwan. To this day, Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province, while Taiwan — the Republic of China — in theory claims suzerainty over all of the Chinese mainland.”
“The story of Game of Thrones makes one thing clear, though: It’s the dissidents from the renegade island who will ultimately reshape the balance of power on the mainland,” the Post concluded.
According to the newspaper, beyond its ice zombies and shrieking dragons, the show offers an engrossing meditation on political power and personal loyalties. The TV show compels viewers to root for separatists, who are trying to split away from the tyranny of the capital.
“Moreover, the show reinforces over and over in the viewer’s mind just how unnatural and manufactured the centralized authority of a high king is,” the Post said.
That is not quite the message China’s authoritarian leadership — beset by its own palace feuds, and tales of vice and corruption — would want internalized through its own realm, the newspaper said.
Based on the novels of George R.R. Martin, the series has an international viewership of millions and is said to be the most talked-about show since The Sopranos.
As the Post published its article, the magazine National Interest carried a feature story on Taiwan. Written by Robert Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the article said that Taiwan lives in a “rough neighborhood” and in many respects had been dealt a “tough hand.”
“A senior Taiwanese politician warned a visiting American delegation a few days ago not to underestimate Taiwan. ‘We may be small,’ he conceded, ‘but we are not insignificant.’ These are words worth recalling as the United States continues to look for friends in the world,” Hathaway wrote.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS