On May 19, a Chinese television station displayed its so-called creative and politically correct poker card design featuring images of “Taiwan independence supporters.”
It is a pity that the company did not also design playing cards featuring the pro-unification activists preferred by Beijing, so that Chinese could also see what they look like.
The pro-independence playing cards exposed how ignorant China’s “united front” tactics are. Perhaps Beijing was trying to narrow its scope of attack by changing its target from all Taiwanese to a few individuals; making examples of the 13 A-list figures to warn others, similar to how one might put heads on spikes or “kill the chicken to frighten the monkey,” as they say in Chinese.
By doing so, it could then comfort and deceive itself that the pro-independence activists in Taiwan are but a handful of people.
The Chinese Communist Party regime is arrogant, egotistical, autocratic and reckless. It shows no respect for its own people and does not know that legitimacy of rule comes from free elections.
The 13 pro-independence playing cards are unlikely to intimidate Taiwanese. More pro-independence activists might even protest against Beijing, while blaming themselves for not working as hard as Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan convener Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), whose image is one of those on the cards.
The 13 cards prove that Taiwan and China are two nations on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Of Taiwan’s four directly elected presidents, two former presidents — Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) — as well as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) feature on the cards.
Others include a former vice president, two former premiers and Premier William Lai (賴清德).
Since pro-independence activists were able to be elected as presidents, this shows that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state.
The Chinese TV station is simply consoling itself at home with the pro-independence playing cards.
If China was confident, it would design playing cards featuring those who identify with the “motherland.” It might even be more fun to play with both sets of cards.
Since Beijing knows all too well which Taiwanese travel to China for personal gain and take its orders to assist in Taiwan’s demise, it would not be difficult to design a set of pro-unification playing cards.
What we can be sure of is that those featuring on the pro-unification cards would include former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who was elected thanks to his screaming female fans; former Bamboo Union leader Chang An-le (張安樂), also known as the “White Wolf,” who is backed by both his gang and the communists; former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who is willing but unable to lead the unification camp; China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), who has made a fortune in China; and the descendants of the Chiang (蔣) dynasty.
Maybe KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), with his trademark crew cut, could also be added to the list.
If we compare those who would likely be on the pro-unification playing cards with those on the pro-independence cards, there seems to be a huge gap between them in terms of character and reputation.
Some might feel lucky that they do not feature on the pro-unification cards, but surely no one would protest if they were not listed with people such as Wu.
James Wang is a senior journalist.
Translated by Eddy Chang
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
After more than a year of review, the National Security Bureau on Monday said it has completed a sweeping declassification of political archives from the Martial Law period, transferring the full collection to the National Archives Administration under the National Development Council. The move marks another significant step in Taiwan’s long journey toward transitional justice. The newly opened files span the architecture of authoritarian control: internal security and loyalty investigations, intelligence and counterintelligence operations, exit and entry controls, overseas surveillance of Taiwan independence activists, and case materials related to sedition and rebellion charges. For academics of Taiwan’s White Terror era —
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
RSS