One of the ways that pro-People’s Republic of China (PRC) peaceniks forward PRC propaganda is by presenting its fabricated history of the Taiwan-China relationship as accepted, mainstream history. Like the faces of astronauts on rocket sleds reshaped by high GEE effects, every conversation about Taiwan is distorted by this stream of effluent. PRC supporters ground their conversations about the PRC in this fake history because it allows them to maintain that the PRC is “reasonable” and is simply deterring Taiwan’s “permanent separation” from “China” rather than bent on annexing an island it has never ruled over. It also recasts the PRC as the victim of history, presenting it as a nation maimed by history. That idea of victimhood is overt in the PRC’s expansionist claim of “century of humiliation,” but it is latent in every claim that Taiwan is part of China. Writers who speak of “Beijing’s feelings” or “China’s perspective” on Taiwan as part of China forward this propaganda. Seldom does serious commentary forthrightly start with the plain fact that Beijing is perfectly aware that it is engaging in annexing an island that does not and never has belonged to it, and whose people do not want to be annexed. In fact, the word “annex,” which until recently never appeared in the media to describe Beijing’s desire to absorb Taiwan, has in recent months been creeping into articles here and there. Progress is slow, but steady. Will the PRC attack Taiwan? Many people think that chances are high, yet those of us who have been sounding the alarm are told we are too emotional, or discussions are raising tensions, or even that in warning about it we are increasing the chance of an invasion. What can history teach us? Let us recall Tibet. In both Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nomination electioneering swung into full force last week, with New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) peppered with questions from reporters and opposition legislators, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) staging press conferences and a rally in Kaohsiung. Of course, there is no primary in the KMT this year, as KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said on March 22 that the party will do the choosing. Both Hou and Gou attacked the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) COVID-19 and vaccine policies. Western Kentucky University political scientist Timothy Rich wrote on Twitter that his survey data shows that KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) support for DPP COVID measures “collapsed” between March and September of 2021. Thus, these attacks are aimed at shoring up support among the KMT base. They are likely also aimed at the working-class informal sector, which some commentators have argued turned on the DPP in the last year’s local elections because of the damage its businesses suffered from the nation’s COVID policies. THE POLICIES OF HOU AND GOU Hou seems to be following the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) playbook of maintaining that the Republic of China (ROC) is the only China and his home, while making mainstream noises such as rejecting one country, two systems, and saying that Taiwan’s fate must be left up to its 23 million people. Ma became the only anti-independence politician ever elected president by following that prescription. Surprisingly for a non-politician, Gou has been the only candidate to offer something akin to policy proposals. Some of them are comical, such as his idea of building an army of 80,000 robots to defend Taiwan. Some are intriguing, including his proposal to build small modular nuclear reactors in every region. And some are plain disturbing, such as his
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