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"Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain!"

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Fuck Bush, Wen Jiabao, and the "status quo"!

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao wants to "unite" Taiwan with China. Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian wants China to remove the 496 missiles it has aimed at Taiwan and renounce its threats of force. Bush just wants to maintain the status quo. Neither "moving toward independence" nor "unification with China" would be acceptable to the United States government. This is where American hypocrisy comes to the fore.

The U.S. celebrates its own Independence Day every July 4, yet its military dominance of the Pacific Rim depends greatly on this lopsided ménage à trois between itself, Taiwan, and China. The U.S. sells lots of weapons (F-16s, submarines, etc.) to Taiwan but often kowtows to China's demands when it comes to this strange relationship.

The blunt reality is that Taiwan is already independent. The Chinese have done everything they can to make the world believe otherwise, but it's the truth. Taiwan has its own currency, flag, passport, and democratically-elected president -- separate from China or any other country. Whether blocking the World Health Organization (WHO) from sending assistance during the SARS crisis or using both "dollar diplomacy" and threats to destroy many of Taiwan's international relationships, China has done everything it can to diminish the world's recognition of Taiwan.

UPDATE: Read, listen to, or watch a White House press briefing where spokesman Scott McClellan tapdances around the issue regarding this uncomfortable "love triangle." (After clicking that link, you'll have to scroll up one paragraph to see the question which initiates the cascade of "hypotheticals." Go to the top of the transcript page for audio/video links.)

FURTHER UPDATES: I didn't supply any links for the word "threats" above, but I will add links immediately below as I come across them.
* A Taipei Times editorial cartoon, Dec. 13, 2003.
* Another Taipei Times editorial cartoon, Dec. 14, 2003.
* A Google search.
* A Yahoo! search.
* An AltaVista search.
* An Ask Jeeves search.
* A WebCrawler search.
* "[T]he mainland's most severely wording warning [sic] to Chen Shui-bian since he took office." People's Daily, November 23, 2003
Posted at 11:39 PM by: [Permalink]
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