Late Thursday night, in a post about the KMT's recent slippage, I mentioned how many people on the side of the unificationists just want the Taiwanese to "shut up." Here's one recent example of the kind of thing I was thinking about when I said that:

Don't say 'Taiwan': Vietnam
Vietnam's deputy foreign minister warned local reporters yesterday to avoid offending China by not using the name Taiwan when Vietnam hosts the APEC meeting later this year. Le Cong Phung also urged the press not to uses words like "country" or "nation" to describe any member of the group, instead using the agreed-on euphemism "member economies." "The official name for Taiwan in APEC is 'Chinese Taipei' and the official name for Hong Kong is 'Hong Kong-China,'" Phung said.

Talk about whiny-ass titty babies!

I explained in my last post how China -- and those who support that "totalitarian regime" (since they don't like the word "country") -- want the people who identify themselves as Taiwanese to effectively disappear.

They're at it again.

STFU
In an opinion piece in the Friday edition of the Taipei Times, former Villanova University professor and political commentator Henry Ting, while pretending that he supports President Chen Shui-bian and "the DPP's democratic struggle against the authoritarian Chinese National Party (KMT) regime," warns the DPP government about all kinds of things they shouldn't do and makes shit up about the feelings of the people of Taiwan:

Chen and the DPP brain trust should be very careful in stating that their sacred goal is Taiwan identity and sovereignty. Taiwan identity should never be used to antagonize China by refusing to communicate or cooperate. Taiwan identity should be illuminated as a symbol of the nation's advancement in terms of democracy and a free society. Taiwan identity does not have to mean keeping China at arm's length in cultural and economic exchanges.

How is it that Chen is once again being painted as the aggressor in this situation? And why is even talking about the fact of "Taiwan...sovereignty" off limits while planning for unification is unoffensive to ultra-sensitive superpowers?

Hmmmm, how could Hello Kitty make Superman cry?
Ah, I know! Sovereignty and Taiwan identity are Taiwan's kryptonite! That would explain why Ting ratchets up the rhetoric even further with this (continuing directly):

Most of all, the term "Taiwan identity" should be avoided at all cost in terms of stirring up hostility against the Chinese people.

How many times does it have to be said? It's the missiles, stupid!

Without the missiles and constant threats, there would certainly be less hostility from this side. Furthermore, Taiwan poses absolutely no threat to China.

The KMT did a heckuva-job-Brownie in trying to eradicate Taiwanese identity, but it's still here, and they still think it's "queer."

Ting continues with this nonsense:

The average Taiwanese doesn't harbor any grudge against China.

Tsshyeah, and black is white. (And didn't he just talk about "stirring up hostility against the Chinese people," or does Taiwan identity not exist until Chen Shui-bian pushes some invisible magic button that only smart people can see?) What's made apparent by this claim, however, is that Ting hasn't asked too many "average" Taiwanese how they feel about the nearly 800 missiles with which China is targeting Taiwan. There's a source of "hostility" for you! Only jackasses like Ma "Don't Paint Me Red" Ying-jeou can make these kinds of apologies for China's own hostility (e.g., an "anti-secession" law which "legislates" the arbitrary use of "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan) in the face of these missiles.

The way Ting writes puts him directly in Ma's corral. He goes on to say this:

Instead of threatening to abolish Taiwan's unification guidelines, the Chen government or its successor should drop the requirement that China must be democratic before unification can happen.

Notice how in Ting's upside-down world, Chen is the one doing the "threatening," and "unification" once again becomes the only thing that's allowed. Ting even suggests that it happen without any kind of democracy (or even an illusory promise of it) in place.

He doesn't speak for 80% of the Taiwanese people when he makes "unification" out to be the only choice, and if he actually thinks that it's a good choice for Taiwan, he's out of his fucking mind.

If you were to imagine a hostage scenario in which Ting were saying these kinds of things, which role do you think he would be playing? Could it be... Chen Chin-hsing?

Spot the difference, if it exists
Here's a quote from somebody else. I won't say who it is just yet, but see if it sounds anything like Ting or Chairman Mao-without-the-"o":

On how a recent poll in Taiwan saying that 78 per cent agreed with the contention that Taiwan's future should be decided by Taiwanese people, [the unificationist] said, "Yes, they can discuss unification but certainly not separation."

If it sounds a lot like either of the aforementioned jackasses, that's because it's Sun Yuxi, the Chinese Ambassador to India.

You see? Not very different at all.

Let's examine this further
Oh, yeah? Not very different?

I wonder how Ma would feel about Sun's actions as described on the second page of the article:

Ever willing to woo the present Taiwanese Opposition party, KMT, Sun Yuxi even rubbished their chairman's remarks on China on dismantling missiles saying that they need to add more missiles and not dismantle them if they keep making such remarks.

However, he said, "We will listen to the Taiwanese leaders. And if the Taiwanese authorities declare independence, the missiles will go the next day and we will resort to a military strike without announcing."

While the first sentence sounds rather self-contradictory (wooing them by rubbishing Ma's remarks?), this might actually be what the KMT wants after all -- more terror with which to strike fear into the hearts of Taiwan independence supporters. The KMT is, after all, the party responsible for the 228 Incident, White Terror, martial law, tapped phones, "black gold," and forcing elementary school students to spy on each other in case anyone should be so "evil" as to speak Taiwanese out loud (and if they did, they would be fined or physically punished).

I know for a fact that spoiled 3-year-olds only get worse each time you give in to the kind of screaming and crying that China is now doing. I also believe that the recent return of this "STFU" tactic will achieve the exact opposite of its intended goal. Millions thus far silent will learn to never shut up!

---

Scenarios: Taiwan, China, People's Republic of China, PRC, Republic of China, ROC, one-China principle, Henry Ting, Ma Ying-jeou, Sun Yuxi, missiles, unificationists, Kuomintang, KMT, Taiwan Independence, Taidu, National Unification Guidelines, National Unification Council, democracy, kryptonite