Ethnically-divisive paper lacks mirrors, points fingers at others

An editorial in the Thursday, May 21, 2009 edition of the logically-, geographically-, and factually-challenged China Post demonstrates once again how fucked up they are.


This is the only way to understand what is written within
(Click to enlarge)
Here are some excerpts from that editorial [the blockquoted sections below] followed by my commentary [the non-blockquoted sections]:

[p. 1]

[...]

The Blue Camp's Chinese nationalism may be bad nationalism. But the Green Camp's "Taiwanese" nationalism is a far worse nationalism.

Chinese nationalism, to its credit, was purely defensive in nature. It was a defensive reaction to western and Japanese colonialism and imperialism, specifically Britain's two Opium Wars, and Japan's relentless attempts at territorial conquest.

The editors have already set up a double standard regarding nationalism: "Chinese may be bad. No! Chinese, good! Taiwanese, bad. Very bad!"

They also ignore the "colonialism and imperialism" exhibited by Chinese towards Taiwan. But saying so would justify the Taiwanese fighting back against the behavior of the colonialists on their own side.

Let's continue on the next page of idiocy.

[p. 2]

Chinese nationalism, to its credit, is also highly inclusive. Minorities, providing they do not agitate for political secession, have been treated comparatively well by both the KMT and CCP governments.

[...]

Sure, Chinese nationalism is "inclusive" -- it tells us that everyone is "Chinese" (as long as they want to make you part of their empire) and that all others are "barbarians."

But the China Post can't explain why the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) forbade speaking Taiwanese in school and on TV or why they're doing it again. In fact, the editors won't even mention it. That would knock their own argument down, and it might remind people that there are indeed Taiwanese in Taiwan.

Furthermore, you'd better not disagree with these "superior" Chinese (on either side of the Strait), or they'll kill a whole bunch of you like they've done in Taiwan and Tibet.

Let's get back to the total nonsense.

In real world practice, Green Camp "Taiwanese" nationalists are seemingly eager tools of U.S. hegemony and Japanese colonialism.

Is the U.S. trying to absorb Taiwan? Didn't the Japanese sign treaties regarding Taiwan, and aren't they sticking to those treaties? Also, isn't Japan friendly to Taiwan now?

And the repeated use of the word "colonialism" shows just how un-self-aware the editors of the China Post are.

Back to the logically-challenged editorial.

Paradoxically, the Green Camp's "Taiwanese" nationalism is also among the more virulent forms of nationalism, one that places an inordinate stress on ethnic identity.

This is exactly the opposite of the reality. The greens place no emphasis on "ethnic" identity. Anybody who identifies with Taiwan or the cause of protecting Taiwan are welcomed by our side. Have the editors ever heard of these people: Ruan Ming (阮名), Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), Robin Dale (羅賓漢), Lynn Miles (梅心怡), Linda Arrigo (艾琳達), the 26 foreign scholars and writers who wrote to President Ma, etc.? I bet they have. Do they want you just to forget? Supporting Taiwan has nothing to do with "ethnic" identity -- it's entirely political. It's about identifying with Taiwan as one's home, whether you were born here or are an immigrant like myself.

The most ethnically divisive people you can find -- for example, Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) and Hsing-yun (星雲) -- are KMT officials and supporters.

And if the word "virulent" reminds you of the way Nazis portrayed the Jews, get ready for the nastiest, most ironic bit in the piece.

Joyce Huang, a prominent Taiwanese liberal reformer, is an outspoken critic of KMT authoritarianism and "Taiwanese" nationalism. Huang accurately characterized the Green Camp's "Taiwanese" nationalism as "Hoklo Chauvinism" or "Hoklo Fascism." She compared "Taiwanese" nationalism to German Nazism.

The problems within that paragraph are myriad -- not being limited only to the mendacious Nazi comparisons and to the scare quotes on the word "Taiwanese," once again pretending that Taiwanese don't exist.

The China Post is totally obfuscating Joyce Huang's (黃智賢, Huang Chi-hsien) actual political position.

Joyce Huang is outspoken all right, but in sharp contrast to her estranged brother, DPP legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃智賢), Joyce Huang cannot be described by a truthful person as "neither blue nor green" (不分藍綠).

She is deep-blue, and you might find her being "outspoken" on the 100% Chinese-funded TVBS (AKA BS-TV) smear-fest "2100全民開講" ("Let's All Talk Bullshit"?).

A blast from the not-so-distant past
You might remember people like Emile Sheng (盛治仁), whom the media painted as a "neutral observer" during the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Sheng somehow ended up with a job as chairman of the Taipei Deaflympics Organizing Committee under the administration of Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

By painting Huang as "neither blue nor green" ("Look! An outspoken critic of KMT authoritarianism!"), the China Post is doing the same thing the media did with Sheng.

But don't you believe their bullshit for even one minute! Open your eyes and be clear about these "tools of authoritarianism."


"Ma Ying-jeou course on political terminology"
An editorial cartoon from the April 16, 2004 edition of the Taipei Times
FURTHER READING:
* See how the kids' paper, the Mandarin Daily News (國語日報) is inflating Ma Ying-jeou's image for the kiddies the way students of my wife's generation were forcefed bullshit about the murderous dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) being the "greatest man in the world." The article there is titled 「陽光健康的台灣總統馬英九」 ("Sunny [as in 'positive'], healthy Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou"). Interesting how they don't let the kids know that when Ma says one thing, it's a pretty good idea to doubt his sincerity. Here's a semi-English-y Google translation for those who need it.

* Here's a blog post which reprints the original article (including pictures) and another English-y Google translation.

* Another mirror of the article can be found at NewsRumble -- just in case.

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Hammers and nails: Taiwan, 台灣, media, 媒體, China Post, 英文中國郵報, Joyce Huang, 黃智賢, Huang Chi-hsien, ethnic divisiveness, 族群分裂

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China Post, ethnic divisiveness, Huang Chi-hsien, Joyce Huang, media, Taiwan, 台灣, 媒體, 族群分裂, 英文中國郵報, 黃智賢