In Taiwan, you can even call it "Taiwanese New Year"!
I'm back from a long break in blogging with a slight variation of the "traditional" New Year post. To kick things off this time around, here's a musical video wishing you a Happy Taiwanese New Year (brought to my attention on Twitter by cyrixhero):


3:58 YouTube video: "快樂台灣年 Happy Taiwanese new year "
Thursday, February 3, 2011 (That's tomorrow!) is New Year's Day as celebrated by the citizens of several Asian countries as well as by many other people around the world. Too many English-speaking people use the term "Chinese New Year" to describe the holiday, despite the fact that the direct back-translation "中國新年" is rarely used by Mandarin speakers. Chinese people usually call the holiday "Lunar New Year" (農曆新年) or "Spring Festival" (春節).

Furthermore, the holiday doesn't belong solely to the Chinese.

Start with the person in the mirror
Why should you change the way you speak? Here's an example for your consideration.

Have you ever heard of the 228 Massacre? Like many others, I used to refer to it as the "228 Incident," but when someone reminded me about how that diminishes the fact that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) killed countless Taiwanese in that "incident," I immediately made the change in my speech and writing. What I don't get is how some people who I am certain are pro-Taiwan somehow cling to the phrase "Chinese New Year."

Are you that kind of person? If so, I hope you can ask yourself why you do that and if you can change.

Simplicity
Here's a clear and simple list of reasons to help you decide to make that change:

1. Lunar New Year is not exclusively Chinese.

2. Even Chinese people call the holiday "Lunar New Year," so you won't be hurting the feelings of 1.3 billion Chinese by using that name.

3. Since you're reading this blog, there's a good chance that you are in Taiwan or that you are Taiwanese. (Maybe neither of those things applies to you -- you might just be interested in doing something to help Taiwan.)

4. Way too many people already do things which confuse others into believing that Taiwan's culture is a subset of China's.

5. You don't have to do things just because others do them or because they're habits.

Language is a virus (from outer space)
For some more background (you'll have to follow the links and do some more reading), here's a recap (with some spelling changes) of a couple of my earlier posts related to why many people prefer to call this holiday "Lunar New Year" (Taiwanese: Lông-li̍k sin-nî; Hanzi: 農曆新年; Hanyu pinyin: Nónglì xīnnián):

It doesn't just belong to the Chinese

Nor is it just "politically correct." Read about it in English and/or Chinese.

Happy Lunar New Year! 萬事如意! [bān-sū jû-ì! / wànshì rúyì!]

UPDATE:
Being in a bit of a rush to begin my vacation, I missed these links (all are presented in both English and Mandarin):* How the people of Vietnam celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of South Korea celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of Singapore celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of Malaysia celebrate Lunar New Year

And here's an update on the Taiwanese Romanization which I derived by using a dictionary on the web site of Taiwan's Ministry of Education (MOE):

Lông-li̍k sin-nî khuài-lo̍k! (農曆新年快樂！) Bān-sū jû-ì! (萬事如意！)

If you're Taiwanese, stop inadvertently diluting your own culture. Remember (Ē -kì-tit/Ōe-kì-tit [要記得]): Every time you say "Lunar New Year," you're saying "No!" to those who want to promote China while diminishing Taiwan.

Related reading:
* Check out the Twitter search results for "Lunar New Year." I'm seeing Tweets there by people from Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other countries around the globe!

* See what Taiwan's Government Information Office (GIO) says about Lunar New Year.

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Distinguishables: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Lunar New Year, 農曆新年

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Lunar New Year, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 農曆新年

Nat Bellocchi puts things in focus

Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Nat Bellocchi had an editorial piece titled "The myth about reducing tension" in Friday's Taipei Times. In the eye-opening piece, Bellocchi deconstructs the illusion of the "reduction of tension" between Taiwan and China.

It deserves to be read in full, so here's the whole piece [highlights mine]:

In a world filled with political tension, cutthroat economic competition and even open warfare, many people long for a reduction of tension, leading to more peace and stability among nations. As such, it was no surprise that when the newly elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government started its policy of rapprochement with China in the spring of 2008, the US welcomed the "reduction of tension" across the Taiwan Strait.

The question is whether there really has been a long-term "reduction of tension" and whether that means long-running disagreements might be resolved.

It is a fact that for the past two years the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been less bellicose than it was during the eight years of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration. However, that is only true because China sees "Taiwan" as moving in its direction, increasing the likelihood that in due time it will be able to force Taiwan — through economic and political means — into some kind of political unification. [Maddog note: While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is moving in China's direction, the people of Taiwan are not.]

The present "reduction of tension" is thus artificial in nature as it is predicated on Taiwan capitulating under duress to China in the long run. That is tantamount to saying that law-abiding people giving in to mafia threats reduces tension, when in reality the underlying tension is caused by the aggressor. Now, what will happen if the Taiwanese decide — for whatever reasons — to not re-elect President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2012 and a DPP government returns to power? Such a government would want to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but at the same time retain Taiwan's hard-won freedom, democracy and independence.

It is easy to predict that such a new policy would be labeled as "increasing tension" by the defeated KMT as well as by the PRC itself. It is thus an ironic contradiction that attempts to consolidate Taiwan's democracy and its acceptance by the international community may be seen in some quarters as "increasing tension."

For those who study Taiwan and observe it closely, there are other seeming contradictions: Shirley Kan of the Congressional Research Service in Washington mentioned three of them during a recent seminar at George Washington University: one, if you want consensus, don't call it a consensus (referring to the so-called "1992 consensus" which has been a divisive issue in Taiwan); two, if you want independence, don't say so; and three, if the US wants to reduce the threat of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, it has to sell arms to Taiwan.

Against this background, what should the US say or do? For one, it should be more careful in referring to the present trend as "reducing tension."

There can only be a true reduction of tension if China moves in the direction of accepting Taiwan for what it is — a lively democracy that wants to chart its own course and determine its own future without undue pressure from the Chinese side.

There is no evidence that China accepts or will ever accept this point. It continues its military buildup, has hardly moved on giving Taiwan international space and continues its attempts to lock Taiwan into a position of dependence through economic means.

The US thus needs to be more insistent on reducing the Chinese military threat against Taiwan and on the issue of increasing international space for Taiwan.

A good start would be for the US to fully support Taiwan's membership in international organizations as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act and to refrain from anachronistic statements that it only support membership in organizations "that do not require statehood."

The US also needs to do better at creating an atmosphere wherein efforts by Taiwan's government to consolidate democracy and increase its international presence are seen as enhancing long-term peace and stability in the Strait — in spite of possible objections from a still quite repressive government in Beijing.

The basic idea is that — instead of Taiwan moving in the direction of Beijing — the PRC should move in the direction of freedom and democracy. Only then can there be any substantive "reduction of tension."

Further reading:
* Full text of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)

* September 3, 2007: Ma Ying-jeou seriously misrepresents Taiwan Relations Act

* April 12, 2009: Taiwan Relations Act at 30 (Michael Turton points out a common misconception about the US' "obligations" related to the TRA.)

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Wiseguys: Taiwan, 台灣, Nat Bellocchi, 白樂崎, memes, 大腦模仿病毒, China, 中國, People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國, PRC

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, memes, Nat Bellocchi, People's Republic of China, PRC, Taiwan, 中國, 中華人民共和國, 台灣, 大腦模仿病毒, 白樂崎

A twofer holiday!

In addition to being Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010 (Sunday) is New Year's Day as celebrated in several Asian countries. Many people use the term "Chinese New Year" to describe the holiday, despite the fact that the direct back-translation "中國新年" is rarely used; furthermore, it doesn't just belong to the Chinese.

Here's something from a couple of earlier posts related to why many people prefer to call this holiday "Lunar New Year" (Taiwanese: Lông li̍k sin nî; Hanzi: 農曆新年; Hanyu pinyin: Nónglì​xīnnián):

It doesn't just belong to the Chinese

Nor is it just "politically correct." Read about it in English and/or Chinese.

Happy Lunar New Year! 萬事如意! [=van.su_ru.yi! / wàn shì rú yì!]

UPDATE:Being in a bit of a rush to begin my vacation, I missed these links (all are presented in both English and Mandarin):* How the people of Vietnam celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of South Korea celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of Singapore celebrate Lunar New Year* How the people of Malaysia celebrate Lunar New Year

And here's an update on the Taiwanese romanization which I derived by using an online dictionary on the Ministry of Education (MOE) web site:

袂記得 [bē-kì-tit/buē-kì-tit]: Every time you say "Lunar New Year," a Chinese KMT'er cries. Lông li̍k sin nî khuài lo̍k (農曆新年快樂！) Bān sū jû ì! (萬事如意！)

And as some people also say, Happy Taiwanese New Year!

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Codecs: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Lunar New Year, 農曆新年

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Lunar New Year, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 農曆新年

People who don't know much about freedom of speech

On Thursday, December 24, 2009, Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹) gave a speech at Taichung's Providence University (靜宜大學). The day before his speech, flyers advertising the speech had been distributed all around the campus, but by the day of the event, they had either disappeared or been ripped up.

What kind of person or people do you think would have had a reason to do that sort of thing?

Ten Chinese students showed up to attend the speech, seven of whom sat right up front. Although they were a minority in the audience, they took up much of the discussion time with long, rambling, and hostile questions.

Free speech is something their own government won't permit, but while in Taiwan, these Chinese students used that freedom to disparage Wang for hating the Beijing butchers responsible for the Tiananmen Square Massacre (天安門大屠殺) of June 4, 1989.

Here's some video from FTV News (民視新聞) about what happened:


2:44 YouTube video: "Chinese students in Taiwan say it's bad to hate the Beijing butchers"
Contemporary Monthly (當代雜誌) editor-in-chief Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒) compared the students' behavior to that of the infamous Red Guards of China's tragic "Cultural Revolution" (無產階級文化大革命) whose violent attacks against people violated its own rule that "persuasion rather than force was to be used." We've seen the same sort of violent, nationalistic behavior from Chinese at soccer games in their own country, the Olympic Torch Relay in other countries, and at a recent speech by a Taiwanese student in S. Korea who "dared" to hold up a small ROC flag. Don't fool yourself by saying that this is nothing.

Related reading:
* Wang Dan warns of PRC student activity in Taiwan:

Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) stirred debate recently over his suspicions that Chinese students may be "conducting organized activities" on college campuses in Taiwan.

In his latest post on Facebook, Wang said he raised the matter because he wanted to remind Taiwanese that this was now taking place in their country.

Wang, who is a guest lecturer at Chengchi University's Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, gave a speech at Providence University in Taichung on Thursday titled "How to See the Real China." During the two-hour event, a group of Chinese students studying in Taiwan challenged Wang, a student leader during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.

[...]

They accused him of being unfair to the Chinese people because of his hatred for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

[...]

Wang said he was not making sensational comments to scare the public, adding that student council president at University of Hong Kong, who had previously made comments to the effect that there was no such thing as a Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989, was elected following organized voting by Chinese students.

"Taiwanese should take note of these things and not be too naive," Wang said.

Liao said the 70 students who attended the speech were free to ask questions. However, few Taiwanese students were able to do so, as the Chinese students dominated the session. He said that while Wang might have been slightly intimidated by the scene, the atmosphere actually wasn't too bad.

[...]

When a Taiwanese student asked Wang about China's progress on democracy, Liao said, the student took a moment to send "his regards" to a Chinese student who had spoken before him, saying that "the student from China loves his motherland very much. I also love my motherland very much, but I do not love China."

* Wikipedia article: Red Guards (China)

The first students to call themselves "Red Guards" in China were a group of students at the Tsinghua University Middle School [...] Chairman Mao Zedong ordered that the manifesto of the Red Guards be broadcast on national radio and published in the People's Daily newspaper. This action gave the Red Guards political legitimacy, and student groups quickly began to appear across China.

* Liberty Times article (Hanzi): 王丹提警訊 在台陸生疑有組織活動 (Wang Dan warns of suspicious organized activities by Chinese students in Taiwan)

* Ben Goren's Letters from Taiwan: Chinese Nationalism and Shades of Indignation

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Red flags: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Wang Dan, 王丹, speech, 演講, Providence University, 靜宜大學, Chinese students, 中國學生, 陸生, Red Guards, 紅衛兵, Chin Heng-wei, 金恆煒, FTV, 民視新聞, YouTube

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Chin Heng-wei, China, Chinese students, FTV, Red Guards, speech, Taiwan, Wang Dan, YouTube, 中國, 中國學生, 台灣, 民視新聞, 演講, 王丹, 紅衛兵, 金恆煒, 陸生

... in just five months!

UPDATE 2a: The title and subheadline of this post [originally: "Support for Taiwan's immediate independence nearly triples ...in just six months!" -- based on a comparison with the MAC survey quoted below] has been changed to reflect a better comparison with a survey done by the same pollster the month after the MAC poll. Details from that poll and a link to the original are included below in "Update 2b." [/update 2a]

An article from Now News shows that a poll released today by the deep-blue Global Views Magazine (遠見雜誌) has some very interesting numbers related to the desire for Taiwan's formal independence:

民調顯示，19.0%民眾贊成台灣應該儘快獨立、10.3%認應先維持現狀再獨立（急獨與緩獨合計29.3%），40.7%先維持現狀再看情形、 11.0%永遠維持現狀（維持現狀合計為51.7%），4.3%先維持現狀再和大陸統一、4.0%台灣應該儘快和大陸統一（緩統與急統合計為8.3%），與馬總統執政以後，民眾贊成統一的比率並無變動。

[Tim Maddog translation:]
The survey says that 19.0% support independence as soon as possible. 10.3% want to preserve the status quo for now but declare independence later. (Supporters of immediate independence and delayed independence amount to 29.3%.) 40.7% want to preserve the status quo and decide later, while 11% want to preserve the status quo indefinitely (totaling 51.7% in favor of preserving the status quo [sic]). 4.3% want to preserve the status quo but unify with the mainland [sic] later. 4.0% of Taiwanese want to unify with the mainland [sic] as soon as possible. (Those in favor of unification add up to 8.3%.) After President Ma took office, there has been no change in support for unification.

UPDATE 1: Here's a direct link to the latest Global Views survey [464 KB PDF file]. [/update 1]

UPDATE 3: Here's the English version of the Global Views survey [152 KB PDF file]. [/update 3]

Just six month's ago, Taiwan's so-called Mainland Affairs Council (大陸委員會) did a survey which said that "6.7%" supported independence as soon as possible [12 KB PDF file].


A Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) survey from April 17 to 20, 2009
in which only 8.8% state a desire for Taiwan's unification with China.
UPDATE 2b: A May 13 - 15, 2009 survey from Global Views [744 KB PDF file] says:

[...] 15.0%贊成儘速獨立 [...]

[Tim Maddog translation:]
[...] 15% support immediate independence [...]

The current figure of 19% support for immediate independence would therefore amount to an increase of 26.66% (a four percentage point increase from the earlier 15%). The total support for unification in the May 2009 poll amounted to 8.3% -- precisely the same as the most recent poll. [/update 2b]

China's Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) -- chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait -- is coming to Taiwan for talks (and possibly to sign agreements) with Straits [sic] Exchange Foundation (海峽交流基金會) chairman and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice-chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) this December. Will you be out there protesting?

You are not in the minority. You'd better let the world hear your voices!

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Nodes: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Taiwan Independence, 台灣獨立, survey, 民調, Chiang Pin-kung, 江丙坤, P.K. Chiang, Chen Yunlin, 陳雲林

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Chen Yunlin, Chiang Pin-kung, China, P.K. Chiang, survey, Taiwan, Taiwan Independence, 中國, 台灣, 台灣獨立, 民調, 江丙坤, 陳雲林

... and a closed mind

From the presidential web site, we can see the ignorance of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九):

President Ma's Observations on the 20th Anniversary of the June 4th Incident

[...]

[paragraph 3]
Great changes have taken place on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in the two decades since the June 4th Incident. Successful economic reforms in mainland China have brought tremendous improvements to the quality of life there. Over the past decade, the mainland authorities have paid greater attention to human rights than before. China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In addition, it has published a series of white papers on human rights, and just this past April took an even more concrete step forward by formally adopting the National Human Rights Action Plan of China. The Action Plan has received mixed reviews from the international community, but the mere fact that they took this step is a clear signal that the mainland authorities are now willing to directly address the issue of human rights. This shows a robust openness and confidence on their part, the likes of which we have not seen from them in the past.

How "great" are these changes? In Taiwan (under Ma Ying-jeou), police who are responsible for serious brutality against non-violent protesters get promotions. In China, not even CNN gets to do unfettered reporting.

About that "incident," uh, well, it was a massacre, President Ma!

Those "successful" economic reforms have made the Chicoms rich enough to support North Korea, Burma, Sudan, and other such violent regimes.

That "mainland" of which Ma speaks is a different country -- one which has never ruled Taiwan.

Now, on this "human rights" issue, all I have to say is that Ma's head is so far up his ass on this one, he can see his own molars. The parents of the school children who died in the Sichuan earthquake know much more about this than Mr. Ma ever will.

Next, "sign[ing]," "ratif[ying]," and "publish[ing]" human rights-related documents means nothing. Ma's next sentence reveals that these steps are hardly "concrete," but "formally adopting" a "plan" means nothing in the face of actual abuses.

If any of that amounts to a "clear signal" for Ma Ying-jeou, I have to wonder how he can even tie his own jogging shoes.

As far as "robust openness and confidence" goes, I've never seen anything quite as ridiculous as the umbrella video from CNN

FURTHER READING:
Here's the Chinese version of the above nonsense: 總統發表「六四事件」20週年感言.

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The opposite of what the MSM tells you they are: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, Tiananmen Square Massacre, 天安門廣場大屠殺, CNN

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, CNN, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan, Tiananmen Square Massacre, 中國, 台灣, 天安門廣場大屠殺, 馬英九

Stick this on your calendars

Declare to the world the truth-which-"cannot"-be told:


TAIWAN AND CHINA ARE TWO DIFFERENT NATIONS
(Click for full size: 1248 x 604 pixels, 1,331 kb)
Original image photographed at the 517 protest by Tim Maddog

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Upcoming events: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Taiwan Independence, 台灣獨立, Taidu, 台獨

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Taidu, Taiwan, Taiwan Independence, 中國, 台灣, 台灣獨立, 台獨

Grand delusions


"Ma Ying-jeou course on political terminology"
An editorial cartoon from the April 16, 2004 edition of the Taipei Times
Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in his Lunar New Year's Eve speech yesterday that "[Taiwan's] international profile had been raised to a higher level and the public again had confidence in the judiciary." (See a Mandarin report here.)

I call horseshit.

Let's clear the air of this stink, shall we?
As for the part about the [Taiwanese] public's "confidence in the judiciary," on January 8, 2009 (less than three weeks ago), the Taiwan News reported that:

According to recent surveys conducted by Academia Sinica and the Web site Yahoo! Kimo, over 50 percent of the people do not believe in Taiwan's judicial system and over 75 percent have no confidence that the Judicial Yuan will undertake judicial reform [...]

That would mean that Ma is not telling the truth. (You decide if it's on purpose.)

As for "Taiwan's international profile," take a look at these indicators:

* November 6, 2008: Scholars and writers from around the world publish an "Open letter on erosion of justice in Taiwan."

* The same letter as an online petition has been signed by over 2,000 people so far.

* November 25, 2008: Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) calls the open letter "inaccurate."

* December 2, 2008: "Eroding justice: Open letter No. 2" counters Wang Ching-feng's claims.

* January 8, 2009: Over a month later, Wang Ching-feng comes up with "clarif[ications]" regarding the open-letter writers' so-called "misunderstandings."

* January 21, 2009: "Eroding justice: Open letter No. 3" is addressed to President Ma Ying-jeou.

* January 24, 2009: Two more "US-based Taiwan experts add [their] names to open letter [No. 3]."

* January 25, 2009: President Ma tells us that the situation is the exact opposite of what the information above tells us it is.

Nope. All of this evidence -- plus the notice taken by Amnesty International, Freedom House, the International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders -- points to a lowering of Taiwan's international profile, and it's precisely because of the behavior of Ma's government.

The Truth of Ministries
Can you say "Orwellian"? I knew that you could.

Caving in to pressure from China is not "peace," freedom is not slavery, and ignorance is not strength.

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Not what the news tells you they are: Taiwan, 台灣, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, China, 中國

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 馬英九

Once more with feeling

Here's an oldie-but-goodie that's worth repeating:

It doesn't just belong to the Chinese

Nor is it just "politically correct." Read about it in English and/or Chinese.

Happy Lunar New Year! 萬事如意! [=van.su_ru.yi! / wàn shì rú yì!]

UPDATE:
Being in a bit of a rush to begin my vacation, I missed these links (all are presented in both English and Mandarin):
* How the people of Vietnam celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of South Korea celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of Singapore celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of Malaysia celebrate Lunar New Year

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Terrestrial objects: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Lunar New Year, 農曆新年

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Lunar New Year, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 農曆新年

Hu's targeting whom?

Today's Taipei Times tells us about China's latest insane statement:

Hours before Barack Obama's inauguration as president, China called for stronger military ties with the US and said the key threats facing its national security were Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Ministry of Defense Spokesman Colonel Hu Changming (胡昌明) said there were "difficulties" in military relations between the two countries and expressed hope the situation would improve.

"In this new period we hope that both China and the US could make joint efforts to create favorable conditions and improve and promote military-to-military relations," Hu told reporters.

Hu was responding to a question on planned US arms sales to Taiwan that resulted in China postponing a series of high-level military exchanges with the US last year.

First of all, Taiwan only purchases defensive weapons from the US. Secondly, with "China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou" (馬英九) in office, the US is less likely to sell Taiwan anything, since it might fall into the PRC's hands. Thirdly, despite China's recent mention of possibly removing some of the missiles it has targeting Taiwan, around 1,400 of those missiles still threaten us here.

The fact of the matter is that one of the greatest threats to the rest of the world is China.


If there were 1,400 missiles in early 2008,
how many do you think there are now?
(Click to enlarge)

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Anti-matter(s): Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, missiles, 飛彈, Barack Obama, 巴拉克·歐巴馬

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Barack Obama, China, Ma Ying-jeou, missiles, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 巴拉克·歐巴馬, 飛彈, 馬英九

It is what it is, no matter what the Chinese say


Why is it so hard to call Taiwan "Taiwan"?
(Click to enlarge)
Today's Taipei Times reports on a resolution in the US Congress:

A resolution has been introduced into the US' 111th Congress calling for president-elect Barack Obama to establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It also calls for an end to the US' "one China" policy and support for Taiwan's full membership in international organizations.

While the resolution, which was written by long-time Taiwan supporter Congressman John Linder, a Republican from Georgia, has no realistic chance of changing US policies, it is important in that it keeps the issue alive and in the minds of the US' top politicians.

[...]

The new resolution asks Obama to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country separate from China.

It also says the president-elect should aggressively support Taiwan's full participation at the UN and all other international organizations of which the US is a member.

[...]

A source close Obama's foreign policy advisers told the Taipei Times: "Taiwan continues to enjoy many warm feelings in the US Congress. We are sensitive to the issue."

However small its chance of passing might be, it is a righteous request (which should be a demand) that needs to be repeated more often, more loudly, and more effectively.

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Flags of inconvenience: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, sovereignty, 主權, US Congress, 美國國會, Barack Obama, 巴拉克·歐巴馬

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Barack Obama, China, sovereignty, Taiwan, US Congress, 中國, 主權, 台灣, 巴拉克·歐巴馬, 美國國會

Shorter Hu[shuo]

On New Year's Eve, Chinese authoritarian Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) basically told the DPP:

If you just commit suicide, I'll stop threatening to kill you.

Go read about the DPP's perfectly reasonable reaction, which is sure to be painted by Chinese media as "ungrateful" at the very least but more likely as "provocative."

Oh, and remember that 「胡說」 means both "Hu [Jintao] says" and "bullshit."

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Cliffhangers' Notes: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Hu Jintao, 胡錦濤

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Hu Jintao, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 胡錦濤

Survey says...


This is the Taiwan Republic
(Click to enlarge)
A DPP survey released December 25, 2008 presents a picture of Taiwan that differs greatly from the one painted by the memes that pro-China media and other journos often present. Below is a CNA article on the subject [translations mine]:

綠營：五成六民眾認為兩岸不宜黨對黨協商

Green camp: 56% of the public think cross-strait talks should not be conducted on a "party-to-party" basis

民主進步黨民調中心主任陳俊麟今天指出，民進黨最新民調顯示，65.8%民眾認為政府尚未做好開放兩岸政策的配套措施；55.8%的民眾認為兩岸政策由黨對黨方式共同協商並不適當。

Chen Chun-lin (陳俊麟), director of the DPP's Public Opinion Survey Center, says today that a poll shows that 65.8% of respondents feel that the government has not done a good job with cross-strait policy so far. 55.8% feel that conducting cross-strait negotiations on a party-to-party basis is inappropriate.

民進黨中央公布「台灣民眾的中國印象」民調，陳俊麟做以上表示。

Announcing the results of a poll titled "The Taiwanese public's impressions of China," Chen Chun-lin had this to say.

民調顯示，民眾對於台灣與中國的關係，認為是「同一個國家」的比例只有2.7%，「同一個民族」為36.4%，「同一個文化」為28.1%，「完全沒關係」為28.4%。

On the question of the relationship between Taiwan and China, only 2.7% consider the two territories to be "one country." 36.4% feel that the people of Taiwan and China are the "same ethnicity." 28.1% believe the people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait share a "common culture." 28.4% say "there is no relationship whatsoever."

此外，民眾對於中國的印象，認為「友善的」比例為32.2%，「敵意的」為56.8%；「民主的」比例為8.9%，「專制的」比例為85.1%。

Furthermore, 32.2% consider China to be "friendly," while 56.8% feel that it is "hostile" towards Taiwan. 8.9% consider China to be a "democracy" while 85.1% think of China as a "dictatorship."

這份民調調查日期為12月23日至24日，完成數為1105人，抽樣誤差約為正負3.0%；主要針對20歲以上具有投票權的公民，以電話號碼隨機抽樣。

The poll was conducted on December 23 - 24 with a total of 1,105 respondents. The margin of error is plus or minus about 3.0%. The polling sample was gathered using random phone numbers and targeted citizens over the age of 20 who have the right to vote.

To summarize, a majority of Taiwanese people see Taiwan and China as two separate countries and consider themselves as having a different culture and ethnicity from the people across the Strait. If you, too, want to be able to see through the bullshit about China's "goodwill" or the so-called "panda-mania," just remember the missiles.


1,400 missiles... plus 2 pandas... equals... "goodwill"?
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Something that is known by the great majority of Taiwanese
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Max factors: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, survey, 民調

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, survey, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 民調

Who could've predicted?

Take a look at the latest news of melamine from China:

The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that protein powder imported from China was found to contain 1.90 parts per million (ppm) to 5.03ppm of melamine.

Health authorities randomly tested 13 batches of protein powder, six of which were contaminated with melamine.

The tainted powder was produced by two companies in China — Jilin Jinyi Egg Products Co Ltd (吉林金翼蛋品有限公司) and Dalian Green Snow Egg Product Co, Ltd (大連綠雪蛋品發展有限公司).

Of the 393 tonnes of protein powder imported from China this year, 261 tonnes imported from Jilin Jinyi and Dalian Green Snow were found to be contaminated with melamine, deputy health minister Cheng Shou-hsia (鄭守夏) said at a press conference yesterday.

That's just today's news.

Here's news from Hong Kong from just two days ago:

The discovery of excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in Chinese eggs has prompted the Hong Kong authorities to expand health tests to include meat products imported from China, a senior official said yesterday.

The move follows the announcement late on Saturday that Hong Kong testers had found 4.7 parts per million (ppm) of melamine in imported eggs produced by a division of China’s Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group.

The legal limit for melamine in foodstuffs in Hong Kong is 2.5ppm.

Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health York Chow (周一嶽) said the melamine may have come from feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.

As people who've been paying attention might be able to guess, Chinese officials knew about this since at least last month.

Two days before that, after we had been assured multiple times by officials from the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration's Department of Health that the products on Taiwan's shelves were safe -- you know what's coming -- melamine was discovered in Peacock Biscuits (孔雀餅乾):

Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美), director of the Taipei health department’s food and drug division, said the results of the latest round of random tests came in yesterday, and that officials found one pack of Peacock Biscuits that contained 4.62 parts per million (ppm) of melamine.

[...]

Chiang said the company used powdered baking ammonia from Sesoda Corp, which had imported tainted ammonia from China. The powdered baking ammonia imported by Sesoda Corp was found to contain between 70ppm and 300ppm of melamine by the Department of Health (DOH) earlier this month.

[...]

The Bureau of Food Safety yesterday urged the public not to panic, saying that although the crackers used ammonium bicarbonate imported from China, the powder comprised less than 1 percent of their total volume.

There's a point that's been made by many that is worth reiterating: even "just" 0.7 - 3.0 ppm of melamine from your crackers, 2 more ppm from your milk powder, and all the other parts per million that we don't know about yet all add up to a greater danger than they're letting on to.

But, wait -- there's much more melamine to be had!

On October 21, 2008, we were told of melamine being found in Chinese fried bread sticks:

The Department of Health said yesterday that after testing several food products for melamine, two batches of Chinese fried bread sticks were found to contain 3.37 parts per million (ppm) and 4.29ppm.

Health departments across the country have randomly tested more than 100 batches of baked goods and other foods that are commonly prepared with ammonium bicarbonate, including cookies, bread, grilled squid, barbequed pork buns, wedding cakes, honeycomb cookies and cream puffs.

[...]

Businesses such as bakeries and food stands that do not use Chinese-made baking ammonia as a food additive are allowed to put up signs that say “No Chinese-made baking ammonia added, customers need not worry,” Cheng said.

On Saturday, ammonium bicarbonate imported by Sesoda Corp (東碱股份有限公司) from China’s Huaer Chemical Co (化二化工有限公司) was found to contain between 70ppm and 300ppm of melamine.

Of the 400 tonnes imported, more than 200 tonnes remain in circulation and have yet to be tracked down by health officials.

It was two full days earlier that we had learned of the contaminated baking ammonia:

While the DOH said that the melamine content was 70ppm to 300ppm, the Taipei City Government Department of Health issued a press release saying the concentration was between 1,410ppm and 2,470 ppm.

The DOH did not give an explanation for the discrepancy.

[...]

Ammonium bicarbonate is used in the food industry as a leavening agent. It is commonly used in biscuits, cookies, cream puffs and Chinese fried bread sticks (油條).

On October 18, 2008, we were being told that "the melamine crisis was almost over." That was 11 days ago.

What a fucking joke!

The most obvious way to avoid this is to stop buying China's crap.

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Natural and artificial ingredients: Taiwan, 台灣, melamine, 三聚氰胺, Department of Health, 行政院衛生署, China, 中國

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Department of Health, melamine, Taiwan, 三聚氰胺, 中國, 台灣, 行政院衛生署

Too numerous for some to properly estimate

A protest Saturday in Taipei against the harm brought upon the country by Ma "Don't Paint Me Red" Ying-jeou (馬英九) and China had a huge turnout.

At around 6 PM, the very blue Era News reported a turnout of "400,000" while FTV was saying "600,000" right up until 10 PM.

But when TVBS said that there were 500,000 people at an anti-Ma/anti-China rally, then you can be pretty sure that there were at least that many.


Talking Show (大話新聞) discusses Reuters' coverage
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Even Reuters' Ralph Jennings -- of whom I've been extremely critical for getting the story very wrong when it comes to Taiwan -- tells us that "half a million" attended the protest:

Half a million march in Taiwan against China, president

Close to half a million people marched in Taiwan on Saturday to protest against the government's growing ties with China, where a tainted milk powder scandal has fueled fresh distrust toward Beijing among island citizens.

In the strongest display of opposition yet to President Ma Ying-jeou, demonstrators flooded central Taipei demanding that Ma step down over his friendly approach to Chinese officials.

I wasn't able to attend today's rally because I had to work, but Jerome Keating took part, and he replies to that report, saying, "I would concur with at least a half a million; perhaps more." Good to see a believable figure from Jennings this time around.

On the lower end of the crowd estimates, my wife heard on TV that the Taipei police claim that there were "200,000" participants, and in CNN's headline news segment, Rosemary Church says "tens of thousands" -- the same vague and inaccurate description used by the BBC.

What next?
As 10 PM approached and the event drew to a close, DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) says to be prepared to take to the streets again if the planned visit by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) happens. Despite how Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokespersons and surrogates tried to spin the news, this was more than just "the DPP base" out there today, and neither Ma nor China are doing anything to satisfy them.

Keep your eyes and ears open.

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Participants: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, Chen Yunlin, 陳雲林, protest, 抗議, Ralph Jennings, 唐甯思, Reuters, 路透社

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Chen Yunlin, China, Ma Ying-jeou, protest, Ralph Jennings, Reuters, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 唐甯思, 抗議, 路透社, 陳雲林, 馬英九

Say No to China's Poison!

Barely five months into the presidency of Ma "Don't paint me red" Ying-jeou (馬英九), Taiwan has suffered too many problems related to its bellicose and untrustworthy neighbor China. As a result, Ma's popularity rating has plummeted to 23.6%, according to the latest survey by the very blue Global Views Magazine (遠見雜誌).. Now, the spineless and incompetent Mr. Ma has invited Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) to sign agreements -- unapproved by the people of Taiwan -- that will undoubtedly bring even more suffering to all of us here.

I shouldn't have to tell you anything more. If you don't want China interfering with your life, be there at the October 25, 2008 protest in Taipei!


0:27 YouTube video: "A March for a Cause: Safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty"

Here are the 5 marching routes which all converge on Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道) -- the road in front of the Presidential Office:

Routes of the 1025 march
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Here's one logo for the protest, "Oppose China's crappy merchandise, protect Taiwan":

A safe Taiwan is China-free
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Forks in the road: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, Chen Yunlin, 陳雲林, protest, 抗議

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Chen Yunlin, China, Ma Ying-jeou, protest, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 抗議, 陳雲林, 馬英九

The People's Republic of Poison?

From the cover story of today's Taipei Times:

In yet another food industry ban related to toxic chemicals from China, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that an imported batch of powdered baking ammonia was found to contain between 70 parts per million (ppm) and 300ppm of melamine.

[...]

While the DOH said that the melamine content was 70ppm to 300ppm, the Taipei City Government Department of Health issued a press release saying the concentration was between 1,410ppm and 2,470 ppm.

The DOH did not give an explanation for the discrepancy.

[...]

Ammonium bicarbonate is used in the food industry as a leavening agent. It is commonly used in biscuits, cookies, cream puffs and Chinese fried bread sticks (油條).

[...]

Sesoda said in a press release issued yesterday that, of the 400 tonnes of ammonium bicarbonate it had imported from China, 20 tonnes remained in its warehouses countrywide, leaving 380 tonnes in circulation.

However, the company said it did not know whether all 380 tonnes are contaminated.

[...]

A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that health authorities had already detected melamine in ammonium bicarbonate a week ago, but waited until yesterday to make the announcement.

The source said that talk of melamine-contaminated baking ingredients had been circulating in the food industry for the past week.

In response, a DOH official who declined to be identified said that since the incident involving King Car Industrial Co (金車) last month, health authorities have been randomly checking certain materials for traces of melamine.

How much you wanna bet this isn't the last discovery of melamine-tainted imports from China?

Are you going to wait until it hits you right in the kidneys before you do everything you can to avoid buying things from China?

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Bottles of fear on the wall: Taiwan, 台灣, Department of Health, 行政院衛生署, melamine, 三聚氰胺, China, 中國

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Department of Health, melamine, Taiwan, 三聚氰胺, 中國, 台灣, 行政院衛生署

Presidency in limbo

According to a recent survey by the very pro-blue Global Views Magazine (遠見雜誌), Taiwan's president I-don't-mind-if-you-call-me-"Mr." Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is faring even worse than George W. Bush with an approval rating of 24.9 percent. That's quite an "accomplishment" having been in office for only four months!

I don't have a direct link to the Global Views survey [UPDATE: Here's the link (560KB PDF file) /UPDATE], but here are the headlines of some Chinese-language news stories reporting the results [translations mine]:

* 遠見民調／從政以來最低民調　馬英九施政滿意度僅24.9% (via NOWnews, which is part of the pro-blue ETTV)
Global Views survey / Lowest rating since taking office, Ma Ying-jeou administration approval rating only 24.9%

* 從政以來最低 馬英九民望僅24.9% (via Apple Action News, a division of the dubiously-motivated Apple Daily)
Lowest since taking office, only 24.9% have hope for Ma Ying-jeou

* 馬上任四月施政滿意度僅24.9% (via Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao [大公報], regarded by some as a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party)
Ma in office four months, administration's approval rating only 24.9%

* 民調：馬英九獲從政來最差評價 64.5%民眾不滿意 (via China's official government "press agency," Xinhua [新华通讯社])
Survey: Ma Ying-jeou gets worst survey result since taking office, 64.5% of the people are dissatisfied

* 台刊民调：马英九上任4月施政满意度仅为24.9%
(via another Chinese government "agency" [read: mouthpiece], China News Service [中國新聞網 or 中新网])
Survey in Taiwan periodical: In office 4 months, approval rating of Ma Ying-jeou administration only 24.9%

Gee, I wonder how that could have happened...
This is clearly the result of Ma and his administration's damaging of Taiwan's sovereignty, their inability to live up to any of Ma's campaign promises, their mishandling of more than one typhoon, their slow, nonchalant, and inadequate reaction to the discovery of food products from China which contained potentially-fatal melamine, and their total failure to take responsibility for their own words and actions/inaction.

We're gonna get you, suckas!
Instead of responding to the opposition's reality-based attacks for all these things by changing tack, forming a new cabinet, or engaging in any introspection, they have decided instead to form a "counterattack squad." I wish I was kidding, but see for yourselves [translations mine]:

* 拒絕挨打 藍組反擊部隊 (via the pro-blue United Daily News [聯合報])
Refusing to take a beating, blues form counterattack squad

* 拒絕挨打、導正視聽　藍組“反擊部隊” (via the HK-based China Review News [中國評論新聞網])
Refusing to take a beating, countering the rumors, blues form "counterattack squad"

What they're saying is that they didn't do anything to cause such bad survey results and that it's all because the opposition -- meaning the DPP -- is spreading "rumors."

A brief history of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) "counterattacks"
For greater context, check out this nonsense from one year ago, from a source that could easily be called "an outlet for KMT propaganda" itself:

* Kuomintang tries counterattack on 'underground' radio stations (via the pro-unification China Post)

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The opposition Kuomintang, convinced that it lost the last presidential election in 2004 because of a rumor spread by underground radio stations, is launching a counterattack.

Wu Dun-yih, secretary-general of the Kuomintang, confirmed yesterday his party is asking "licensed" radio stations to air its propaganda.

And here's another more recent display of how the kind of propaganda they're talking about works:

Executives at supermarkets and wholesale stores said that some international food and beverage giants used to enjoy brisk sales here.

But their milk powder made in China under contract has now suffered steep drops, although they vouch for the quality and safety of their products.

Bakeries in Taipei said sales of their products have also become victims of the negative publicity about the tainted milk powder.

The bakeries using Chinese milk powder are the victims -- but not the consumers who may have unknowingly ingested a toxic chemical? The "negative publicity" is the problem -- not the fact that this toxic chemical made its way into Taiwan's food supply?

This propaganda portrays the situation as if it hadn't yet been determined whether or not this melamine problem even existed. It treats it as if all of the potentially-toxic products -- containing some of the 25 metric tons (at least) of milk powder and other affected products which are known to have been imported into Taiwan -- had already been tested thoroughly and deemed safe. And it makes it sound as if the customers were being "unreasonable" when they had a valid reason to be concerned about their safety.

Is KMT-led Taipei totally free of melamine-tainted food, as the article implies? With the amount that made it into the country, I think that remains to be seen.

I am concerned... for the people of Taiwan
Not that I have even half an iota of concern about what Ma could do to boost his ratings, but it's certainly not impossible for him to do so. I won't hold my breath waiting for him to make that happen, but unless there's some serious change, I can only imagine Ma's ratings plunging even further -- and not because of any so-called "rumors."

苦民所苦
Here's a recent photo of Ma feeling somebody's pain -- most likely his own:

... and doing so while wearing a cap that says "ARG"! (out of view)
Ma's expression is the result of being scolded by a local official
-- from his own party! --
during a visit to Nantou several days after Typhoon Sinlaku had devastated the area.
(via the NOWnews article linked above)
Opposition rumors, my ass!

FURTHER READING (Lest we forget):
* Melamine was the chemical contaminant that was found in pet food produced in China in early 2007 and which "killed or sickened thousands of animals." Has anything changed?

* Pet Food Recall (Melamine)/Tainted Animal Feed

On March 15, 2007, FDA learned that certain pet foods were sickening and killing cats and dogs. FDA found contaminants in vegetable proteins imported into the United States from China and used as ingredients in pet food.

* Melamine in pet food may not be accidental

A nitrogen-rich chemical used to make plastic and sometimes as a fertilizer may have been deliberately added to an ingredient in pet food that has sickened and killed cats and dogs across the country, public and private officials say. A leading theory is that it was added to fake higher protein levels.

[...]

[...] "That melamine was found in all three of those, it would certainly lend credibility to the theory that this was intentional." [Stephen Sundlof, FDA chief veterinarian]

* Wikipedia: 2008 baby milk scandal

* Wikipedia: Food safety incidents in the People's Republic of China

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Baselines: Taiwan, 台灣, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, I feel the people's pain, 苦民所苦, survey, 民調, Wu Den-yi, 吳敦義, propaganda, 宣傳, China Post, 英文中國郵報, People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國, Xinhua, 新華, melamine, 三聚氰胺

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, China Post, Ma Ying-jeou, melamine, propaganda, survey, Taiwan, Wu Den-yi, Xinhua, 三聚氰胺, 中國, 台灣, 吳敦義, 宣傳, 新華, 民調, 英文中國郵報, 馬英九