Month: April 2007

Confucianism Making Comeback In China

Geez, this sounds like some kinda Chinese madrassa:

"The teachings of Confucius are the first thing we begin teaching the children," said Feng Zhe, director of the Confucian School, which opened six months ago. "Each child should recite the Confucian texts 1,000 times until their spirit is imprinted completely. This is a graduation requirement." [Emphasis added]

[…]

So far 46 students below the age of 14 have enrolled in the school which is based on learning through recitation.

I sure pity those kids.

Strike A Pose, There’s Nothing To It

Any particular reason why the mainstream media is showing us the photographic self-portraits of a mass murderer, depicting him as some kind of kick-ass comrade of Neo and Trinity aboard the Nebuchadnezzar?

Oh, we all know why you do it
Sometimes you even slow it down
You’re giving
out some bad ideas here
I can’t believe that you don’t realize

You must be evil
You must be evil
Evil…

–Chris Rea, "You Must Be Evil"

Hats off to the local English media, which has thus far declined to be the propaganda organs of a publicity-hungry killer.

POSTSCRIPT:  Jim Treacher at the Daily Gut expresses irritation with some of the reaction:

According to MSNBC: "South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed its condolences, saying that there was no known motive for the shootings and that South Korea hoped the tragedy would not ‘stir up racial prejudice or confrontation.’ "  You know what? How about just expressing your condolences?  If a white American guy shot a bunch of people in South Korea, would we tell the grieving families that we hoped it wouldn’t stir up racial prejudice?

On a personal note, I’ve been approached by a couple of Taiwanese within the last few days and asked if I know how to distinguish between Taiwanese and Koreans.  I admit I probably can’t, though I make sure to ask the questioners in turn if THEY can tell the difference between Frenchmen and Poles.

I tell them that I can’t, either.  But most people ARE able to distinguish between dead homicidal maniacs and people who, by a sheer accident of birth, happen to share the same nationality.

CORRECTION:  It was Jim Treacher and not David Gutfeld at the Daily Gut who was unhappy about the South Korean government’s initial response to the Cho Seung-Hui shootings.  Apologies for that; the error has been corrected.

UPDATE:  Maybe I should have read today’s papers before writing this post, because two local English papers DID print Cho’s pictures.  The Taiwan News printed the one with Cho raising a claw hammer with two hands – which isn’t that objectionable because it just makes him look demented.  Taiwan’s China Post on the other hand, printed the one where Cho looks like an Asian gangsta-rap version of the Shadow.  Fortunate that they’re not trying to glamorize him, or anything…

Meanwhile, a couple of lawmakers with mental-health issues of their own showed up at Virginia Tech’s sister university in Taipei with the local media in tow, and staged an impromptu terrorism drill by reporting a false hostage-taking incident to police.  Needless to say, much hilarity ensued:

At a classroom where students were studying, [one of the Taiwanese nationalist lawmakers] walked in and held up a fork, saying it was a submachine gun, and pointed it at the students while asking them if they knew how to deal with such a situation.

Several minutes later, the legislative duo [and class-full of students] were confronted by dozens of police officers wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying 9mm pistols and M-16 assault rifles, who had been sent from nearby Daan Precinct.

Teach-errr, can we do the midterm NEXT week, instead?

Closing this little round-up, it looks like the Taiwanese who talked to me aren’t the only ones concerned about being mistaken for Koreans:

…some Taiwanese students in the US had asked Taiwanese compatriot organizations or their families to send them clothes or hats with the word "Taiwan" or "Taipei" or stickers of the national flag in a bid to help distinguish them from South Korean nationals after Monday’s killings.

I don’t mean to belittle other people’s concerns or fears, but I don’t for a minute believe Southerners are going to lynch ANYBODY over this.  Frankly, I think it’s a little little insulting to suggest that they might.

UPDATE (Apr 21/07):  The View from Taiwan has a more in-depth discussion of the phony terrorism drill at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

UPDATE (May 15/07):  South Korean newspapers apparently indulged in some schadenfreude immediately after the killings, printing editorial cartoons slamming American society. After learning that the shooter was Korean, however, they quickly pulled the cartoons.  (Hat tip to AsiaPundit)

This Is Not About YOU, John Chiang

Earlier this week, John Chiang, an illegitimate descendant of former Taiwanese dictator Chiang Kai-shek, launched a lawsuit over the dismantling of his grand-dad’s statue by the city of Kaohsiung:

"I can’t bear to see the statue of the late president being disassembled.  I demand Mayor Chen publish an apology in the islands three main Chinese-language newspapers and pay a symbolic NT$1 in compensation [for] the city’s rude behavior…"

"I shed tears when I saw on the TV that it (the city government) disassembled the [Chiang Kai-shek] statue into more than 200 parts * …"

The fact is that while John Chiang shed tears, others cheered.  I know of no moral calculus that says John Chiang’s displeasure must weigh more heavily than the approval of others.

There is, I believe, only one instrument with which the conflict between Chiang supporters and critics can be resolved:  Democracy. This is where Taiwan’s China Post gets their "Cultural Revolution" analogy all wrong.  Unlike Mao’s China, Taiwanese mobs are not  roaming the streets smashing Chiang statues.**  Instead, the people of Taiwan chose known anti-Chiang politicians to be their leaders, and those politicians are enacting that part of their program.  When pro-Chiang politicians are elected to executive positions, I will take that as evidence that the Taiwanese wish Chiang to remain in his place of honor.

Some might object that anti-Chiang politicians were elected for other reasons, pointing to poll numbers to support that claim.  Fair point, though I notice that Chiang defenders are not quite so confident about their numbers as to call for a democratic referendum on the issue.  Guess it’s easier to bluster about Chiang’s "solid support" in Taiwanese society than it is to risk a humiliating loss at the polls on the question.

* While it was initially reported that the Chiang Kai-shek statue in Kaohsiung was broken into 200 pieces, the correct number was quickly established to be 79.  For emotive purposes, John Chiang continues to use the inflated figure.

** There was however, one troubling case of arson directed against one of Chiang Kai-shek’s holiday villas recently, and it’s my hope that the perpetrator will be found and punished harshly.   De-Chiangification must take place under the rule of law and under democratic auspices, not according to the whims of individuals with butane lighters.

UPDATE (Apr 21/07):  The difference between John Chiang and Cho Seung-Hui’s grandfather could not be starker:

John Chiang: "I shed tears when I saw on the TV that [the city government]
disassembled [my grandfather’s] statue into more than 200 parts."

Cho Seung-Hui’s grandfather:  "Son of a bitch.  It serves [my grandson] right he died…"

Losing It

The Foreigner wins a new fan.  Really takes me back to the old Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio program:

I’ll have you all hung, drawn, and quartered! And whipped! And
boiled…until…until…until you’ve had enough!  And then I’ll chop you
up into little bits!  And when I’ve finished, I’ll take all the little
bits, and I’ll JUMP on them! And I’ll carry on jumping on them until I get
blisters, or I can think of something even more unpleasant to do…

Thanks for the memory, dude.

Taiwan Drills For Attack On PRC Aircraft Carrier

From Tuesday’s Taiwan News:

Taiwan is performing a computerized military exercise which for the first time focuses on attacking a Chinese aircraft carrier, it was reported yesterday.

The scenario of a five-day drill – part of a military maneuver codenamed "Han Kuang 23" is that in 2012 the People’s Liberation Army launch a blitz on the island after they acquire their first aircraft carrier…

In the drill beginning yesterday, the Taiwanese navy armed with home-made "Hsiungfeng II" ship-to-ship missiles and the improved version of supersonic "Hsiungfeng III" missiles is to simulate launching its arsenal against a Chinese aircraft carrier…

The Taiwan air force’s F-16 fighters would also simulate attacks on the carrier using U.S.-made Harpoon missiles…

UPDATE (May 17/07):  This is an update which really should have been done about a month ago.  The April 22nd edition of the China Post reveals that this report was false:

The simulated war games didn’t cover the use of nuclear weapons or Taiwan military attacks on China’s aircraft carrier battle groups as some media outlets had speculated, the sources said.

The Taipei Times emphasized the positive, final outcome of the computer simulation:

The complex simulation involved a scenario of China invading Taiwan in 2012.

[…]

In the simulation, Chinese ships ferry forces to the island, backed by heavy missile barrages and pinpoint air strikes on Taiwanese military bases and other strategic facilities.

The "invaders" then establish beachheads along Taiwan’s west coast, though their arrival is delayed for days by Taiwanese missile strikes on Chinese military bases and by Taiwanese navy counterattacks.

The simulation saw western Taiwan radar stations, missile bases and airports suffer heavy damage, but ground forces held down casualty numbers by taking cover in specially prepared areas.

After two weeks of fierce fighting, Taiwan’s army corners and destroys the Chinese invaders.

[…]

The computer simulation envisioned no role for the US in the fighting, [Marine Lieutenant General Hsu Tai-sheng] said, despite expectations that Washington would assist Taiwan if China attacked.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s China Post played up the devastation angle:

In the mock counterattacks, Taiwan’s troops struck coastal Chinese military targets and cities with such weapons as cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles.

[…]

In the first three days of the simulated Chinese invasion, Taiwan incurred severe human and material losses from China’s saturated ballistic missile assault, as well as its naval and aerial bombardment.

However, Taiwan’s armed forces managed to get up to steam to stage counterattacks on China’s coastal military targets and its major cities, causing heavy human casualties and major destruction.

In the warfare scenario, the military strikes not only take a heavy toll on the economic well-being of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also adversely impact the global economy and cause a worldwide panic.

In the end, the United States and other Western countries jointly mediated a ceasefire.

Of course, the U.S. probably wouldn’t be in a position to mediate a ceasefire if it were to come to Taiwan’s aid.  At any rate, U.S. officials were present, and presumably spoke to a few of Taiwan’s armed forces to try to get a handle on troop loyalty:

Meanwhile, the sources said, the U.S. observation group focused in particular on assessing the Taiwan military personnel’s "combat spirit" to see whether their morale has been affected by the prolonged political infighting that has cast a long shadow over society since the transition of power between different political parties back in 2000.

In weighing the military’s "combat spirit," the sources said, the U.S. delegation wanted to determine whether Taiwan would likely lean toward China and whether any advanced U.S.-built weaponry systems or sophisticated defense strategies would end up in the hands of the Chinese communists.

English Proficiency Requirement For Taiwanese Presidents?

It must have seemed tempting.  The Chinese Nationalist Party’s presumptive presidential nominee speaks fluent English, while most Taiwanese nationalist candidates for the job don’t.  So…why not just write an English requirement for the presidency into law, thereby ELIMINATING most Taiwanese nationalists from the political competition?

(Given the smaller pool of eligible candidates, the over-all quality of the final Taiwanese nationalist candidate would likely suffer as well.  From the KMT’s point of view, a win-win proposal all around.)

A few days later though, the Chinese nationalists dropped the idea.  It’s a pity the English papers didn’t give us too many of their comments as to why, however.  Now, perhaps they abandoned it because it was undemocratic and limited the Taiwanese public’s right to choose.  (I will not exclude that possibility.)  Or perhaps there was another reason – one more rooted in long-term self-interest.  Because surely someone at the Chinese Nationalist Party must have considered that one language requirement might someday beget another.  And by that, I mean one for Taiwanese.

A Taiwanese requirement for the R.O.C. presidency would make at LEAST as much sense as an English requirement – 60% of Taiwanese speak it to one degree or another, for crying out loud.  Enacting one would do to the Chinese Nationalists exactly what they so transparently tried to do to Taiwanese nationalists: Put them at a severe electoral disadvantage.  Well, a Taiwanese requirement wouldn’t hurt all KMT members – just the dominant Mainlander faction that only speaks Mandarin.  Still, it’s hard to imagine those fellas maintaining dominance over the party once the highest office of the land becomes closed to them, all nice and legal-like.

A language requirement for the presidency?  If I were a Mainlander belonging to the KMT, that’s definitely one sleeping dog I’d prefer to let lie.

UPDATE (Apr 24/07):  The View from Taiwan points out that that soon afterwards, Taiwanese nationalists tried to cater a law aimed specifically at Ma Ying-jeou, the probable KMT presidential candidate for 2008.  Joe Hung at the China Post discusses this case as well.