Acts Of Brutality

Well, there goes THAT promise.  The one where I was going to wait a few days before commenting on current events here in Taiwan.  Let’s just say the devil made me do it.

Actually, it was the China Post, and its claim yesterday that changing the airport’s name from Chiang Kai-Shek to Taiwan Taoyuan International was "a show of brutal power".

Somebody call the International Criminal Court.  President "Snidely Whiplash" Chen just renamed an airport.  Why, this is the greatest injustice in the history of the world!

Cost

The China Post‘s first objection was the expense.  Twenty one million NT dollars ($640,000 US), give or take.  That, and the move did nothing to improve the economy.

Which isn’t bad as arguments go.  It’s just that I wonder if someone could produce for me an editorial by that paper denouncing the KMT’s renaming of Taiwanese streets, neighborhoods and mountains back in the late ’40s.  A great many of THOSE had Japanese names prior to retrocession, and all of them were given Chinese names afterwards.

In the process, I daresay the KMT spent a whole lot more than $21 million NT.  And on top of that, post-war Taiwan was in a far poorer position to afford that kind of money than it is today.

So I ask you: Did any of the KMT’s more expensive name changes do anything to improve Taiwan’s economy back then?  If they didn’t, where was the China Post‘s outrage?

Cutting the cord

Even more absurd was this statement:

"The name change of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport is but the latest example of [President] Chen’s…all out efforts to cut the umbilical cord between China and Taiwan."

Maybe there are some linguists out there who could help me out a little here.  Isn’t the word "Taoyuan" Chinese, or does it originate from some other language, like Swahili or something?  Pray tell, how does an airport name change from Chiang Kai-shek (a Chinese PERSON) to Taiwan Taoyuan (a Chinese PLACE*) move Taiwan any further from China?  They’re still both Chinese names, or am I missing something?

It’s a bloody Cultural Revolution, is what it is!**

Next, the China Post makes mountains out of molehills.  Renaming airports is just like the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and will end up just as badly.  President Chen and Chairman Mao are the same, both denouncing and destroying people.

It seems more than a little ironic that on the same page as this bit of hysterical hyperbole was a column about the REAL Cultural Revolution.  You know, the one where 11 year-old kids had to denounce their parents after the Red Guards killed them.  Re-education camps, that sort of thing.

Try as I might, I found nothing in that column about the survivors objecting to any airport name changes Mao might have made at the time.  Though I’m sure the ones he actually DID make must have increased their sufferings immeasurably.

Actually, when you think about it, Chiang’s wholesale renaming of Taiwanese place names and his White Terror period resembles Mao’s Cultural Revolution far more than anything that Chen’s done.  Despite that however, the China Post continues to hail Chiang as a "symbol of the Chinese nation and a towering figure in contemporary Chinese history".

As for Chen?  Why, six years in office, and he STILL hasn’t killed or imprisoned anyone yet.

Amateur!

A Rose by any other Name, yada yada

The paper closes with philosophical food for thought, asking us, "What’s in a name?  A rose smells as sweet if called by any other name."

Which of course, is a testable claim if ever I saw one.  Perhaps instead of "Taiwan Taoyuan", the airport should have been named in honor of another "towering figure" in contemporary Taiwanese and Chinese history:

Hideki Tojo (Prime Minister of Japan 1941-1944)

* Please, no objections that Taoyuan is Taiwanese and not Chinese.  There’s at least one "Taoyuan" township in northeast China.

** This heading sounds a lot better when read aloud in a Cockney accent.

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Mini-Book Review: If China Attacks Taiwan

Over the last month, I couldn’t keep proper track of the news in Taiwan while visiting the folks back home, so I promised myself I’d try to refrain from commenting about current events here until I got back up to speed.

Therefore, instead of discussing the libel ruling against Taiwan’s major independence party, or the renaming of the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport), I thought I’d spend the next few days talking about If China Attacks Taiwan: Miltary Strategy, Politics and Economics.  I’ll give a mini-review in this post, and then go through it chapter by chapter over the next few days, mentioning a few facts and bits of trivia that I found interesting or surprising.

(A more in-depth review can be found on Dr. Keating’s website here.)

The first thing I noticed about this book in the store was its length (200 pages).  Good.  I like short books because I can find time to finish them – there are enough 800 page behemoths waiting for me on my shelf, thank you very much.

The disadvantage of such brevity though, is that some rather important topics aren’t covered at all.  If China Attacks Taiwan does an excellent job in telling the reader what China could throw at Taiwan, and a pretty good job in informing us what Taiwan could do in response.  However, it has very little to say about what America could bring to the field, and nothing about a possible Japanese response.

(I confess to be very interested in the latter, and so was a bit disappointed.  Of course, add America & Japan to the mix and the book could have easily doubled in length.)

If China Attacks Taiwan is well organized, each chapter being written by a specialist with his own particular area of expertise.  Accordingly, one finds entire chapters devoted to short-range ballistic missiles, unconventional warfare, air war, sea war, and logistics.  So while it doesn’t cover everything, what it does cover, it covers well.

Just a couple things in closing.  This an expensive book – $115 over at Amazon.com.  That’s $115 for 200 pages.  Guess I should consider myself lucky that it was "only" $1500 NT ($45) at the Warner Village Eslite.

I’ll also say that it’s my impression that a few of the authors took great pains explaining why the Communist leadership feels it’s important to conquer Taiwan, without stating why it might be equally important for the Taiwanese, Americans and Japanese to stand in opposition.  Maybe that’s a false impression, but it’s the one I received when I read it a month ago.

Back In Town

Four in the morning now, and I’m wide awake from jet lag.  So I’m checking my blog stats, and out of the blue discover that The Foreigner in Formosa has been nominated for an Asia Blog Award.

Sure beats the usual kind of surprise I get after returning from vacation.  You know, like the toilet isn’t working, or something.

So a big Xie Xie Ni* to whomever it was that nominated me.  I don’t seriously expect to win, but the old cliche’s a cliche because it happens to be true:  It really IS an honor just to be nominated.

Heck, I’ll go further than that.  Some of those other sites are so good that it’s an honor simply to be listed alongside them.

* Mandarin for "Thank you".

Release The Hounds

One KMT legislator obviously misses the good old days of political prisons, barbed wire, and vicious guard dogs:

[KMT lawmaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱)] has trained her black medium-sized terrier to growl and attack whenever it hears the word, "A-Bian," the nickname of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

Memo to President Chen: Do NOT accept any dinner invitations from this woman.

KMT legislator Hung Hsiu-chu with her dog trained to growl and attack when the name of Taiwan's president is uttered

‘Course, obsessions like Hung’s can sometimes turn around and bite you in the – well, let’s see how the story ends:

To show off the dog’s unique talent, the trainer repeatedly shouted, "A-bian" to provoke the dog, which eventually became so agitated it attacked a female reporter, biting her on the abdomen.

Abdomen.  That’s the word I was looking for.  Obsessions can sometimes turn around and bite you in the ABDOMEN.

Mr. Burns in old-timey boxing clothing training a dog to attackDog enraged by Mr. Burn's goadingMr. Burns smiling after dog has been provoked into attacking him

Poke-ah, poke-ah, poke-ah…

UPDATE (Aug 5/06):  Wandering to Tamsui has a translated partial transcript of the incident.

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Why I Love Taiwan’s Newspapers

Taipei Times‘ front page headline, "[KMT Chairman] Ma grilled by Japanese Diet members"

(Sounds rough.)

Taiwan News‘ editorial, "Cool reception for Ma in Japan"

(Brrr.)

And the China Post‘s coverage?  A little bitty black and white pic on page 19 of a smiling Ma Ying-jeou in academic robes receiving an honorary doctorate from Yokahama City University.

(See how they love our boy over there?)

Heh-heh.

The Taiwan News editorial was a pretty good read, but it really caught my interest when it talked about Ma’s casual attitude towards North Korea’s missile tests.  What exactly did he say, anyway?  I must have missed it.

It’s late now, but I thought I’d mention the Yasukuni shrine.  Seems as though Ma is telling the Japanese that their Prime Minister should stop visiting it.  And maybe he’s right on that score.

But if hizzonner REALLY wants to show he’s got a pair of mivonks, he might consider telling Beijing where to put all those portraits of Mao Tse Tung, instead of bossing around a bunch of democratic pacifists over a shrine visit that only happens once a year.

Chinese Imperialism Is A-OK

If we’re to believe the editorial writers at Taiwan’s China Post, that is:

"[China’s railway to Tibet] is key to development and modernization.  So Beijing hailed its opening "a route to civilization".

[…]

The railway could double Tibet’s tourism revenues by 2010 and cut transportation costs into the region by 75 percent, lifting its 2.8 million people out of isolation and poverty.

[…]

The changes lamented by Tibetan nationalists and Shangri-La dreamers are largely the inevitable price of progress.

It’s a poor accountant that only adds up the credit side of the ledger.  Yes, increased tourism revenues are a good thing, as are cheaper consumer goods.  Needless to say, it will also bring in more Han Chinese migrants.  Exactly how does it benefit Tibetans if they’re reduced to a second-class minority within their own homeland?  Furthermore, it’s a safe bet that none of those freight cars will be bringing in pictures of the Dalai Lama along with all those inexpensive cans of corn.  Which is to say, there are some Tibetan needs those trains won’t be fulfilling, and they won’t be purely for political reasons.

That alone puts the lie to the China Post‘s claims of Chinese altruism in the matter.

The real question though, is whether Tibet’s problems stem from its "isolation and poverty" or from its freedom deficit.  The Tibetan railway may or may not end up reducing poverty, but it will never, ever, give Tibetans a greater say in how they live their lives.  Now it’s fine for the China Post to argue that Tibet suffers mostly from poverty, and for guys like me who argue that their problems are due to a lack of freedom.  It’s fine, but it’s all a bit beside the point.

Because the point is, that the Tibetans were never consulted about whether THEY wanted the damn thing to be built in the first place!

That’s the true obscenity.  The Tibetans were never free to debate the pros and cons of the issue, never free to choose their own destiny.  In the end, they might very well have CHOSEN to build that railway, or they might have chosen a pastoral or monastic life instead.  We’ll never know however, because the communist mandarins of China arrogated that right to choose for themselves.  And the editorialists at Taiwan’s China Post picked up their pom-poms, and they cheered.

UPDATE (Jul 13/06):  Didn’t have time earlier to comment on this portion of the editorial:

But 210 years ago in America, Indian tribes were subjected to a similar "process of civilization". George Washington selected in 1796 the Cherokee Indians, living in the western regions of North Carolina and Georgia, for a pilot scheme in integration. The reluctant Indians were taught ways to build log cabins, till the land and accept Christianity.

Like America’s scheme, China’s new railway to Tibet is designed to put the isolated Himalayan plateau on a fast track to economic development and integration with the country’s other 55 ethnic tribes, to avoid disparity and instability.

So America’s treatment of the Indians 200 years ago justifies Chinese oppression of the Tibetans here in the 21st Century?  Holy smokes, what fate for the Tibetans will the China Post endorse next?  Slavery?

After all, two hundred years ago, America had THAT, too.

Since the China Post is so blase about "acculturation", I guess they won’t mind if the government requires schools here to drop the teaching of Mandarin in favor of Taiwanese.  Surely after 50 years, it’s about time for Mainlanders to become "acculturated" to the Taiwanese language, isn’t it?

LOL.  Cultural imperialism can sure be a bitch…when it’s YOU who’s on the receiving end of it.

UPDATE (Jul 14/06):  More pro-communist blather from a July 5th China Post editorial:

[The Tibetan railway] completion is good news for Tibetan economic development, human rights and cultural protection.

The first point’s debatable, but the last two?  Open a window to the newsroom guys, you’ve been huffing a little too much of those ink fumes.

Besides being an engineering marvel, it is a dream come true for Tibetans who deserve a better life.

Shangri-La admirers have long educated the Tibetan people to reject integration with others and preserve their unspoiled natural beauty, unique way of life and spiritual purity, even at the cost of isolation and prolonged poverty.

Ooh, straw man time.  Sorry, but most decent folks think Tibetans ought to decide for THEMSELVES how much integration they oughta have.  In contrast, the China Post waxes lyrical when those decisions are instead made a thousand miles away by communists in their latest Five-Year Plan.

Like its predecessors the Euro-Asian rail link and the ancient Silk Road, the Tibet railway leads the modernizing take-off of the vast snowy highlands, benefiting everybody on the way.

Walter Duranty, watch out – somebody’s gunnin’ for your Pulitzer!

If The KMT’s So Confident About Ma’s Electability…

Why the persistent rumors of a 2008 ticket featuring political corpse Lien Chan for president, with current KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou relegated to the spot of V.P.?

That’s gotta feel good.  Ma claws his way to the top of the KMT pyramid, only to find some folks STILL want the former chairman to be prez.  And notice we don’t see Lien working too hard to dispel those rumors, either.  You know, like saying he can’t run again because he’s too busy enjoying the time with the grandkids, or having too much fun with his unofficial visits back to the Chinese fatherland.

I can just imagine folks from the centrist Taiwanese independence party burning incense in the local temples, praying, "Oh please, please, let it be true!"

Well, since we’re on the subject, I’ve got another DREAM ticket for ya:

Michael Dukakis in a tankHillary Clinton at a podium

C’mon, Dukakis – Clinton in ’08 makes WAY more sense than Lien – Ma.  After all, who’s the more attractive candidate – the guy who’s only lost one race for the presidency, or the guy who’s lost TWO?

(Micheal Dukakis photo from Digitaljournalist.org.  Hillary Rodham Clinton photo from Yale.edu.)

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North Koreans Take The Trains

No, no, I mean literally.  They actually TOOK the trains:

…food and fuel supplies sent to North Korea [from China] have been halted, not to force North Korea to stop missile tests or participate in peace talks, but to return the Chinese trains the aid was carried in on. In the last few weeks, the North Koreans have just kept the trains, sending the Chinese crews back across the border. North Korea just ignores Chinese demands that the trains be returned, and insists that the trains are part of the aid program. It’s no secret that North Korean railroad stock is falling apart, after decades of poor maintenance and not much new equipment.

[…]

The Chinese have tried to talk the North Koreans out of [their unworkable economic policies], and for their trouble they have their trains stolen. [Emphasis added]

Communists stealing property from other communists?  Now THERE’S a stage of societal development overlooked in Marx’s Theory of Historical Materialism!