Reuters is reporting that China will be "angered" because Chen Shui-bian is going through Alaska on his way to Central America. The title of the article says:...and the article goes on to report:
The United States will allow Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian to stop over in Alaska en route to Central America next week, a U.S. official said on Monday, a move bound to anger China which considers Taiwan its own.Observe this piece of "news." Carefully read it. Where is the anger? Where are the quotes from Chinese officials? Where is the diplomatic notice. It hasn't happened yet. The "news" reports an "event" that hasn't occurred. China doesn't even have to put out bombastic, puerile attacks on Taiwan. The media does it for them....China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has vowed to bring the island back under mainland rule, by force if necessary, and objects to other countries playing host to its officials.
The United States, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, recognising "one China", is nevertheless the island's biggest ally but says such visits by Taiwan officials must be of a private nature only.
"These arrangements are intended only to facilitate President Chen's transit to Central America," Thomas Hodges, spokesman at the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, said.
"President Chen's transit will be private and unofficial. There will be no public or media events."
Chinese officials have previously lashed out at the United States for allowing stopovers by Taiwan leaders. But analysts said Chen himself may also be upset that the U.S. stopover is in remote Alaska rather than on the mainland.
Improvements: Reuters says:
China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has vowed to bring the island back under mainland rule, by force if necessary, and objects to other countries playing host to its officials.Not bad. The first sentence does away with the false "Taiwan and China split in 1949." The second is arguably false (Chinese never ruled Taiwan), but hey, it's progress.
[Taiwan] [US] [China] [Chen Shui-bian] [State Department]
3 comments:
An error in reporting: "since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949". The civil war has never ended. Where is the treaty that ends that war?
Lee Teng-hui declared an end to it in the 1990s, didnt he? Not sure about whether any mention of the civil war ending came from the China side though.
Lee's declaration was a unilateral act to ease the tension and pave the road for a transition to ROC(Taiwan) from ROC. But I do agree that the war is de facto over.
Look, you got to have some better way to look at this thing. Three radical claims:
Deep-Red: PRC has taken the place of ROC, so Taiwan is part of PRC.
Deep-Blue: PRC is a rebel regime, and ROC should reclaim the mainland with force.
Deep-Green: Taiwan is an independent nation and KMT is nothing but a suppressor.
None of the claims above is really tenable, and an emotionalized approach neither helps Mainland China's democracy nor makes Taiwan's life easier.
Americans like to talk about democracy all the time, but having been in America for a couple of years I think the States is much less democratic than many European countries...Democracy is not everything, and I am really tired of people who keep looking backwards all the time.
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