The Age out of Australia has an excellent piece on our divided island that refracts the island's identity politics and democratic transition through the life of Peter Huang, the would-be assassin of Chiang Ching-kuo who now heads Amnesty Taiwan. Huang would have made a second attempt at a nuclear power plant in Nevada, Linda Arrigo told me once, using a rifle with a specially made sight -- which still exists. The article is long and does a good job discussing the island's identity issues...PETER HUANG doesn't look like an assassin. His grey hair is thinning and as he talks he sometimes pauses, as if lost in thought. Then he apologises and says he's 72 and these days sees a geriatric specialist. But he's lively and his eyes glisten when he laughs. He chain smokes as he sips iced tea on a humid night in Taipei, Taiwan's capital.
With his shorts, sandals and backpack, his glasses perched on the end of his nose, Huang looks like a veteran human rights activist, which is what he is.
He heads Amnesty International in Taiwan, and he's just come from an all-day meeting of human rights groups. He apologises for being late, but says such meetings are often complicated by intense debate, where everyone insists on being heard.
[Taiwan]
7 comments:
Michael,
If we were to apply your usual tight standards to such things... how many quotes from non-Green/non-DPP figures were included in the article?
Tang,
Are they necessary? Please explain why quotes from the colonialist side of the identity politics brew were necessary in that piece. Given the overwhelmingly pro-Beijing slant of the international media, pieces like this are a welcome change from the tiresome propaganda crap we so often see.
Also, Antonio Chiang is editor of the Apple Daily and not a member of the DPP, AFAIK.
Michael
There has been a recent flood of academic material coming out that is overwhelmingly in support of the colonialist/constructivist side. A lot of academics from India are supplying some really great models for viewing this issue.
Tang,
This piece is set up as a feature around one man who was interviewed. It isn't a news story.
Imagine the reverse: An interview with Ma Yingjiu. Would anyone expect quotations from Tsai Ying Wen?
The piece obviously leans green because it paints Peter Huang sympathetically.... but then again, it would have to somewhat in order to conduct a rational interview with him.
However, I do think the author has addressed your concern. He does acknowledge the existence of different viewpoints. The following paragraph says it all:
"And it confronts what Huang calls "peculiarities", especially an unresolved debate on national identity - is Taiwan Chinese? It's a debate distorted by the threat of war from China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province."
Here, the author has left the question open. He has not passed judgement on either side.
This is the way it should be, Tang. The piece is low on factual errors and low on judgement. The Blues have a different opinion, you say? The article does not exclude that possibility.
I like the article, and I thank Michael for posting it.
Agreed, for the most part it was unbiased in that it recognized both sides of the table. Unlike what you see in pro-dpp/pro-kmt, where it often totally disregards or inaccurately discredits the opposing view.
Michael,
If we were to apply your usual tight standards to such things... how many quotes from non-Green/non-DPP figures were included in the article?
Personally, I think this article is fair and far better than the Taiwan News (bad for your health) opinions...:P
Good human interest piece! It's humanistic (albeit quirky) and doesn't seem to be quoting the usual press releases.
An added plus is that it's a pro-Taiwan piece from Oz--something we don't often see.
Since Oz is one of the butt-kissers of China, we don't often hear much from Down Under that supports Taiwan's side of things.
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