Was down in Tainan yesterday and met a lot of friends, all of whom see the same thing: the anschluss is coming in 2011. Things are moving really quickly...Ma meanwhile shot off a whole flurry of things. Speaking to Singapore newspapers on May 8, he said that he would not rule out political talks with the CCP after 2012, assuming he gets elected again. No reason at present not to think that. On the 11th he reiterated this point...
Ma said he was not opposed to launching negotiations with Beijing on political matters, including a peace treaty, during a second term as president.Ma is telling the total truth: he will not engage in talks to annex the island to the PRC. Since such talks are currently run by KMT Old Guard politicians like Honorary Chairman Lien Chan and current chairman Wu Po-hsiung, they will be the ones doing the talking on annexation. Ma is simply the candy coating over their ongoing talks to sell out the island, a facade they've hoisted to cover their activities. Meanwhile Ma also claimed that the infamous MOU between Beijing and the WHO limiting Taiwan's participation might not exist. That's Ma at his most suave -- those US senators who criticized the MOU a couple of years ago must have been nuts....UPDATE: ...and so was the CNA when they reported that China had released the contents of the MOU back in 2005.
Ma made the remarks in an interview with Taiwan’s China Television yesterday morning.
He said that he had promised in his inauguration address, under the framework of the Republic of China Constitution, not to discuss unification with Beijing during his presidency, not to pursue or support de jure independence and not to use military force to resolve the matter of Taiwan’s status.
“I will not engage in talks on unification with mainland China during my presidency, regardless of whether it lasts four years or eight,” he said.
Speaking of Lien Chan, Epoch Times reported on Thursday that the tomb in Hubei province of a minor official from the Northern Song dynasty -- like 1000 years ago -- is going to be expanded from its current 1/10 acre site to 30 acres, at a cost of 13 million rmb. Why? Well, it turns out that the tomb is of a supposed ancestor of Lien Chan's....
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Daily Links:
- Asia Sentinel on the farmer who plans to be the first Communist President of Taiwan.
- Jon Adams at the Global Post on Freedom House and the waning freedom of the press here.
- The Taipei Times' wonderful former DC correspondent Charles Snyder describes how the KMT has curtailed press meetings and blocks the Taipei Times from attending its press conferences.
- Author and economics writer Gordon Chang says China cannot save Taiwan, and its economic growth figures are nuts.
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!
8 comments:
Muahaha! Today, I beat you to it for once.
It really seems a new grassroots independence movement needs to take shape that has nothing to do with the DPP.
Your reference to "Anschluss" is quite apposite: if two independent Germanic states can live side-by-side without one threatening the other whilst maintaining very close economic, cultural and political relations, then, so too, should two Sinic states -- in an ideal world, that is. Pan-Sinicism is just as problematic as pan-Germanism.
Having said that, a distinction should be made between establishing an equitable modus vivendi and actually compromising Taiwan's democracy: the former to be desired, the latter to be avoided.
2011 Anschluss? No, I simply don't believe it. Ma isn't going to hand over his power, and judging by what he says, he thinks he draws his legitimacy as president from the continued existence of the ROC. Nor is the mainland going to allow a democracy within the territory it controls - the withholding of suffrage from Hong Kong demonstrates this as little else does.
In fact, right now I am willing to bet a good £200 (Sterling, at today's price to whatever currency you like) that there will still be two states either side of the Taiwan strait in 2015. Anyone take my bet? email me at fearofaredplanet@yahoo.co.uk
FOARP -- I'm sure there will be two entities on both sides, but Ma has already acknowledged Chinese suzerain over Taiwan. I expect formal acknowledgment of sovereignty via the "peace treaty" but no actual occupation..... and Ma to claim the KMT hasn't actually sold out the island.
Your reference to "Anschluss" is quite apposite: if two independent Germanic states can live side-by-side without one threatening the other -- in an ideal world, that is. Pan-Sinicism is just as problematic as pan-Germanism. --
where i should begin..
1: there were more as two germanic state. (germanic comes from germanic people.) just to fixing your historical misunderstanding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_people
2: Today States are done by reichs-germans(reichs-deutsche). See holy roman empire.
3: there are more than 2 german States in this World. only a Federal Republic of Germany has 16 of them. So is going about Swiss, Austria and other european countries with germans.
4: --whilst maintaining very close economic, cultural and political relations, then, so too, should two Sinic states--
you are absolutly very wrong here!
a)economic is a global thing today. as itself economy is more EU-thing now than interstate relationship based on racism and pan-germanism(wich is defacto dead inside of german countries.).
b)cultural. maybe. but Taiwan is not a chinese cultural homeland. it is still a by chinese ocupated Island wich ethincs are suffering to survive culturaly and ethnicaly. yo you dont hit the point again..
c) politicaly. you yre talking about politics before WW2. today its more EU and federal goverments thing. it has absolutly a little to do with pan-germanism. aside that Taiwan is a still ocupated Island wich did not get a chance to became politicaly independent since it was left by dutch colonialists.
My view is that you are some kind of dumb Chinazi who is trying to cover many historical, economical, political and ethnical facts by covering them with chinese nationalism and ignoring that Taiwan itself is still a by chinese ocupated land.
If you wants to play fair then you should give farmosians the chance to decide their future by themselfes and without chinese pressure on them. Until then all you "harmony" and "two sinic sates" is just a bullshit covering chinese racism, fashism, colonialism and neo-nazism. aka you are not better than Hitler and his friends, who talked honey and made the blood.
It really seems a new grassroots independence movement needs to take shape that has nothing to do with the DPP.--
whats a point of it? you have no base for a such movement.
you cant use the "democracy wish" of Taiwanese because KMT defacto killed it with economical fears and "yellow master race" will save us propaganda.
you cant use "indepence wish" because noone Taiwanese has ever feeled himself independent or was it in his whole life. until now noone even radicals want to drop away Chinese Republic and its claims. (aside some Taiwan-loving forigners)
you cant use "ethnical/cultural diferences" because in a time of "cultural globalisation" and socaled "local isolation" Taiwanese are under completly control of pro-chinese and "pan-sinic" movement, wich do controll the whole education and cultural life inside of Taiwan.
you still cant use "social anger" because of the dominance of "harmony" and "family relationship" cultures inside of mayority social taiwanese strucktures. the dream about being united as "Taiwanese" and not "chinese" needs a very huge socio-political development based on nationality and treatment of local history of last 300 hunderst years of Taiwan. (mostly the time of last 3 generations wich are still alive and have "history memories")
all what you have is a small feelings and big rage inside of taiwanese population wich cant be collected and turn into anti-pan-chinese direction. What btw was tryed and failed by DPP anyway.
@Michael Turton - Ma maintains the KMT party line that there is one China with different interpretations of it (yes, I know all about the so called 'consensus'), the KMT position is that Taiwan is part of China. So what's new? What makes you think that he is or will start taking orders from Beijing? Why would he give up his power as president in such a fashion?
I notice that no-one is taking my bet.
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