"It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men."Last year, while returning home from Tainan, I suffered a strange transporter accident that deposited me in an alternate universe. Today, as I was reading the Financial Times, my computer overloaded and a blast of radiation overwhelmed me.
I woke up to find myself in an alternate universe where everyone had a goatee, the food was spicy, and the woman muscular. Not knowing how much time I had before my counterpart in my universe yanked me back home, I quickly went to the nearest subetheric communicator. Using my knowledge of the ubiquitous Linux operating system, I scanned the nets for any news about Taiwan. Sure enough, I found another priceless historical artifact on the Zhang Mingqing affair, which I was able to smuggle back in my shoe. I post it here for posterity's sake:
Just as I finished downloading, I felt a burst of energy and found myself back in front of my computer. It was a relief to be back in my own universe after experiencing the biased reporting in that alternate universe.CHINESE ENVOY ACCOSTED BY PROTESTERS IN SOUTHERN TAIWAN
(Times of Finance: Taipei) Pro-independence protesters yesterday accosted China's number two man at the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the organization charged with negotiating the annexation of Taiwan and other Taiwan-China matters as they may arise. The incident occurred as he was visiting Tainan, in southern Taiwan, a hotbed of Taiwanese nationalism, just weeks before a major visit to Taiwan from the head of ARATS.
Zhang Mingqing, the second highest official at ARATs, was visiting Tainan as part of an academic symposium. Led by Tainan City Councilor Wang Ding-yu from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the protesters surrounded Mr. Zhang while he was sightseeing at a local Confucian Temple. During the fracas, Mr. Zhang fell or was pushed. No other violence was offered to Mr. Zhang, and he was immediately helped to his feet by one of the protesters. As he attempted to leave, a man whose connection to the pro-independence protesters was unclear, jumped on his car, damaging the roof. The current ruling party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has long been accused of using gangsters to commit violence at pro-democracy rallies to discredit the opposition.
Officials of Taiwan's pro-China KMT government also condemned the protesters' behavior but said it would not interfere in ongoing negotiations between the KMT and Beijing. Beijing condemned the attack as an act by "extremists" that had "seriously harmed" Mr. Zhang's "personal safety and dignity". "We express our strong indignation and stern condemnation of this barbaric violence and call for the severe punishment of the perpetrators," China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. China has frequently been the site of violent anti-foreign protests in recent years.
Mr. Wang denied pushing Mr Zhang, saying that Mr. Zhang had tripped. Videos clearly show that Mr. Zhang fell backwards as protesters shouted and pressed upon him, though they are not clear on why he fell.
Mr. Zhang has a history of making inflammatory, violent statements against Taiwan, including promises to "smash the separatist schemes of the Taiwanese independence movement at all costs.” The morning of the incident he had once again inflamed independence supporters by saying that if there was no independence, there would be no war, an apparent threat to local lives and property. Local citizens have also been upset over the melamine scandal and China's refusal to apologize or provide compensation.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed Taiwan since 1949, when the KMT retreated to the island after it lost the Chinese civil war to the Communists. However, postwar treaties make no mention of the final recipient of the island's sovereignty, and legal experts consider China's claims doubtful at best.
Saying he was "unwell, " Mr. Zhang returned to China the following day after filing charges in connection with the incident. “I believe those who behaved violently do not represent Tainan residents or the 23 million people of Taiwan,” he said.
[Taiwan]
