I love irritating the Chinese, I really do. Their crappy products that kill and their nationalism is something to laugh at. If you ever want to get their goat start talking about how free Taiwan is and that Tibet's occupation is illegal blah, blah...they get all kinds of pissed. Its cute and funny.
What bothers me is that in the United States of America, companies are easily affected by the Commies. This years Baseball World Classic featured a team from China and Taiwan. You did not know that. You saw a team from a make believe place called "Chinese Taipei". It seams the whiny Communist child killers did not like the idea of Taiwan playing in the same sport that the Chinese invented (really, the Chinese say they invented the sport of baseball) so they made everyone call the team from Taiwan "Chinese Taipei" and American broadcasters bought it. The odd thing is that the Taiwanese players in MLB are not from Chinese Taipei. They are from Taiwan. Fucking confusing assholes.
Now, the Little League World Series is upon us and we get a full on display of the Chinese bullshit and American stupidity. It use to be journalists had integrity, not any more. The "stupid jock" syndrome in full force. Again, the Chinese -the same people who were killing our dogs and cats- demanded that the team from Taiwan be called Chinese Taipei and ESPN/ABC who is broadcasting the event is toeing the Maoist line and happily. And here is the stupid part. The team from Taiwan (FO China and ESPN) is actually from Taoyuan not Taipei. Taipei is the capital of Taiwan. So ESPN gets it wrong on both angles. Didnt journos use to actually look into stories they were covering?
By the way, Sports Illustrated calls the team correctly. In their matchup card for today it is Taoyuan, Taiwan v Reynosa, Mexico. I love SI!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Taiwan Has No Worries
Recently, my wife began to say that her Taiwanese friends have doubts over US intentions with the island. I have had to put her friends fears to rest.
The natural disasters to hit the island recently and apparent lack of US response was fuel for their concern. Here's the truth. The US will not go onto sovereign territory (perceived or otherwise) without being asked. We cannot just go jumping into every disaster without the approval of home governments, that will make them look inept to care for their people. If Ma wanted help, he would ask. Also, monies have been put aside in aid for Taiwan. Despite the loss of life and property, the disasters were not on the magnitude of needing assistance. Also, take into account the NGO's who either were already there or went there. Funny side-note: in the late 1990's a series of disasters hit Taiwan. The US was ready to go, the PRC wanted to make their voices heard and demanded all foreign agencies get approval from Beijing first...guess which country thumbed their nose to that! Hands?
In no way will the US let Taiwan go into Chinese hands without a fight. Publically, the US plays coy with the Taiwan-China discussion. Letting the two sides work out their differences. This is all a show. Privately, US citizens know best. If things started to get heated in the Straits, then the 7th Fleet would take a little journey as they did in 1996 when Zemin huffed and puffed over the US allowing Lee Tung Hui to come visit. Silly rabbit.
To my Taiwanese friends, do not worry. We always have your back. We need you and you need us. You are our unofficial military outpost. We will defend you just as you defend us (you do, you just do not know it)
There are 3 No's that define US policy towards Taiwan...
Is the ROC a legitimate government? No
Is Taiwan an independent nation? No
Is Taiwan now or will it ever be a part of the PRC? No
Any questions?
The natural disasters to hit the island recently and apparent lack of US response was fuel for their concern. Here's the truth. The US will not go onto sovereign territory (perceived or otherwise) without being asked. We cannot just go jumping into every disaster without the approval of home governments, that will make them look inept to care for their people. If Ma wanted help, he would ask. Also, monies have been put aside in aid for Taiwan. Despite the loss of life and property, the disasters were not on the magnitude of needing assistance. Also, take into account the NGO's who either were already there or went there. Funny side-note: in the late 1990's a series of disasters hit Taiwan. The US was ready to go, the PRC wanted to make their voices heard and demanded all foreign agencies get approval from Beijing first...guess which country thumbed their nose to that! Hands?
In no way will the US let Taiwan go into Chinese hands without a fight. Publically, the US plays coy with the Taiwan-China discussion. Letting the two sides work out their differences. This is all a show. Privately, US citizens know best. If things started to get heated in the Straits, then the 7th Fleet would take a little journey as they did in 1996 when Zemin huffed and puffed over the US allowing Lee Tung Hui to come visit. Silly rabbit.
To my Taiwanese friends, do not worry. We always have your back. We need you and you need us. You are our unofficial military outpost. We will defend you just as you defend us (you do, you just do not know it)
There are 3 No's that define US policy towards Taiwan...
Is the ROC a legitimate government? No
Is Taiwan an independent nation? No
Is Taiwan now or will it ever be a part of the PRC? No
Any questions?
Who Needs Who?
Since this economic turmoil hit the US and other countries, China -among others- has taken a hit from the lack of exports to the US. They blame us for all the perils of their now ancient system which has proved a failure (see Soviet Union)
(stop with the Chinese economy becoming the largest. its a houses of cards. the government controls everything...all the data coming out has been censored for their protection)
So they like to say our capitalist system is hurting the world. Too bad. It hurts here too, but we will rebound. The funny thing is, China needs the US more than ever and why we are playing nice to them is beyond me. Recently, a blurb in the US news stated our growing interest in India. This is a great idea for 3 main reasons:
1. India is the worlds largest democracy. That's right. Democracy. They elect their leaders. Capitalism is alive and well in the subcontinent. People have the right to choose. (spare me the caste system argument) They are not as closed as China is and I have yet to hear of Google, or Yahoo, or any service being banned in India.
2. Since they are a former British colony (and current member of the Commonwealth) Indian law is based largely on British Common Law, like the US. Easier to maneuver around the Indian justice system.
3. They speak English! Heavily accented, but its the same tongue that we speak. Easier to do business with.
I guess we could argue the food tastes betters. My Taiwanese wife can attest to that!
Sad but true and it still holds true today, as the US goes so goes the world. If we start dumping money in India and they start making our goods for us (I am willing to bet they will be safer too!)
other nations are sure to follow. China has built its economy around manufacturing, if we stop buying then who will? I see a price war looming...and a report on the AP wire stated just that...the Chinese have ramped up manufacturing and lowered prices...nothing builds an economy like deflation!
China has no natural resource to speak of that we would be interested in. Manufacturing is all they really have. Some think that is all they really need, but I guess they can talk to the citizens of Detroit about how wonderful it is to base your economy on manufacturing.
On the political front, China has been our go between with Iran and North Korea. Iran is set to implode and North Korea, well, they are just being North Korea. China was pivotal during the Cold War as leverage against the Soviets. Among other things, that system collapsed as a result of Reagan getting OPEC to drop the price of crude. (oil being the #1 Russian export) See where this is going? If we start dealing with other nations on the manufacturing front, then we can deflate communist China into nonexistence...or at least into letting go of their ridiculous claims to Taiwan.
(stop with the Chinese economy becoming the largest. its a houses of cards. the government controls everything...all the data coming out has been censored for their protection)
So they like to say our capitalist system is hurting the world. Too bad. It hurts here too, but we will rebound. The funny thing is, China needs the US more than ever and why we are playing nice to them is beyond me. Recently, a blurb in the US news stated our growing interest in India. This is a great idea for 3 main reasons:
1. India is the worlds largest democracy. That's right. Democracy. They elect their leaders. Capitalism is alive and well in the subcontinent. People have the right to choose. (spare me the caste system argument) They are not as closed as China is and I have yet to hear of Google, or Yahoo, or any service being banned in India.
2. Since they are a former British colony (and current member of the Commonwealth) Indian law is based largely on British Common Law, like the US. Easier to maneuver around the Indian justice system.
3. They speak English! Heavily accented, but its the same tongue that we speak. Easier to do business with.
I guess we could argue the food tastes betters. My Taiwanese wife can attest to that!
Sad but true and it still holds true today, as the US goes so goes the world. If we start dumping money in India and they start making our goods for us (I am willing to bet they will be safer too!)
other nations are sure to follow. China has built its economy around manufacturing, if we stop buying then who will? I see a price war looming...and a report on the AP wire stated just that...the Chinese have ramped up manufacturing and lowered prices...nothing builds an economy like deflation!
China has no natural resource to speak of that we would be interested in. Manufacturing is all they really have. Some think that is all they really need, but I guess they can talk to the citizens of Detroit about how wonderful it is to base your economy on manufacturing.
On the political front, China has been our go between with Iran and North Korea. Iran is set to implode and North Korea, well, they are just being North Korea. China was pivotal during the Cold War as leverage against the Soviets. Among other things, that system collapsed as a result of Reagan getting OPEC to drop the price of crude. (oil being the #1 Russian export) See where this is going? If we start dealing with other nations on the manufacturing front, then we can deflate communist China into nonexistence...or at least into letting go of their ridiculous claims to Taiwan.
What Is China'a Beef Anyway?
China's claims to Taiwan is based on probably the most abstract logic ever formulated since a group of stoners thought it was cosmic that "god" spelled backwards is "dog".
Lets look at these claims...
First there is this idea that Taiwan has been a part of China since antiquity. I guess it depends on how you define "antiquity". Up until the 17th century, Taiwan was a Dutch or Portuguese colony. At that time, it was ponied up the Qing dynasty. Even then, it was never officially folded into the nation until the late 19th century only to be lost to the Japanese. After WWII, Taiwan was surrendered to the Allies (specifically the US) and allowed to be administered to by the ROC.
Keep this in mind for a second and refer to my first post. In 1952, all the kinks were worked out and a treaty was established between the US and Japan. The ROC not the PRC were invited. This treaty made official the terms of surrender signed 7 years before. Now, China buffs will add at this time Chiang Kai Shek signed a deal with Japan that gave Taiwan to the ROC. This is logically impossible since Japan would have been surrendering something it no longer had in its possession. Later, the ROC made all Taiwanese citizens Chinese citizens. Again, good for PR, bad for common sense. That would be like me going to Oklahoma and declaring all its citizens Kansans. Or going to Denver and claiming everyone to be Chiefs fans.
In the 1970's, as the PRC was coming out of its shell, it made Japan nullify all treaties with the ROC. OK, so what? Taiwan was a part of Japan when the ROC came to be in 1912 and was in limbo when the PRC came into power. So, at no point in the 20th century was Taiwan a part of modern China in any of its guises.
Another claim or reason the PRC claims Taiwan as its own is due to the racial and cultural make-up of the islands population which is a majority Han. OK. That's fair and accurate, but means nothing beyond that. Using that line of logic, then practically every nation in Europe can lay claim to the United States or Canada. Specifically England, Ireland, France and Germany.
I have argued with Chinese on this, and they say that is true. They also claim Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia as theirs as well.
These "Taiwanese Question" has been many times been asked, yet never been answered. After WWII, the China got tangled in a civil war and after that was over, the US got involved in Korea and after that the Cold War was in full swing and no one was in the mood to negotiate anything. Just let the status quo. Let Chiang be happy since he was needed to fight the commies so no move was really established to deal Taiwan to anyone. In 1972, things took an interesting twist and in 1979 things got more surreal, which we all know about, which brings me to this...
Taiwan is not independent in the strictest since. It is a territory. Of who is the question.
The PRC is out of the question. Whether they are a succession of the ROC or not is moot. Taiwan was never explicitly given to the ROC. The ROC does not rule Taiwan only in semantics. The US (along with most of the world) stopped believing that the ROC would make a comeback in China and no longer recognizes her as a legitimate government of anything. So...
Recently a group of Taiwanese tried to argue in US court that they were citizens of the US claiming many of the arguments I talk about here (i am not the originator of these arguments). The case was tossed on the grounds that it was a political question and not a legal question. This is true. Only congress can decide the citizenship status of a populus, not the courts. Citizens of US possessions are not automatically US citizens (save for Puerto Rico and a few others), some are special citizens and others are simply citizens of their home land.
What does this all mean? The US has never really ponied up to owning the island either. My guess it so it could make Chiang happy and keep him as an ally (see above) and now, to make nice with the Chinese, in a "we will never let the island become a part of China, but we will not make any move to claim it until you make a move." I guess this all means that Taiwan is independent by default.
But not really.
Lets look at these claims...
First there is this idea that Taiwan has been a part of China since antiquity. I guess it depends on how you define "antiquity". Up until the 17th century, Taiwan was a Dutch or Portuguese colony. At that time, it was ponied up the Qing dynasty. Even then, it was never officially folded into the nation until the late 19th century only to be lost to the Japanese. After WWII, Taiwan was surrendered to the Allies (specifically the US) and allowed to be administered to by the ROC.
Keep this in mind for a second and refer to my first post. In 1952, all the kinks were worked out and a treaty was established between the US and Japan. The ROC not the PRC were invited. This treaty made official the terms of surrender signed 7 years before. Now, China buffs will add at this time Chiang Kai Shek signed a deal with Japan that gave Taiwan to the ROC. This is logically impossible since Japan would have been surrendering something it no longer had in its possession. Later, the ROC made all Taiwanese citizens Chinese citizens. Again, good for PR, bad for common sense. That would be like me going to Oklahoma and declaring all its citizens Kansans. Or going to Denver and claiming everyone to be Chiefs fans.
In the 1970's, as the PRC was coming out of its shell, it made Japan nullify all treaties with the ROC. OK, so what? Taiwan was a part of Japan when the ROC came to be in 1912 and was in limbo when the PRC came into power. So, at no point in the 20th century was Taiwan a part of modern China in any of its guises.
Another claim or reason the PRC claims Taiwan as its own is due to the racial and cultural make-up of the islands population which is a majority Han. OK. That's fair and accurate, but means nothing beyond that. Using that line of logic, then practically every nation in Europe can lay claim to the United States or Canada. Specifically England, Ireland, France and Germany.
I have argued with Chinese on this, and they say that is true. They also claim Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia as theirs as well.
These "Taiwanese Question" has been many times been asked, yet never been answered. After WWII, the China got tangled in a civil war and after that was over, the US got involved in Korea and after that the Cold War was in full swing and no one was in the mood to negotiate anything. Just let the status quo. Let Chiang be happy since he was needed to fight the commies so no move was really established to deal Taiwan to anyone. In 1972, things took an interesting twist and in 1979 things got more surreal, which we all know about, which brings me to this...
Taiwan is not independent in the strictest since. It is a territory. Of who is the question.
The PRC is out of the question. Whether they are a succession of the ROC or not is moot. Taiwan was never explicitly given to the ROC. The ROC does not rule Taiwan only in semantics. The US (along with most of the world) stopped believing that the ROC would make a comeback in China and no longer recognizes her as a legitimate government of anything. So...
Recently a group of Taiwanese tried to argue in US court that they were citizens of the US claiming many of the arguments I talk about here (i am not the originator of these arguments). The case was tossed on the grounds that it was a political question and not a legal question. This is true. Only congress can decide the citizenship status of a populus, not the courts. Citizens of US possessions are not automatically US citizens (save for Puerto Rico and a few others), some are special citizens and others are simply citizens of their home land.
What does this all mean? The US has never really ponied up to owning the island either. My guess it so it could make Chiang happy and keep him as an ally (see above) and now, to make nice with the Chinese, in a "we will never let the island become a part of China, but we will not make any move to claim it until you make a move." I guess this all means that Taiwan is independent by default.
But not really.
Monday, January 12, 2009
A (very) Brief History
The argument for Taiwanese independence is wrought with what some would consider legalese mumbo-jumbo and is controversial in the very language that would define the current status of Taiwan's place on the world stage.
It is easy to recognise that Taiwan is caught in the middle of a policy tug-of-war between the West (the United States "US") and the East (the Peoples Republic of China "PRC"). Basically, it all comes down to definitions and interpretations of numerous treaties that have been in place since the end of the second world war.
A little background. Until the mid 1600's, Taiwan was a Dutch colony and at the time -and even in some circles today- known as Formosa, a name the Portuguese gave the island when it was in their control. Then the island came under the Qing dynasty's juridiction until 1895 when the Japanese took over control. After the Japanese surrendered to the Allies in 1945, control was given to the Allies, namely the US which in turn gave administrative control over to the Republic of China ("ROC") until 1949, when they established the ROC government in exile in Taipei.
Then, in 1952 the San Francisco Peace Treaty ("SFPT") outlined what was to become of the territories that the Japanese were forced to surrender in 1945. The "Taiwan Question" was never formally addressed, and due to a war in Korea, the whole mess would simply sit on the backburner of debate for decades to come.
Until 1972, the ROC government was viewed as the sole legitamate government of China. After US President Richard Nixon went to China and in 1979 when then President Jimmy Carter switched allegiances from the ROC to the PRC and the ROC lost their United Nations ("UN") seat to the PRC. During the 1980's, Taiwan's economy boomed and the island moved from developing to developed status. A series of treaties and communiques were established between Taiwan, the US and PRC about what to do about this problem that should have been solved 30 to 40 years ago at the time.
The PRC has been adamant that Taiwan is a province of the PRC and any declaration of independence would be tantamount to secession and will be met with military opposition. The US takes a more ambiguous stance: Taiwan is neither independent OR a province of the PRC.
This is where "defenitions" and "interpretations" of treaties comes in to play. This is where my argument will begin. I will go through all the documents, and using the opinions cast down on other treaties and how they have been enforced or interpreted under international law and how they hold up here. (and i will clean this up as well over time, as i am really tired as of writing this)
It is easy to recognise that Taiwan is caught in the middle of a policy tug-of-war between the West (the United States "US") and the East (the Peoples Republic of China "PRC"). Basically, it all comes down to definitions and interpretations of numerous treaties that have been in place since the end of the second world war.
A little background. Until the mid 1600's, Taiwan was a Dutch colony and at the time -and even in some circles today- known as Formosa, a name the Portuguese gave the island when it was in their control. Then the island came under the Qing dynasty's juridiction until 1895 when the Japanese took over control. After the Japanese surrendered to the Allies in 1945, control was given to the Allies, namely the US which in turn gave administrative control over to the Republic of China ("ROC") until 1949, when they established the ROC government in exile in Taipei.
Then, in 1952 the San Francisco Peace Treaty ("SFPT") outlined what was to become of the territories that the Japanese were forced to surrender in 1945. The "Taiwan Question" was never formally addressed, and due to a war in Korea, the whole mess would simply sit on the backburner of debate for decades to come.
Until 1972, the ROC government was viewed as the sole legitamate government of China. After US President Richard Nixon went to China and in 1979 when then President Jimmy Carter switched allegiances from the ROC to the PRC and the ROC lost their United Nations ("UN") seat to the PRC. During the 1980's, Taiwan's economy boomed and the island moved from developing to developed status. A series of treaties and communiques were established between Taiwan, the US and PRC about what to do about this problem that should have been solved 30 to 40 years ago at the time.
The PRC has been adamant that Taiwan is a province of the PRC and any declaration of independence would be tantamount to secession and will be met with military opposition. The US takes a more ambiguous stance: Taiwan is neither independent OR a province of the PRC.
This is where "defenitions" and "interpretations" of treaties comes in to play. This is where my argument will begin. I will go through all the documents, and using the opinions cast down on other treaties and how they have been enforced or interpreted under international law and how they hold up here. (and i will clean this up as well over time, as i am really tired as of writing this)
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