Schedium

At around 1 p.m. on December 11 the award-winning Taiwanese baker Wu Pao-ch'un (吳寶春) held a press conference in front of his store in Kao-hsiung, in southern Taiwan. Next to him stood Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), mayor-elect of the city. Surrounded by journalists, the two men explained why Wu's statements about Taiwan being part of China are no big deal. Han Kuo-yu praised "Master Wu", calling him an artist and a " glory of Taiwan ". He then argued that it is wrong to politicize business. "Master Wu is like an artist," Han said. "Because he just bakes bread. He doesn't understand politics ... Simple business people don't deal with politics, they develop their business. I hope that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait [Taiwan and mainland China] will wish him well. He has faced pressure, but I hope that the Taiwanese people will back him, fully support him. It's not easy to win an international award. Whether he opens a st

(source: Wikipedia ) On March 22 J. Michael Cole published an interesting piece about Taiwan independence vs Republic of China independence . I usually disagree with Cole's opinions, but not this time. Cole is a great investigative journalist and political analyst, however his point of view is often biased and more similar to that of a political activist than to that of a journalist.  In his article about the independence issue Cole explained something that I have been arguing for quite some time. In a nutshell, it is not true that the Guomindang is pro-Beijing (in the sense that it supports unification with the People's Republic of China) while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is in favour of Taiwan's independence. Both the Guomindang and the DPP oppose unification with Communist China. But while for the Guomindang independence means that the Republic of China is an independent sovereign state, the DPP holds that Taiwan is an independent nation. Cole rightly

On January 24, Yahoo! published an article titled "Taiwan couple in tune with Chinese mainland". The original source of the piece is China Daily , which is an English-language newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The article and its accompanying video may seem quite harmless to people who are not familiar with the politics of the People's Republic of China (PRC), but they hide a very specific agenda.  In the video, a young couple from Taiwan are interviewed about their experiences in China, and especially during the Lunar New Year festivities. They are asked questions about their jobs as DJs, and about the similarities and differences between Taiwan and "the mainland".  The way they talk and the words they use convey a message: that Taiwan is just a part of China.  The CCP views Taiwan as part of the PRC and has vowed to use force to annex it. Beijing's stance can be compared to the Russian government&#

The concept of ' one country, two systems ' is the cornerstone of Beijing's policy towards Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, three areas that remained outside of the control of the People's Republic of China (PRC) after the successful revolution of 1949, but which the Communist state claimed as part of 'China's territory'. In this post, I would like to show how the 'one country, two systems' policy developed, and what contradictions it entailed from the very beginning. We will see how the reaction of the current leadership in Beijing to the ' Occupy Centra l' movement echoes Deng Xiaoping's understanding of 'one country, two systems', and that some of Hong Kong's pan-democrats are wrong when they claim that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is betraying Deng's promise to grant the former British colony a high degree of autonomy. Taiwan and Two Systems in One Country After Deng Xiaoping rose to power in the late

Taipei skyline (Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via Wikimedia Commons )   In a world dominated by  neoliberal  mainstream economic thinking, the wealth of nations is often explained in culturalist terms. A country is rich because its people are hard-working and enjoy the freedom to pursue profitable economic activities. A country is poor if its people are lazy and / or its politicians are corrupt and inefficient. However, it would be wrong to underestimate the role of the government in promoting economic development, especially in the case of Taiwan. First of all, an industrial revolution does not come about through hard work alone. Asian people have always been renowned for their laboriousness, but for a long time their industry lagged behind that of the West. A rural country whose people are mostly hard-working peasants does not automatically shift production from agriculture to industry. Economists  Ha-Joon Chang  and  Erik Reinert  have explained that rich countries di

Located in the heart of Taipei , the Office of the President of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) is not only one of the centres of political power of the island-state, but also one of Taiwan’s most important historic buildings. Surrounded by some of Taipei’s major landmarks such as the Bank of Taiwan, Dongmen (East Gate), Taipei Guest House ,   228 Peace Park , and the High Court , the Office of the President is one of the most characteristic symbols of Taiwan.  Constructed during the Japanese colonial era , the Office has witnessed more than a century of momentous political, social and economic changes that have transformed the small island. Built as the headquarters of the Governor-Generals sent by Tokyo, it became the Office of the President of the ROC when Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949. Since 1996 the building is the seat of elected presidents of a new, democratic Taiwan.  Overview The Office of the President of the Republic of China is located on

Two days ago I took for the first time the new Songshan-Xindian MRT line (松山新店線, Line 3), which opened on November 15 (I wasn't in Taiwan at the time). The new line is an extension of the former Xindian-Danshui Line , which connected Xindian, in the southern part of New Taipei City, and Danshui  (淡水), in the north. This South-North axis has now been split and two distinct MRT lines have been created: the Danshui-Xinyi Line  (淡水信義線), and the aforementioned Songshan-Xindian line. One interesting result of the completion of the MRT network is that all of the five city gates of Qing Dynasty Taipei Walled City now have stations named after them - Ximen (西門, 'West Gate'), Dongmen (東門, 'East Gate'), Beimen (北門, 'North Gate'), Nanmen (南門, 'South Gate') and Xiaonanmen (小南門, 'Little South Gate'). This highlights the infrastructural importance of the gates and of the boulevards which the Japanese constructed after the city walls' demolition

On February 2 Lee Teng-hui , the former leader of the Guomindang and the first democratically elected president of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan), gave a speech at the Legislative Yuan concerning the issue of constitutional reform.  Lee Teng-hui is my favourite Taiwanese president. He implemented democratic reforms, defended the ROC against Beijing's claims to Taiwan, he managed the economy well and was a politician who exercised a strong leadership but was at the same time tolerant, humane, and capable of understanding and representing Taiwan's mainstream public opinion. In this respect, I consider him a better politician than Chen Shuibian and Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Yingjiu), let alone Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo (Jiang Jingguo).  Three points in his speech seem to me quite interesting, and in this post I will briefly examine them. The first two points concern Taiwan's identity and economic situation. The third point relates to Lee's assertion tha

Years ago I wrote a post about the contrast between the clean MRT and dirty restaurants in Taiwan . Yesterday a Taiwanese user posted the following critical comment: Read through your paragraph, so you want to spend a little money but experience the luxury, you are telling the joke.  Actually, if you feel bad toward this kind of experience, you can go back to your own country, right ? No One Force you to come here, buddy~  If you think the restaurants in your country are much cleaner than ours, then.... you don't even have to torture yourself, just go back and do not waste your time to write down these shit.  Last but not the least, come to a new environment, you should learn how to get accustomed to their culture, including learn their language, not just complain all the day.  You can read my short reply to him here .  Now, does the logic of this Taiwanese netizen's comment sound familiar to anyone? Let's compare it with the following sentence: 

On September 26 Taiwanese President Ma Yingjiu was hit by a book hurled at him by Yan Mingwei (顏銘緯), a student activist. Ma Yingjiu  had just attended a gala organised by the International Franchise Association. According to the  Taipei Times , that day an event of the pro-independence Northern Taiwan Society was hosted in the same building. When Ma left the venue, a journalist asked him to comment on Xi Jinping's recent remark that the 'one country, two systems' model is the only way to solve the China-Taiwan issue . The activist then threw the book at the President, hitting his abdomen.  The 18-year-old Yan Mingwei is a student of sociology at Zhongshan University, and a member of Flanc Radical (基進側翼), an anti-Guomindang organisation. The President's spokesperson, Ma Weiguo (馬瑋國) said that the government accepts the people's right to express their opinions rationally, but condemns every form of violence.  At a press conference held by Flanc Radical th

In a recent interview Wang Zaixi (王在希), a former vice-chairman of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council , said that Beijing might resort to the use of force if "peaceful reunification" between China and Taiwan "takes too long". Wang's statements echo the increasingly assertive stance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards the island since Xi Jinping took office in 2012. In the interview Wang Zaixi stated that although the Taiwan question is a complex issue that must be resolved in the long term, there "must be a sense of urgency towards cross-strait reunification." Wang blamed Taiwan 's democratic process for slowing down the prospect of a peaceful solution of the cross-strait issue, arguing that because of the transfer of power from the pro-unification to the pro-independence coalition the possibility of peaceful unification "is gradually being lost." In 2014 and 2015 the Guomindang, Taiwan's

According to Taiwanese media reports, China's Xinhua News Agency released a list of " forbidden words " related to Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong . Although recent reports have brought this topic to the attention of the Taiwanese public, an article listing Xinhua's guidelines had already appeared in November 2015 on China 's state-owned website People's Daily . The "forbidden words on Xinhua News Agency's news reports" (新華社新聞報道中的禁用詞) are divided up into 5 sections, the fourth of which is entitled: "Forbidden words touching upon our national territory, sovereignty , Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan". 

Ever since Nationalist forces retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the island has been confronted with the permanent risk of Communist invasion . In the 1950s the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched two attacks against the last bulwark of Chiang Kai-shek 's regime. The last major crisis in the Taiwan Strait dates back to the mid-1990s, when the People's Republic of China (PRC) conducted missile "tests" dangerously close to Taiwan's shores. This display of military strength was aimed at then-President of Taiwan Lee Teng-hui, who had publicly refuted Beijing's territorial claims on the island. 

Ever since Nationalist forces retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the island has been confronted with the permanent risk of Communist invasion . In the 1950s the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched two attacks against the last bulwark of Chiang Kai-shek 's regime. The last major crisis in the Taiwan Strait dates back to the mid-1990s, when the People's Republic of China (PRC) conducted missile "tests" dangerously close to Taiwan's shores. This display of military strength was aimed at then-President of Taiwan Lee Teng-hui, who had publicly refuted Beijing's territorial claims on the island. 

A few days ago I was walking from Taipei Main Station towards Gongguan, when I bumped into a big crowd at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall . Dozens of people were gathered around something which I at first couldn't see. I decided to stop for a while and take a closer look.  I noticed that many people were taking pictures of two guards that were standing by a flagpole. Guards - I don't know if they are actual soldiers - are regularly stationed at the mausoleum of the former President of the Republic of China and perform daily ceremonies that have become major tourist attractions, as has the building itself, which is one of Taipei's most important landmarks.  As I soon realised, a flag lowering ceremony was to be performed. The national anthem of the Republic of China was played. Then, the guards began the flag lowering ritual. While I was watching and taking pictures, I found that many, if not most people around me were mainland Chinese (I could tell from their acc

(Image by DrRandomFactor via Wikimedia Commons ) On August 3rd the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC) announced the Communist government's decision to abolish the "Work Permit For Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Employees On The Mainland" (台港澳人員在內地就業許可). Residents of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau will no longer be required to apply for permits to work in mainland China and will be able to seek employment without having to go through complex bureaucratic procedures. The move is part of China's carrot and stick approach towards Taiwan, which Beijing considers an integral part of its territory despite the fact that the PRC never exercised de jure or de facto control over the island. China claims that it will use force to bring about unification if all peaceful options are exhausted. At the same time, it tries to co-opt Taiwanese citizens using its status as an economic powerhouse. Taiwanese people working in China face pressur

In the afternoon of July 7 two tourist coaches took around 200 supporters of the USA Taiwan Government  (UTG, Chinese: 美國台灣政府 )  to the seat of the Taiwan Provincial Government  located in Zhongxing Xincun (中興新村) in Nantou County. The leader of the UTG, Cai Mingfa (蔡明法), and his followers entered the building through the toilet and occupied it . They raised a banner of the UTG in the office of the Governor of Taiwan Province, Lin Zhengze (林政則) , who was in Yilan that day.  Cai Mingfa declared: " We should not allow the government-in-exile of the Republic of China (流亡的中華民國政府) to use illegal and violent methods against the Taiwanese people. We urge the Taiwanese people to regain possession of their own rights. " The UTG was founded on April 25, 2013 , in Washington DC by Cai Mingfa , a 58-year-old native of Guanmiao District (關廟區) , Tainan City. He lived in the USA for 11 years and has an American passport.  The UTG believes that the legal status of Taiwan after

The World Health Assembly (by Tom Page - licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0) In 2009 Taiwan received a historic invitation to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. That was the second year of President Ma Ying-jeou 's administration, a time in which relations between Beijing and Taipei were improving on the basis of the " 1992 consensus ", an unofficial agreement between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Guomindang . Since the World Health Organization (WHO) recognises the one-China principle, Taiwan could not participate with its official name "Republic of China". Taiwan was therefore represented with the name " Chinese Taipei " (中華台北).  The Republic of China (ROC) was a founding member of the WHO, but after the United Nations shifted recognition from the ROC to the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Executive Board of the United Nations passed resolution EB49.R37 recommending to the WHA to adopt a sim