Search
Seven unexploded bombs were found Tuesday on Kinmen, an island on the frontline of Republic of China defenses against Chinese Communist forces in the cold war era, the Coast Guard Administration said on Wednesday.
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202104140020
#Opinion by Enrique Viaña | "The problem with Xinjiang is more difficult to deal with, but the agreement contemplates a Chinese commitment to implement the ILO fundamental conventions China has ratified as well as to ratify the conventions that include forced labour she has not yet. Perhaps it will not be compulsory enough, perhaps it will improve things a bit. In any event, in signing the agreement the EU has shown a huge respect for the Chinese suspicions that the West intends to have her surrender to a new Treaty of Nanjing or a new Boxer Protocol. For Europe that era is definitively over."
Read more: https://bit.ly/3sGuDwD
____________
📱Download the app:
http://onelink.to/appledailyapp
📰 Latest news:
http://appledaily.com/engnews/
🐤 Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/appledaily_hk
💪🏻 Subscribe and show your support:
https://bit.ly/2ZYKpHP
#AppleDailyENG
Jenna Cody :
Is Taiwan a real China?
No, and with the exception of a few intervening decades - here’s the part that’ll surprise you - it never has been.
This’ll blow your mind too: that it never has been doesn’t matter.
So let’s start with what doesn’t actually matter.
Until the 1600s, Taiwan was indigenous. Indigenous Taiwanese are not Chinese, they’re Austronesian. Then it was a Dutch colony (note: I do not say “it was Dutch”, I say it was a Dutch colony). Then it was taken over by Ming loyalists at the end of the Ming dynasty (the Ming loyalists were breakaways, not a part of the new Qing court. Any overlap in Ming rule and Ming loyalist conquest of Taiwan was so brief as to be inconsequential).
Only then, in the late 1600s, was it taken over by the Chinese (Qing). But here’s the thing, it was more like a colony of the Qing, treated as - to use Emma Teng’s wording in Taiwan’s Imagined Geography - a barrier or barricade keeping the ‘real’ Qing China safe. In fact, the Qing didn’t even want Taiwan at first, the emperor called it “a ball of mud beyond the pale of civilization”. Prior to that, and to a great extent at that time, there was no concept on the part of China that Taiwan was Chinese, even though Chinese immigrants began moving to Taiwan under Dutch colonial rule (mostly encouraged by the Dutch, to work as laborers). When the Spanish landed in the north of Taiwan, it was the Dutch, not the Chinese, who kicked them out.
Under Qing colonial rule - and yes, I am choosing my words carefully - China only controlled the Western half of Taiwan. They didn’t even have maps for the eastern half. That’s how uninterested in it they were. I can’t say that the Qing controlled “Taiwan”, they only had power over part of it.
Note that the Qing were Manchu, which at the time of their conquest had not been a part of China: China itself essentially became a Manchu imperial holding, and Taiwan did as well, once they were convinced it was not a “ball of mud” but actually worth taking. Taiwan was not treated the same way as the rest of “Qing China”, and was not administered as a province until (I believe) 1887. So that’s around 200 years of Taiwan being a colony of the Qing.
What happened in the late 19th century to change China’s mind? Japan. A Japanese ship was shipwrecked in eastern Taiwan in the 1870s, and the crew was killed by hostile indigenous people in what is known as the Mudan Incident. A Japanese emissary mission went to China to inquire about what could be done, only to be told that China had no control there and if they went to eastern Taiwan, they did so at their own peril. China had not intended to imply that Taiwan wasn’t theirs, but they did. Japan - and other foreign powers, as France also attempted an invasion - were showing an interest in Taiwan, so China decided to cement its claim, started mapping the entire island, and made it a province.
So, I suppose for a decade or so Taiwan was a part of China. A China that no longer exists.
It remained a province until 1895, when it was ceded to Japan after the (first) Sino-Japanese War. Before that could happen, Taiwan declared itself a Republic, although it was essentially a Qing puppet state (though the history here is interesting - correspondence at the time indicates that the leaders of this ‘Republic of Taiwan’ considered themselves Chinese, and the tiger flag hints at this as well. However, the constitution was a very republican document, not something you’d expect to see in Qing-era China.) That lasted for less than a year, when the Japanese took it by force.
This is important for two reasons - the first is that some interpretations of IR theory state that when a colonial holding is released, it should revert to the state it was in before it was taken as a colony. In this case, that would actually be The Republic of Taiwan, not Qing-era China. Secondly, it puts to rest all notions that there was no Taiwan autonomy movement prior to 1947.
In any case, it would be impossible to revert to its previous state, as the government that controlled it - the Qing empire - no longer exists. The current government of China - the PRC - has never controlled it.
After the Japanese colonial era, there is a whole web of treaties and agreements that do not satisfactorily settle the status of Taiwan. None of them actually do so - those which explicitly state that Taiwan is to be given to the Republic of China (such as the Cairo declaration) are non-binding. Those that are binding do not settle the status of Taiwan (neither the treaty of San Francisco nor the Treaty of Taipei definitively say that Taiwan is a part of China, or even which China it is - the Treaty of Taipei sets out what nationality the Taiwanese are to be considered, but that doesn’t determine territorial claims). Treaty-wise, the status of Taiwan is “undetermined”.
Under more modern interpretations, what a state needs to be a state is…lessee…a contiguous territory, a government, a military, a currency…maybe I’m forgetting something, but Taiwan has all of it. For all intents and purposes it is independent already.
In fact, in the time when all of these agreements were made, the Allied powers weren’t as sure as you might have learned about what to do with Taiwan. They weren’t a big fan of Chiang Kai-shek, didn’t want it to go Communist, and discussed an Allied trusteeship (which would have led to independence) or backing local autonomy movements (which did exist). That it became what it did - “the ROC” but not China - was an accident (as Hsiao-ting Lin lays out in Accidental State).
In fact, the KMT knew this, and at the time the foreign minister (George Yeh) stated something to the effect that they were aware they were ‘squatters’ in Taiwan.
Since then, it’s true that the ROC claims to be the rightful government of Taiwan, however, that hardly matters when considering the future of Taiwan simply because they have no choice. To divest themselves of all such claims (and, presumably, change their name) would be considered by the PRC to be a declaration of formal independence. So that they have not done so is not a sign that they wish to retain the claim, merely that they wish to avoid a war.
It’s also true that most Taiwanese are ethnically “Han” (alongside indigenous and Hakka, although Hakka are, according to many, technically Han…but I don’t think that’s relevant here). But biology is not destiny: what ethnicity someone is shouldn’t determine what government they must be ruled by.
Through all of this, the Taiwanese have evolved their own culture, identity and sense of history. They are diverse in a way unique to Taiwan, having been a part of Austronesian and later Hoklo trade routes through Southeast Asia for millenia. Now, one in five (I’ve heard one in four, actually) Taiwanese children has a foreign parent. The Taiwanese language (which is not Mandarin - that’s a KMT transplant language forced on Taiwanese) is gaining popularity as people discover their history. Visiting Taiwan and China, it is clear where the cultural differences are, not least in terms of civic engagement. This morning, a group of legislators were removed after a weekend-long pro-labor hunger strike in front of the presidential palace. They were not arrested and will not be. Right now, a group of pro-labor protesters is lying down on the tracks at Taipei Main Station to protest the new labor law amendments.
This would never be allowed in China, but Taiwanese take it as a fiercely-guarded basic right.
*
Now, as I said, none of this matters.
What matters is self-determination. If you believe in democracy, you believe that every state (and Taiwan does fit the definition of a state) that wants to be democratic - that already is democratic and wishes to remain that way - has the right to self-determination. In fact, every nation does. You cannot be pro-democracy and also believe that it is acceptable to deprive people of this right, especially if they already have it.
Taiwan is already a democracy. That means it has the right to determine its own future. Period.
Even under the ROC, Taiwan was not allowed to determine its future. The KMT just arrived from China and claimed it. The Taiwanese were never asked if they consented. What do we call it when a foreign government arrives in land they had not previously governed and declares itself the legitimate governing power of that land without the consent of the local people? We call that colonialism.
Under this definition, the ROC can also be said to be a colonial power in Taiwan. They forced Mandarin - previously not a language native to Taiwan - onto the people, taught Chinese history, geography and culture, and insisted that the Taiwanese learn they were Chinese - not Taiwanese (and certainly not Japanese). This was forced on them. It was not chosen. Some, for awhile, swallowed it. Many didn’t. The independence movement only grew, and truly blossomed after democratization - something the Taiwanese fought for and won, not something handed to them by the KMT.
So what matters is what the Taiwanese want, not what the ROC is forced to claim. I cannot stress this enough - if you do not believe Taiwan has the right to this, you do not believe in democracy.
And poll after poll shows it: Taiwanese identify more as Taiwanese than Chinese (those who identify as both primarily identify as Taiwanese, just as I identify as American and Armenian, but primarily as American. Armenian is merely my ethnicity). They overwhelmingly support not unifying with China. The vast majority who support the status quo support one that leads to eventual de jure independence, not unification. The status quo is not - and cannot be - an endgame (if only because China has declared so, but also because it is untenable). Less than 10% want unification. Only a small number (a very small minority) would countenance unification in the future…even if China were to democratize.
The issue isn’t the incompatibility of the systems - it’s that the Taiwanese fundamentally do not see themselves as Chinese.
A change in China’s system won’t change that. It’s not an ethnic nationalism - there is no ethnic argument for Taiwan (or any nation - didn’t we learn in the 20th century what ethnicity-based nation-building leads to? Nothing good). It’s not a jingoistic or xenophobic nationalism - Taiwanese know that to be dangerous. It’s a nationalism based on shared identity, culture, history and civics. The healthiest kind of nationalism there is. Taiwan exists because the Taiwanese identify with it. Period.
There are debates about how long the status quo should go on, and what we should risk to insist on formal recognition. However, the question of whether or not to be Taiwan, not China…
…well, that’s already settled.
The Taiwanese have spoken and they are not Chinese.
Whatever y’all think about that doesn’t matter. That’s what they want, and if you believe in self-determination you will respect it.
If you don’t, good luck with your authoritarian nonsense, but Taiwan wants nothing to do with it.
On Taiwan Hashtag hosted by Ross Feingold, we discuss the relevance to
Taiwan of today’s decision by Hong Kong elections officials to deny
Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 eligibility to run in the upcoming District Council
election. President Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party was formed at a
time when political parties other than the Kuomintang (Nationalist
Party) were banned during Taiwan’s martial law era, and advocacy for
Taiwan’s independence from the People’s Republic of China and the
Republic of China was illegal, making it likely DPP politicians will
support Wong and Demosisto’s right to support autonomy referendums. This
will continue criticisms exchanged in recent days between Hong Kong and
Taiwan government officials over how to facilitate travel to Taiwan of
Chan Tong-kai 陳同佳, wanted in Taiwan for the murder of Poon Hui-wing
潘曉穎 that led to Hong Kong’s extradition bill controversy. With Taiwan
insisting on a judicial cooperation agreement and criticizing Hong Kong
officials for not putting Chan on trial for murder in Hong Kong (a legal
impossibility already made clear by Hong Kong), Chan’s return might not
occur until after Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections.
Politicization of the matter continues, as does each side’s involvement
in the other’s politics. Watch this episode – recorded in Hong Kong -
for analysis.
✓ 快來加入《Taiwan Hashtag》Twitter（ID：@TaiwanHashtag）
✓ 點我加入《風傳媒》Line 好友（ID：@dyp8323m） http://bit.ly/2hETgWE
✓ 點我訂閱《風傳媒》YouTube 頻道 http://bit.ly/2grkAJ6
✓ 點我追蹤《下班經濟學》IG頻道（ID：@worked_money） https://bit.ly/2WZ1Dnb
【Facebook粉絲團】
風傳媒►► https://www.facebook.com/stormmedia
風生活►► https://www.facebook.com/SMediaLife
下班經濟學►►https://www.facebook.com/workedmoney
夢の超特急 ひかり号 新幹線
０系
0 dream superexpress Hikari Shinkansen factions
Shinkansen (Shin psoriasis) is a name that the first route of Japan National Railways (Japanese National Railways) is Tokaido Shinkansen that started the business driving on October 1, 1964(1964), and indicates the vehicle used for the high-speed railway route and it the JR group operates now and the entire relating railway transportation system.
0 Shinkansen faction train (0 Shin psoriasis) is Shinkansen train of the founder developed when Tokaido Shinkansen opens a business 1964.
Outline
3,216 cars (It simply converted into 16 car organization and 201 obligations) in total were manufactured from 1964 to 1986 as for 38 extending next, and doing the improvement repeatedly as a vehicle for Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen (The first car manufactures 224 cars). However, the maximum values of both on the register numbers are 2,338 cars of 1976(Two cars are the reservation cars) at the same time all together because of scheduling 0 factions that became superannuated on the way to be replaced by 0 faction car made of new and having changed (following description) of 3,216 cars.
It has externals with smart and the charm of the first shape and blue and the white paint division with roundness that takes the example in the aircraft. It was a vehicle where the image of initial Shinkansen was established, and it was familiar long from people as existence that symbolized the era of high growth in Japan of postwar days. It was often introduced by writing, that is, "Head part ...... where the passenger plane was made to think" in the book etc. until about 1980(1980).
It is the 8th (1965) railway fan club blue ribbon prize winning car, and neither an all-time high great car in the railway in Japan nor the criticized railway fan are few, too.
It was recognized with YS-11 etc. as a machine inheritance in August, 2007.
The majority are driving only the Sanyo Shinkansen section already in entering in the 21st century disused car and at the time of of 2007 and 1 that all car disused car disposal is decided by November, 2008. However, historical value is a lot high, and the popular vehicle used because of the movie and the drama taking a picture, etc.
One first car car (22-141) is being donated to the National Railway Museum of the Britain york by West Japan Railway (JR West Japan) in 2001. Vehicle (21-5035) where remodeling had been received as an architectural limit measurement car was introduced to Taiwan (Republic of China) excluding this.
It had been only called, "Shinkansen train" (It was due to Shin psoriasis) before that since it was about 1980 to have come to be called, "0 factions" when 200 factions for Tohoku and Jouetsu Shinkansen had been completed. It has been named, "000 factions" according to the document.
republic era 在 110 The Old Republic Era ideas - Pinterest 的推薦與評價
Founded by former Jedi Master-turned Dark Lord of the Sith Skere Kaan, the Brotherhood took the place of the fragmented Sith Empire after slaughtering many ... ... <看更多>