Taiwanese make Chinese envoy feel right at home.

There has been a lot of hoopla over the past few days about whether or not martial law has returned to Taiwan. Just because the citizens of Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China) were not permitted to wave the national flag, wear T-shirts that had the word Taiwan or sing songs with the word Taiwan during the five days when Chen Yunlin, head of ARATS (Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits), China's official organization for dealing with the renegade province known as Taiwan that it officially refuses to recognize, was in Taiwan. Yeah, it can be a little confusing at times.
Anyway, Chen was in town to sign agreements for direct flights across the straits, so that Taiwanese businessmen no longer have to fly through Hong Kong, as well as agreements about direct cargo shipments by air and sea, and postal exchanges. Several weeks earlier, his deputy, Zhang Mingqing, had been pushed to the ground by Tainan City legislator Wang Tingyu, during a visit to Tainan. Wang says Zhang tripped and fell. The Tainan District Attorney General disagreed and indicted Wang for assault and eroding public order with a recommended sentence of 1.2 years in prison, while six of his associates received 6 to 8 months each. The investigation and indictment took a mere eight days, which is a testament to the efficiency of Taiwan's legal system.
Wishing to avoid a repeat of this violence, the Taiwanese government assigned 7,000 police to ensure that Chen's stay in Taiwan was as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, many, many, many Taiwanese were hell bent on ensuring that Chen had a lousy time, presumably in the foolish hope that if Chen gave Taiwan a thumbs down as a tourist destination, China would not want to invade. However, no matter what they did, the police were waiting. If there was even a chance that Chen could see protestors waving their national flag, the police cordoned off every street connecting to his route. Former vice-president Lien Chan hosted a banquet for Chen at the hotel where he was staying but a group of opposition legislators thought they were smarties by renting a room in the hotel and unfurling banners saying that Taiwan is a free country. Apparently, they were not as smart as they thought they were; the police simply locked them in their room, showing that you can talk about Taiwanese independence as much as you want, as long as it is behind a locked door. Outside the hotel, police and protestors engaged in a frank and clear discussion of the merits of freedom of speech, and when the discussion appeared to become a little too heated, water cannon were brought in to cool the protestors down. Some of the protestors employed more subtle means to get their message across. A record store near the hotel played patriotic Taiwanese songs until the police arrived and forced the store to close, refusing once again to waste time with warrants or explanations.
As would be expected, the DPP (the opposition party) have held numerous press conferences criticizing the government for excessive force, and expressing fear that these harsh methods signal a return of the White Terror (the period of martial law from 1949 to 1987 when 140,000 people were killed or imprisoned for criticizing the ruling Kuomintang). However, I think they are overreacting. The rigorous but fair policing methods were only applied during the five days of Chen's visit, which makes me believe that the Kuomintang (KMT) government was simply trying to make him feel at home. I think the problem is that the vast majority of DPP legislators have spent little or no time in China, so they do not realize that what they consider to be police brutality is just maintaining order in China. Protests are illegal and unnecessary in China because the Communist Party already represents the people. Well, I am confident that Chen appreciates the government's efforts and he probably felt so much at home that he thought that he was in China the whole time. Another way of looking at the situation is that many members of the KMT advocate reunification with China, and they thought it would be nice to give those Taiwanese who have not traveled in China the opportunity to experience it firsthand in their own country. Consider it a five day free trial, although they may want to look closely at the fine print in the money back guarantee.

RIP, Charlton Heston

It is a pity that Charlton Heston is going to be remembered either as the guy wearing the short robe in Ben-Hur or as the fiery NRA poster boy.
To be honest, I find Ben-Hur basically unbearable, aside from the chariot race, which is simply insane, in a good way.
As regards Heston's service as president of the NRA, any reader of his autobiography will quickly understand that guns were a big part of his life, so it is somewhat fitting that his last major role was as mouthpiece for the NRA. However, it should be remembered that he became president when he was 75 years old. Despite the endless number of wise old men portrayed in Hollywood movies, people don't always become open to new ideas as they grow older. Instead, they often become grumpy and inflexible. By the by, I find it strange that people criticize Michael Moore for making Heston look frail and old during the interview for Bowling for Columbine. Heston was president of the NRA and one would expect the president of an association to explain the policy and actions of that association. If you can not perform that simple task, then maybe you should retire. Anyway, whether he was used by the NRA or not is beside the point. I don't want to remember him clutching a musket and saying "from my cold, dead hands."
No, I want to remember him in his prime, when he was one of the top stars in Hollywood, and he decided to make movies without happy endings, movies that challenged people's perception of the established order. Let me make it clear, he was no rebel, but he was a smart man, and more important, he was not afraid to risk his image. Perhaps only Burt Lancaster was as willing to take chances.
Between 1965 and 1980, he played a villain (The Three Musketeers), an artist who lived only for his masterpiece (The Agony and the Ecstasy), a powerful noble whose fighting ability could not save him from his lust (The Warlord), a great British general beaten by an Arab rebel (Khartoum), a tough cowboy who was afraid to settle down (Will Penny), and a mountain man who could not adapt to changing times (Mountain Men). Khartoum in particular stands out, since his stunt double commented that he remembered when they used to win these things.
However, it is his three science fiction films that will prove to be his true monument. Planet of the Apes, Omega Man and Soylent Green all showed a future where mankind had failed in one way or another. Not even the alpha male Charlton Heston could win, at best he could survive a little bit longer than everyone else. Worse, he would come to feel that we deserved our fate. Omega Man and Soylent Green are just a little too bleak for repeated viewings but I never fail to become involved in Planet of the Apes, even though I know the story almost by heart.
In the end, Planet of the Apes is how I want to remember Charlton Heston. The actor who was not afraid to play the guy who tried hard but still lost.

Richard Widmark, RIP (1914-2008)

Although he never acheived the popularity of peers such as John Wayne or Robert Mitchum, Widmark was a successful leading man in his own right, who is probably best known for his roles in The Alamo (1960), Judgement at Nuremburg (1961) and Madigan (1968). Actually, the main reason why true stardom eluded him is that he adapted his performance to suit the movie, rather than picking movies that matched his on screen persona. Widmark never took roles where he simply rode into town, beat the bad guy and won the girl. Instead, he preferred more conflicted roles where there were no easy answers and often no happy ending.

My favorite Widmark movie is Warlock (1959), directed by Edward Dmytryk, where he played a former outlaw who visibly struggled with his loyalties and fears to face his old gang in order to make up for his past crimes.

While his filmography does have its share of embarassing films, every movie benefited from his presence, an achievement equaled by few of his more charismatic peers. Even though there are no Richard Widmark collections available, you could do far worse things with your time than explore the work of an actor who never really received his due.

Boycott, boycott, boycott.

Well, they're at it again. Those monks with their international conspiracy of chanting constantly and refusing to engage in violence, even in self-defence. This time it's Tibet. No wonder the Chinese government felt it was necessary to kill a few monks and Tibetan civilians. If they would just accept that they are now and always have been part of China, even though they do not speak Chinese, have anything in common with China or actually want to be part of China, then none of this would be necessary. Anyway, what's the worst that can happen? There might be a sphincter clenching visit from a UN envoy with thinly veiled criticisms of your housecleaning methods and calls for renewed dialogue with the dirty little troublemakers.
Look what happened to the dictatorship in Myanmar. A few monks get beaten after leading protests against the dictatorship and the UN was right in there, making suggestions and trying to serve as a communication bridge with the activists. You know, no one likes to hear criticism. I have heard that Senior General Than Shwe was moping around for days after his last meeting with the UN envoy, but none of the reporters asked how he felt.
If only there was some important event that mattered to the Chinese government more than a few troublemakers. Oh, wait, there is. The Olympics.
The Olympics certainly matter to the scummy dictatorship that rules China. It matters so much that the reservoirs in Hebei and Shaanxi provinces are being diverted to Beijing to ensure that the flush toilets actually have water and to transform the Chaobai River from its previous resemblance to a desert into a suitable venue for the rowing and canoeing competitions. The residents of those provinces truly deserve to be called heroes. Anybody else would be pretty ticked off if their taps were dry just so that some team can paddle their canoe to win glory for their native land.
The powers-that-be have so far been united in their reaction to the situation. Many late night phone calls must have been required to determine who gets to use which permutation of "please show restraint when beating unarmed protestors." As ever, Taiwan is kept outside the diplomatic loop and apparently was not permitted to use the word "restraint" in its official reaction. Instead, it had to settle for condemming China's use of force. Sigh, when will the cool countries let Taiwan hang out with them and follow the same fashions.
International Olympic Committee head Jacques Rogge has said that a boycott would be unfair to the athletes. Apparently dead Tibetan protestors, massive environmental damage in China, and an overall failure to grasp the concept of human rights is less vital than seeing who saunters off with the gold in badminton, synchronized swimming, and table tennis.
I just want to state that I have no problem with cooperating with scummy people, it’s called a job. You give them a portion of your time and mental energy in exchange for money, which you can use to pay for rent, beer and an Internet connection with which to download porn. This arrangement makes Western society the stunning achievement that it is today. The problem with the refusal of many powers-that-be to call for a boycott is that the scummy people that rule over China get what they want, namely respect, without having to give anything in exchange.
The cynics among you are probably saying that if the Chinese dictatorship is really so scummy then a boycott won’t work, therefore we might as well watch the women's beach volleyball team (a personal favorite). Actually, a boycott might work. Hu and the rest of the board of dictators are not insane megalomaniacs like Mao who did not blink an eye when millions starved to death. They want to stay in control but they want more pull in the international community than a country like Myanmar. The scummy dictatorship is all too aware of China’s rich history of violent change of leadership and pretty much non-existent history of peaceful handovers of power. That is why they recently passed several laws guaranteeing health insurance and paid overtime for workers. These laws seem like they will be effective since a number of Chinese companies have whined that they will no longer be competitive if they have to pay a living wage and Taiwan’s government has been swamped with inquiries about whether there is any space left in the new science parks.
As I have said, there is nothing wrong with making a deal with a scummy dictatorship. By all means, let the Chinese have their Olympics and those of us who appreciate the finer details of women's beach volleyball can have what we want as well. However, would it hurt to mention that no one will take part in the Olympics unless the dictatorship actually talks to the Dalai Lama, releases a few of its dissidents, and maybe even lets the people in Shaanxi province have a shower twice a month.
Or everyone can continue to look the other way in the hope that the Chinese dictatorship will decide on their own to play nice and take the lead out of the toys, the viruses out of the computer gadgets and the beatings out of peaceful protests.

I have been neglecting the History in History on Film

It has been pointed out to me that my history related posts have been few and far between, so this is a perfect opportunity to mention an interesting article by famous historian Antonia Fraser (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3446528.ece). Fraser points out while that there is more artistic license than history in the recently released film The Other Boleyn Girl, it is still a fun and interesting movie.

I was impressed that when she met director Sophia Coppola to discuss bringing her biography of Marie Antoinette to the screen, she immediately told Coppola that anyone who wanted to see her vision could read the book, so Coppola should film her vision. As an historian, it is practically a knee jerk reaction to criticize inaccuracies in historical films but she rightly points out that the late George MacDonald Fraser was correct when he commented that Hollywood's version of history is far more vivid and accessible than the works of great historians such as Tacitus and Gibbon.

Fraser (Antonia not George MacDonald) deftly compares The Other Boleyn Girl with the numerous other films that have dealt with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, showing that even though each of the films has its own flaws, they all serve the purpose of exposing viewers to historical periods that they would otherwise have zero interest in. I have met an endless number of people who said that they routinely dozed through their high school history classes but are more than happy to discuss Hollywood's most recent historical blockbuster. Personally, I consider gritting my teeth a few times in the theater or while sitting on my couch a small price to pay to have people actually talking about history and wanting to learn more. Hopefully, more high school teachers (I am sure some already do) will start incorporating historical films into their lesson plans so that students discuss history instead of nap.

Steven Spielberg Drops Scummy Dictatorship, Thanks to Me (with a slight assist from Mia Farrow)

Steven Spielberg has announced that he will not serve as artistic director for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games, citing disatisfaction with the Chinese government's refusal to help end the genocide in Darfur. I am sure he read my blog on the matter but credit is also due to Mia Farrow.
This has not been the best day for the scummy dictatorship that rules China. Spielberg gave them legitimacy. If the director of Schindler's List was willing to work with them, then they could not be that bad. Worse, it seems likely that Haile Gebrselassie, the star marathon runner from Ethiopia, will not compete in the Olympics because he fears that running in Beijing's pollution will irreparably damage his lungs. Like any young debutante, China wants its coming out party to pass without a hitch, so these two announcements must have caused a great deal of consternation among the men who form the scummy dictatorship that rules China.
While I applaud Mr. Spielberg's decision, I can not help but wonder why it took him almost a year to realize that China values oil more than people's lives in Darfur. But before I am accused of picking on Mr. Spielberg, which I am (I despise rich, powerful people who deal with scummy governments. I suck up to scummy business people that I would not let into my home because I am poor and need a job. When your net worth is USD 3 billion and you are considered the most influential filmmaker on the planet, you have no excuse.), at least he has finally grasped reality, China is ruled by a scummy dictatorship. What is amazing is that so many other people have not realized this. Let me ask a question. Why is any sane person even considering participating in or attending the Olympics in the first place?
The great powers are all in a tizzy because Iran appears to be on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, or not, depending on which intelligence reports you receive and whether or not you want to invade Iran. Scary stuff indeed. China has over a thousand nuclear missiles pointed at me. Well, me and the other 23 million people in Taiwan, but I like to think that I have my own personal missile. Bet you don't have your own personal missile. Oh, and unlike China, Iran actually has relatively democratic elections. Admittedly, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to suffer from a serious case of foot in mouth disease, as well as a healthy dose of bigotry, but he was elected by Iranians. Paramount Leader and President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao was chosen by the Sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Imagine if John McCain became Grand Navigator and President of America through a Republican Party Convention, but without the messy primaries, debates, Democrats or other candidates.
World leaders have been hoping that if China is allowed to play with the grownups it would naturally learn how to behave like an adult. It hasn't.
It was allowed to enter the WTO years before it was ready and instead of following international intellectual property pwnership laws, an endless succession of Chinese companies transferred the technology from their foreign partners (without telling them) and set up other companies that made the exact same product but under a different name. China is a member of the UN security council and has one of the five largest defense budgets in the world but has yet to send a single peacekeeper to any of the many troubled areas in the world, while countries like Canada, Britain, Holland, Poland, France, Ghana, India, Jordan, Uruguay and Bangladesh keep volunteering to perform a necessary but thankless job. Then again, given how the Chinese government treats its citizens, it is understandable that it needs to keep large numbers of men with guns around.
Tibet and Xinjiang are relatively recent and unwilling members of the Chinese family. The Chinese government claims that they have always been part of China and can prove it because both areas currently have a majority of Chinese residents, therefore they are Chinese. Except that the Chinese government has spent the past few decades moving people from China into the two areas, while the original inhabitants watched their cultures, jobs and futures disappear. It is customary in China to light fireworks to celebrate the opening of a new business. A number of people in Xinjiang have adopted the custom, only they used bombs and did it in Beijing. Tibetans still seem to largely follow the Dalai Lama but despite his frequent attempts to negotiate some form of autonomy, rather than straightforward independence, the Chinese government has not only refused to talk to him, it has also decreed that when he dies, he must reincarnate into the person they approve of. Sometimes, I just don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Speaking of guys who look good in orange, has everyone forgotten Myanmar? When monks led a series of protests against fuel price increases, the State Peace and Development Council (or scummy dictatorship if that's easier to remember) responded with tough love. The policy of sparing the monk but not the rod resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. Admittedly, India and Thailand have been notable in their refusal to do anything other than buy more of Myanmar's raw materials, but in the end UN sanctions will only happen if China agrees and China is once again more interested in buying raw materials than sticking up for the downtrodden.
I don't want to make it sound as if China is not involved in world affairs. Aside from eagerly buying everything not nailed down in Sudan, China is also a major trading partner with Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe routinely has opposition leaders beaten, journalists jailed and has basically run the country so far into the ground that the government stopped announcing rises in inflation after it passed 8,000%. Got to draw the line somewhere.
Oh wait, there is North Korea. The Chinese government is recognized as the only force with any influence on Dear Leader Kim Jong-il, but China has a natural stake in keeping North Korea calm, since the last thing that China needs is waves of starving peasants crossing the border in search of delicacies like bark and roots. China has enough of its own starving peasants, thank you very much, 400 million of them at last count.
It is too early to tell if China will be part of the problem or part of the solution, but it is clear that the current policy of letting the Chinese government do whatever it wants without having to face the consequences of its actions has not resulted in a spontaneous leap from spoiled brat to mature and well-mannered young man. However, I do not blame the scummy dictatorship that rules China. They are just scum and bullies, and no one has told them that what they are doing is wrong. No, I blame everyone who participates in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, better known as the Genocide Olympics, because I strongly suspect that this is the last chance to show the Chinese government that there are consequences. It is a lot easier to talk to a thirteen year old bully than a twenty year old one and right now China is thirteen, but it won't be forever.

George MacDonald Fraser, RIP

I have been busy with extremely unsatisfying work recently but when I learned that one of my favorite authors had passed away, I felt it would be wrong to not say anything.
George MacDonald Fraser (1925-2008) is most famous for his Flashman series, which purport to be the memoirs of the bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays, Sir Harry Flashman, V.C.. Over the course of twelve books and roughly fifty-five years (1839-1894), Flashman gambled, toadied, rogered, quavered, lusted, cringed, and abandoned companions and lovers to save his own skin. Very, very rarely, and always against his better judgment, he did the decent thing. Strange as it may sound, I can honestly say that Fraser opened my eyes to what history is, namely events involving real people who were frequently motivated by selfish desires and would probably rather forget some of the things that they did, or at the very least skim over or ignore them completely when they write their memoirs. A comment that is frequently made about the series is that it is not very PC (a term that I despise by the way), and it is true that an underlying theme of the series was that the British Empire made the world a better place. However, what makes the series work is that Flashman, sitting safely at home and being a fictional character, was willing to show with brutal, unflinching honesty both the glory and the grime of the empire. Fraser then provided meticulously researched footnotes to let you judge for yourself what was right and wrong, which seems fair enough.
However, he did more than that. Quartered Safe Out Here, Fraser's memoirs of his service in the Burma theater during WWII, is widely recognized as one of the most harrowing and accurate in the field. His MacAuslan trilogy, a thinly veiled memoir of service in North Africa immediately following the war, is a charming, hysterical delight. The Pyrates and the Reivers are farcical tales of derring-do involving pirates and swashbucklers. Black Ajax is a touching tribute to bare-knuckle boxing in early 19th century England and Mr. American looks at England on the eve of WWI.
While they are all wonderful books that have given me many hours of pleasure, it is actually his least popular book that had the greatest influence on me. The Hollywood History of the World examined how Hollywood has portrayed history in movies from 1 Million BC to the Vietnam War. It was not the most comprehensive discussion but it showed me that Hollywood has covered more of history than I would have thought. Suddenly my love of history and movies had a purpose and the site was conceived. The birthing pains were stronger than expected but that is not Fraser's fault.
For better or worse, George MacDonald Fraser, along with Roger Ebert, was probably the greatest inspiration for this site and I am filled with a deep regret that I never summoned the courage to contact him to tell him that.