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.
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.
posted by History on Film at 12:17 PM
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