Job Discussion Forums

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

I lived in Taiwan briefly in 2001. I enjoyed the island, but did not like the job, and when an opportunity came to go to China, I went.

If you have never been to China, Taiwan is shown on all the maps as part of China. The media refers to it as "Taiwan Province". The Chinese go crazy when someone actually calls Taiwan a country.

Chiang Kai Shek agreed with Mao and Beijing on one point, Taiwan is a part of China and the two sides must reunify. As a matter of fact, the KMT believes not only is Taiwan is a part of China, so is MONGOLIA! Even the Communists don't make that outrageous claim.

What do the people in Taiwan want?

1.) To be an independant nation?

2.) To be part of Beijing?

3.) If Beijing and China became a multiparty democracy (which would not work) would Taiwan join?

4.) Be part of a "federation" with Beijing, which includes free trade and travel between both sides.

I have a solution to this issue. Freely invite the senior Beijing leadership to Taiwan for about two weeks. After two weeks of:

1.) Heat and bugs.
2.) Typhoons.
3.) Stray dogs.
4.) Betel nut chewers and bikers.
5.) Just another dirty, polluted place.
6.) Taiwan beer at every meal.

The Beijing leadership will simply say, "Screw it, we don't want you anymore" and flee home.

Just my thoughts, I feel envious of those of you there who have friends, wives/husbands and are settled in Taiwan. You are living in China, but are making a hell of a lot more than us shmucks in "Big China". Really the only difference I see from Hangzhou and Hsinchu is that religion is open and 7-11 markets. We need 7-11s here.

Senor

[TaoyuanSteve]

I think it is natural for one to relate with the people and society in which you live. However, toeing the Beijing line re: Taiwan is bad form for an expat.

The central issue for most Taiwanese these days is democracy and freedom. A lot of Taiwanese-- and I'd venture to say most-- do not support unilateral separation from China. Even though Chen Shui Bian won the election here, I believe he got a lot of support because people here do not like the alternative, the KMT. Most people here identify with their ethnicity, when pressed.

Taiwan is not simply a rebel province. It is a place that enjoys democracy and freedom. Now that they have this, the people here do not want to revert to totalitarian rule. Who can blame them. And, as it stands now, Taiwan is a defacto independent nation. Even if it keeps it's old moniker, Zhong Hwa Ming Guo, that in itself is different from The Peoples Republic of China. Taiwan elects its leaders. They do not come from Beijing and Beijing does not control policy here. Seems to me to denote independence, even if a lot of nations do not want to acknowledge it for their own selfish reasons.

Do Taiwanese want reunification? I'd say the overwhelming majority would if China democratized. I have posed this question to students before as a composition question in English lessons. The answers are very similar. In the future, if China's government can become a democracy, then Taiwan will want to reunify.