Look at the other hand

While many people are being misdirected by the madness surrounding former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), other stuff -- really big stuff -- is going on:Although there is no historical evidence that it was invented by the Chinese, it may be appropriate to note that one of the oldest forms of coercion is known as "Chinese water torture." By continuously dripping water on a victim's head over an extended period of time, it is said that the technique can drive a victim insane.

Nowadays, it seems like those drops of water are being applied to Taiwan's forehead, with each droplet taxing the nation's identity a little more each time. What's worse is that -- like a real victim of torture -- Taiwanese appear to be strapped to a chair and fated to a long period of suffering. And the torturer is a tag team: the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Drip: "Chinese Taipei." Drop: "Chunghwa Post." Drip: No WHO or UN application under the name "Taiwan." Drop: Our elected president is but a "Mr." Drip: The possible renaming of National Democracy Memorial Hall, after the murderous dictator the monument was built for. And drop: In the Dominican Republic over the weekend, where President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) delegation was referred to -- for all to see and without as much as a complaint -- as "China, Taiwan."Is there anybody out there? Is anybody awake? Do you have any idea just how much is at stake?
Alarming tones: Taiwan, 台灣, deep thoughts, 深思, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, Chinese Nationalist Party, 中國國民黨, Kuomintang, KMT, 國民黨, Chinese Taipei, 中華台北, China, 中國, Taiwan Independence, 台灣獨立, Taidu, 台獨

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!* * *
Taiwan is not a province of China. The PRC flag has never flown over Taiwan.
Stick that in your clipboards and paste it, you so-called "lazy journalists"!

Didn't this guy get China's memo/bribe/threat?

ESPN senior sports writer Jim Caple, writing from Beijing, turns the usual meme about Taiwan ("which China claims...") on its flat-topped head:On the field next door, communist China was playing Taipei, the democratic capital on the Taiwan island just miles off its coast whose independence is disputed by the mainland government.Got that? Taiwan's existing independence is the given, and it's disputed by authoritarian China.

Reporters with brains and/or a conscience, can you do any better?

Kudos to Jim Caple.
Differential equations: Taiwan, 台灣, Taiwan Independence, 台灣獨立, Taidu, 台獨, media, 媒體, memes, 大腦模仿病毒, Jim Caple

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!* * *
Taiwan is not a province of China. The PRC flag has never flown over Taiwan.
Stick that in your clipboards and paste it, you so-called "lazy journalists"!

CliffsNotes

Shorter Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九):Look how "low-profile" I'm being on my international trip!!!
Taiwan's president Mr. Ma Ying-jeou
waves to supporters (at the Panama airport?)
"hides" from the media
(EPA photo via the Taipei Times)
(Click to enlarge)
You didn't read this, m'kay?
In visible imaginings: Taiwan, 台灣, deep thoughts, 深思, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!* * *
Taiwan is not a province of China. The PRC flag has never flown over Taiwan.
Stick that in your clipboards and paste it, you so-called "lazy journalists"!

The truth is out there

Fellow blogger Michael Turton has already blogged about the latest scandal surrounding former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and today's Taipei Times has some details: Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) apologized yesterday for failing to fully declare his past campaign funds and wiring a large sum overseas, but denied embezzling money from the government.

Chen said that all the money he had ever accepted was for election purposes, adding that his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), was responsible for managing his funds, including any amount left from previous campaigns.

Chen read from a written statement and did not take any questions during a press conference yesterday afternoon, leaving his attorney Richard Lee (李勝琛) to deal with the media after he left.

Chen said his conscience drove him to come out and apologize because he could no longer lie to himself or the public.

"I have done something that is not allowed by the law," he said. "I owe the public an apology for falsely declaring my campaign funding for the past four Taipei mayoral and presidential elections."What raised the most doubt for me was that people like Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) are the ones presenting this information to the public, but today, it sounds like Chen is contradicting what he said yesterday. This makes that part about Chen's "conscience dr[iving] him to come out and apologize" sound like bullshit.

Additionally, I've heard that Chen's son and daughter-in-law are currently out of the country.

WTF?!

This will most likely present a serious challenge for the DPP in the years to come.

A-gu (阿牛) is following the Chinese-language news on this one, and he brings readers the latest info about Chen and Wu's resignation from the DPP.

Whatever happens in this case, beware of the presentation, and focus on the facts.
Interjections: Taiwan, 台灣, Chen Shui-bian, 陳水扁, A-bian, 阿扁, Wu Shu-jen, Wu Shu-chen, 吳淑珍

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!* * *
Taiwan is not a province of China. The PRC flag has never flown over Taiwan.
Stick that in your clipboards and paste it, you so-called "lazy journalists"!