Well, Welcome to Taiwan (and Other Things)
On Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, and other news
I thought about writing about other things, but eventually decided to piggyback on the most debated question this week: Will Nancy Pelosi visit (or not)? It was so amusing to see so many Taiwanese go to the airplane alley1 to witness her arrival last night.
Anyway, welcome to Taiwan! It was interesting to see the ups and downs of the news (and also the stock market) this past week — except that we are right at the front row of the conflict.
The later part includes some other news stories, as well as pictures from my birding trip this weekend.
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這篇文章的中文版在這裡。
Last week, Pelosi’s (tentative) Taiwan visit was said to possibly lead to a war in the Taiwan Strait. My first reaction when I saw this was: certainly overstated, right? After all, officials (or former officials) from various countries have always been visiting. But the news said that Pelosi is the highest-ranking current official from the U.S. since 1997, and that the symbolic meaning would be different.
Unsurprisingly, China has once again started to talk tough, the expressions growing tougher and tougher. However, since the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, Taiwan has been faced with war crises for countless times, and fortunately, China has always been the boy who cried wolf.
So equally unsurprisingly, we see so many interesting memes and comics this time too:
The funniest this time: “Nancy Pelosi the Queen Mother of the West”
Artist Nisin (Stupid Sheep)’s cartoon: “The think tank suggested that we must eat at the Din X Fung Main Store!”
The (flexible) red line of China.
And the Russian proverb on wiki: “China’s final warning (Russian: Последнее китайское предупреждение) … used ironically to refer to a warning that carries no real consequences.”
China’s current reactions in deeds include to ban imports of food products from Taiwan, and to hold live-fire military exercises near Taiwan (after Pelosi leaves Taiwan). It doesn’t seem to be too abberant. I am happy and grateful to have another peaceful day.
Yet it is always good to plan ahead and prepare for the possible war, and let’s support the Kuma Academy’s civilian defense training program together.
Until Pelosi’s actual arrival, Taiwan was said by the Western media to seem to have been more concerned about other matters. I think the relatively low coverage in Taiwanese media in a way reflected the low-key attitude of the Taiwan government. In another, the trip was framed as “Pelosi’s graduation trip.” So what does it mean to Taiwan?
One of my favorite e-newsletters A Broad and Ample Road also commented on the visit, and I agree with what Michelle and Albert said:
What does Pelosi intend to achieve with this trip, anyway? She’ll come and give a couple of speeches, wine and dine some fancy people, visit a few high-tech factories, and that’s supposed to … do what besides annoy China?
Pelosi’s schedule was officially announced yesterday. I was a bit surprised to find that she would go to the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, but it seemed to be in line with her image?
Anyway, it is certainly a good thing that high-ranking U.S. officials visit Taiwan. Maybe it means that we have taken another step towards the normalization of our country. Whether we are more concerned about environmental protection, gender equality or other issues, in Taiwan, maintaining our substantive independence is the paramount prerequisite for all.
Perhaps what the United States and Taiwan are most concerned about now are the upcoming elections (which, after all, are major events for democratic countries), and perhaps Pelosi’s visit is more of a symbolic gesture than a substantive one, but if Taiwan really changes its national title and declares independence, is it not also a more symbolic move than a substantive one? And this symbolic move will obviously be important. All in all, I am happy that we have survived yet another crisis.
In addition to the news about Pelosi’s visit, here are two other news stories that concern me the most this week.
The first is a feature report of Mirror Media, on the sex crimes of intimate photo leaks, even worse than the Nth Room case in Korea and still underway: “Hell for the Youth: Internet Hunting and Scam for Intimate Images” (in Mandarin).
The second is that Taiwanese have been abducted to work overseas in Southeast Asia countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia, where they are abused physically and sexually — which is also underway: “Taiwanese Going to Cambodia for a High Salary Ended up being Imprisoned” (in Mandarin). I have seen suspected scams of overseas talent recruitment in a translator community on Facebook, and many people have commented to question the scam at that time. I hope no one fell for it.
In a way, maybe these are worthy of more concern for me than Pelosi’s visit.
A final twist from the heavy news report talks.
Last weekend, I invited my friends to go birding at the Taipei Botanical Garden and then to have dinner together. Only one went birding with me, and two more went for the dinner. Anyway, thank all the friends who are willing to go birding together, who tolerate my birding talks, and who keep in touch and dine with me from time to time.
I forgot to take pictures of birds and just took a picture of this little guy that greeted us as soon as we entered the botanical garden. It is said to be a young Swinhoe’s japalura?
Airplane alley is Lane 180, Binjiang St. (濱江街180巷), an alley close to the Taipei Songshan Airport.