The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Cities and Travel

Cities and Travel Tell us about where you are; tell us about where you want to be

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-15-2006, 04:25 AM   #16
breakingnews
Q_Q
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: somewhere in between
Posts: 995
Today concludes a weeklong sit-in aimed at coercing Taiwan's president to step down from his post. Kuomintang supporters have been occupying the massive boulevard in front of the presidential palace since last Saturday; at any given time, the attendance has ranged from just a few hundred to about100,000 (KMT is touting 200,000-300,000, but police say the event has peaked at 90,000-100,000). Supporters of Chen Shui-bian plan to hold a rally tomorrow morning in the same location - what many are worried about is that stragglers from the protest will clash with the support movement.

A quick snapshot of Taiwan's political scene: Taiwan has enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence since a series of tumultuous events triggered a government overhaul in the late 70s/early 80s. Although the KMT party - these folks fled China during the cultural revolution and, after unsuccessfully regaining control of the mainland, settled for running the island nation - remained the majority, the popular election of a Taiwanese-born president (Lee Teng-hui) in 1996 signaled interest in continuing social reform and developing a national identity different from China's. The Democratic Progressive Party was also formed, and it generally represented complete independence from China. DPP candidate Chen was elected president in 2000 and 2004.

While the people of Taiwan generally favor maintaining political distance from China, many fear the consequences of formal moves to independence (China claims Taiwan as a special administrative region with sovereign rule, like Hong Kong). Thus Chen won the 2004 re-election by a slim 30,000-vote margin. His supporters tend to be those who are several generations Taiwanese (my ancestors migrated in the 1700s), the elite/wealthy and the unskilled/poor, who are afraid of losing more jobs to the mainland. These people are afriad that loosely opening ties with China could eventually transfer control the mainland, which would not hesitate to completely erase Taiwan's identity.

On the other side, Chen's opponents are those who think independence should be gradually attained, because they fear that any serious abrasion with China in the short-term could cripple Taiwan's economy. A boycott of Taiwanese products would be devastating to the island. Furthermore, about $51 billion - 70% of Taiwan's outbound investments - have been sent to China, and any conflict might severely diminish the possibility of ever recovering those assets. There's a growing population of capitalists in Taiwan who feel that the island of 23 million is quickly running out of room to expand, and that open trade channels with China is the only way to ensure Taiwan's future.

Back to this week's protest: KMT has been looking for ways to get Chen out of office. They got just that this year when a series of corruption scandals were uncovered. Members of Chen's immediate family were busted for insider trading, accepting payments, etc., and some of his aides were also caught for various acts. The situation has gotten so bad that even some DPP members are calling for Chen to step down.

I went to the protest site last night to take some photos. Today would have been the best day to go - KMT leaders were planning a huge finale - but I have to be on a bus to visit my parents in two hours.

Sorry for the history lesson. Here are some photos.





For some, being at the protest before the presidential palace was something of a novelty.
__________________
Gone crazy, be back never.
breakingnews is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2006, 07:27 PM   #17
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Thanks for the lesson, bn....you make the world affairs class such a pleasure.

BTW, that second picture is a Pulitzer. It's got all the elements, the jacket(shirt?), the sign, the cheerleader yelling, the stalwart resolve or maybe worry of the guy in the background, very powerful.


Unfortunately the third picture shows you can't keep your mind on the work. She is cute, though.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:22 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.