Some rational and emotional responses to heech, panda and MFW 2310: By now you've correctly figured out which side I lean toward. I don't discount the immense national pride that ppl in the PRC have invested toward wanting Taiwan. And yes, I understand that China has had many misfortunes over the past couple of centuries, most memorably those beginning around the time of the Japanese invasion. I understand that the talk of Taiwan wanting to be independent must seem like throwing salt in a wound. I mean, China has had so much crap from the West, and now their "brothers" seem to be joining in against them, which I'm sure feels insulting, at the least. I also want to mention that I personally have many friends from the PRC. So there is no need to lump me in with overwrought political propagandists from the DPP (who are just as good at mudslinging as any other party). Now to my point. I think the essential question is, WHY DO THE PEOPLE OF CHINA WANT TAIWAN SO BADLY? Honestly, ask yourself whether this is due to some emotional feeling that has been built up from the pain of past Chinese history, or whether there is a sound legal argument for why the PRC should own it. Arguments about ZhengQhengGong and the Qing Dynasty, are, seriously quite tenuous. Before I buy into that stuff, please convince me that the nation-state which we now call China is politically equivalent to either of those old regimes. There are several Ph.D. theses in that sentence alone. In the history of nation-states, countries have repeatedly and inescapably shifted borders. Just take a look at Europe. Take a look at the Middle East for crying out loud. Can you clearly convince me that Palestine or Israel really has sound "legal" basis for owning the city of Jerusalem? Of course not. My belief (and if you can convince me otherwise, I salute you) is that people in China WANT Taiwan. They NEED it. They YEARN for it from the bottom of their souls. But why? Because somehow to many people from the PRC, their notion of Chinese identity has become wrapped in the idea that they should take control of this small island. Somehow, taking it would back would make people feel a little better about Nanjing, about the KMT stealing the national treasures, and about all the villainous stuff perpetrated by Americans and British, which you can see just by watching any Hong Kong kung fu movie. Normally I think it's good for people to have dreams, and PRC nationalists should not be forbidden from imagining a better country than what they've known. But there are a lot of people in Taiwan who sure don't like the idea of being put under the control of a govt THEY have never known and in which they could very easily lose their hard-won democratic freedoms. What about their dreams? Under the governing of the KMT, the voice of these Japanese watchdogs was suppressed, yet when Taiwan was moving towards democracy and multiple parties sprang up fighting for "presidency", a party called Ming Jing Dang(The Democratic Progressive Party) found out it's very easy to win support based on hatred, disdain and a sense of superiority. It's their proven strategy to win support from Taiwanese not satisfied with the KMT, since the KMT came from China, with leaders consisted of mainlanders. Ming Jing Dang, aided by one influential Japanese watchdog Lee Deng Hui(a former Japanese imperial army soldier), successfully alienated those people by depicting the KMT as Outsiders, and depicting themselves as the Insiders(since the leaders of this party is mainly locally born). By advocating independance and discriminating against all things Chinese Ming Jing Dang found a niche that fans Taiwanese hatred towards the KMT(the Chinese invaders) and China(the poor communistic country under dictatorship). Hatred and disdain is a proven strategy Adolf Hitler once used to win support in elections. Ming Jing Dang has grown a lot through this way, and due to internal conflicts Lee Deng Hui inflicted within the KMT, the KMT lost "presidency" in the previous two elections, although the KMT is still taking charge in the "parliament".
OK, this thread is completely out of place now on a Rockets fan site and the only people enjoying it are revisionist Japanese and their war criminal worshipping leaders. Enuf already.
P.S. Ignore that last hanging paragraph attached at the end. Was gonna quote a reply but got a little carried away with myself instead...
oh crap.... yall got heech and panda going on this AGAIN. I still cant believe Clutch and Crew are allowing this to continue....they normally move or el-locko threads that go massively offtopic like this...especially on a subject that is as devisive as this is.
I vote to ban the idiots who started a political debate in this thread. This is just f'n ridiculous. Why don't we debate on Yao's aggressiveness in the post - offensively and defensively.
This isn't a political or cultural forum. If you want to discuss that, go to D&D and/or the BBS Forum.
