China's annual National People's Congress (NPC) inevitably brings with it an absurd escalation of cross-strait tension. The cause lies in the fact that this so-called "highest representative body," which has never been subject to popular elections, simply serves to rubber stamp the inflammatory policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Lately, it has also been serving to distract as many people as possible from the escalation of rural anger at corruption and land theft by invoking that most convenient of chestnuts: Taiwanese "splittism."
It is hilarious to witness Premier Wen Jiabao (
What does Beijing mean when it talks of "the will of the people" and "international trends"? After all, it has never held national elections or referendums, so what is the basis of such statements? Its repeated and recycled condemnation of the Taiwanese government invites scorn.
Communist regimes are notorious for violating the law and fabricating public opinion. This is why such regimes have been rejected all around the world. We can see that it is the overthrow of communist regimes that tallies with the wishes of most people and international trends. Absurd statements about the will of the people by Chinese officials merely serve to underline their shortcomings.
NPC toadying also serves as a mirror for the activities of the pan-blue camp. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party have repeatedly stated that they will hold demonstrations against the abolition of the NUC, and have distorted the significance of this action, stating that it is an attempt by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to achieve de jure independence. This statement belittles the fact that it is only Taiwanese who have the right to determine their political future. Indifferent to public sentiment, the pan-blue camp remind the skeptical of its authoritarian nature.
The NUC is indeed an absurd product of an absurd era, for it upholds the idea of "China united under the Three Principles of the People," which had currency during KMT rule. Now, with the demise of the Chiang family dictatorship, the idea of retaking China has become something of a joke, for Taiwanese are perfectly clear about the fact that unification with China implies one thing only: subjugation.
Yet the pan-blue camp continues to pursue the interests of a minority and tries to force the idea of unification with China down the throats of a majority that is clearly suspicious of it.
The only consistent position for a democratic society to hold is rejecting the sham words of a sham congress, as well as those of their local soulmates.
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