Beijing has repeatedly appealed to the emotions of Taiwanese, seeking to convince them that by speaking a similar language, sharing folklore festivities and having common kinship, people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all “descendants of the legendary emperors Yan and Huang” (炎黃子孫) and must therefore be bonded together in a “great motherland” called China.
If it only knew how its actions have undermined its popularity with Taiwanese, as it has managed only to enforce the belief that the two sides of the Strait are worlds apart.
After China in July last year blocked all images of Winnie the Pooh online as a result of memes comparing the fictional bear to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the latest subjects to fall victim to the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship are Chinese-produced historical TV dramas.
From The Empress of China (武媚娘傳奇) and The Empresses in the Palace (後宮甄嬛傳) to Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (如懿傳) and Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略), Chinese historical TV drama series have garnered huge ratings in both China and Taiwan, captivating viewers with fascinating story lines based on true historical characters that are full of intriguing plots combined with elaborate costumes and fantastic scenery.
Screenings of Story of Yanxi Palace were abruptly pulled earlier this month after the Beijing Daily on its Sina Weibo microblog listed five “charges” against the historical drama, ranging from an emphasis on the dark side of human nature to an indulgence in luxury that runs counter to “the broadcasting of core communist values.”
Beijing has also cracked down on dyed hair, tattoos and pierced ears in an attempt to force people to conform to its “social values.” Male actors sporting dyed hair, tattoos and pierced ears on TV are shown with the offending features pixelated.
The latest on Beijing’s list is the so-called Foxi (佛系) phenomenon — an Internet slang term referring to Buddha-like passivity and indifference toward a goal.
In an article published in last month’s edition of the People’s Tribune magazine, professor Tung Zhenhua (董振華) of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China argued that the Foxi phenomenon would lead to youngsters lacking zeal and proactivity, and would in the long term make the objective of “reinvigorating the Zhonghua minzu (中華民族) and the Chinese dream hard to achieve.”
Meanwhile, despite Beijing’s denials, there have been reports that China is holding as many as 1 million Uighurs against their will in re-education camps in Xinjiang, and that it is persecuting them and other Muslims.
While this censorship, the imposition of “Chinese” values and the restriction of freedoms of movement and religious belief might appear completely natural to those in authoritarian Beijing, these actions have appalled Taiwanese, as they have crushed the values and democratic freedoms that they hold so dear.
Beijing can engage in all the flowery words and economic enticements it wants in a bid to woo Taiwanese, but its actions have convinced Taiwanese that there is no way they want to be part of a China that would doubtless deny them their hard-won freedoms and democracy.
As Taiwan’s domestic political crisis deepens, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have proposed gutting the country’s national spending, with steep cuts to the critical foreign and defense ministries. While the blue-white coalition alleges that it is merely responding to voters’ concerns about corruption and mismanagement, of which there certainly has been plenty under Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and KMT-led governments, the rationales for their proposed spending cuts lay bare the incoherent foreign policy of the KMT-led coalition. Introduced on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the KMT’s proposed budget is a terrible opening
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
“I compare the Communist Party to my mother,” sings a student at a boarding school in a Tibetan region of China’s Qinghai province. “If faith has a color,” others at a different school sing, “it would surely be Chinese red.” In a major story for the New York Times this month, Chris Buckley wrote about the forced placement of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children in boarding schools, where many suffer physical and psychological abuse. Separating these children from their families, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to substitute itself for their parents and for their religion. Buckley’s reporting is
Last week, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), together holding more than half of the legislative seats, cut about NT$94 billion (US$2.85 billion) from the yearly budget. The cuts include 60 percent of the government’s advertising budget, 10 percent of administrative expenses, 3 percent of the military budget, and 60 percent of the international travel, overseas education and training allowances. In addition, the two parties have proposed freezing the budgets of many ministries and departments, including NT$1.8 billion from the Ministry of National Defense’s Indigenous Defense Submarine program — 90 percent of the program’s proposed
RSS