I written quite a few posts about the visit of China's negotiator to Taiwan already, and -- barring any flashes of new insight -- this'll probably be the last post specifically devoted to the subject. Here's a couple things I'd like to note before I move on:
1) Injured Reporters
Taiwan's China Post has tried to make a lot of hay about the fact that a number of reporters were hurt during the night of the anti-unification protests of Nov 5th and 6th. In particular, the paper points to a Chinese reporter who was attacked by the crowd. (Although the Taipei Times said this reporter was merely surrounded.)
Now, in any contest of believability between the two, the Times would win hands down. But it certainly wouldn't surprise me if the crowd HAD treated the Chinese reporter roughly. Such treatment of reporters wasn't exclusive to one side however; by Saturday Taiwan's Minister of the Interior publicly apologized to a reporter who was beaten by a policeman with a short bamboo quarterstaff.
It seems likely though, that several injuries were accidental. Many reporters were no doubt hurt (through no fault of their own) due to badly-thrown water bottles and other projectiles. Yes, these people were injured, but it's stretching it to say they were DELIBERATELY attacked by the crowd, as the Post insinuates.
There's one final category which the English press has given scant attention to, namely, reporters who were hurt because of their own sheer recklessness. I have but one example. On the morning of Nov 7th, I saw on television a fairly wide-angled shot (taken safely from the sidelines) of a Molotov cocktail being hurled towards police lines from the crowd. Streak of light through the black air. A flash of flames on the padded armor of the riot police.
And within SECONDS, 3 or 4 men with video cameras raced from the sidelines within 5 feet of police lines, so that they could capture the event up close and personal.
Now, the cameramen I'm talking about weren't injured, but they very easily COULD have been. Ye Gods! These idiots had just charged headlong into a Molotov cocktail crossfire zone. What if the thrower had had a buddy? What if a second petrol bomb was already in mid-flight? They were facing the police; there's no way they could have dodged it.
But hey, anything for some juicy footage -- and a nomination for the 2008 Darwin Awards.
2) Collateral Damage from the Temporary Outlawing of the ROC Flag
In order to appease Chen Yunlin of China, President Ma Ying-jeou ordered Taiwanese police to confiscate their own nation's flag from protesters and passersby. The implications for civil liberties and freedom of speech should be obvious, so I'll discuss them here no further. But the effect of one incident in particular I think has been under-explored:
From this day forward, taxis with ROC flags upon them are at an economic disadvantage in Taiwan. Anytime a Chinese official visits in the future, cab drivers must take into consideration the possibility that police under Ma Ying-jeou's direction will divert them or send them on their way, fareless. By his toadying to China, President Ma -- the man who claimed to love Taiwan and the Republic of China -- has created an economic incentive for taxi drivers to remove all symbols of national patriotism from their vehicles.
And just who are these drivers? Are they all Taiwanese independence advocates? Hardly. A good number of Taipei cabbies are KMT men. KMT men who may not be pleased to have their idols treated by Ma Ying-jeou's police as false gods. A sad story from today's Taiwan News:
The man, surnamed Liu, was covered in an inflammable substance and set himself on fire, but bystanders and police rushed to douse the flames. Police later said the liquid might have been gasoline or diesel oil.
Liu was taken by ambulance to nearby National Taiwan University Hospital where he was listed in critical condition with burns over 80 percent of his body, doctors said.
He left behind a letter critical of the government, police said. In the letter, Liu said he joined the ruling Kuomintang in 1950, but expressed dissatisfaction at police action against people carrying the Republic of China flag during the visit of Chinese top negotiator Chen Yunlin last week.
Not a cab driver, but a KMT man just the same. No wonder the KMT's mouthpiece newspaper, the China Post, has been too ashamed to print even a single story about the flag confiscation policies of KMT President Ma.
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