Not at all, JaSin. Like Australia, Taiwan belonged to the Boongs, an Austronesian seafaring mob who moved around quite a bit themselves, taking over the isle of Luzon in the Philippines, the Mariana Islands and Palau, before moving onto Borneo and Indonesia.

Taiwan was subsequently colonised by the Spanish and Dutch, who brought in workers from Chi-na. You know, like Penang and Malacca and old Singapore.

Nobody's saying Malysia and Singapore belong to Chi-na, now are they?

The Qing dynasty threw the Europeans out in 1683 - about the only success China had against the colonists at the time.

They were subsequently evicted by the Japanese in 1895. The Japanese used the place as a base to invade China in the 1920s. The rape of Nanking and all that nastiness ensued.

Once the Japs were chucked out by Chairman Mao, the Kuomintang went with them - to Taiwan, and there you have it: the rich, contested tapestry of Taiwan.

The Boongs, the Spaniards, the Dutch, the Qing, the Japs, and the imported Chow nationalists, but do you know?

The Chows had Taiwan for all of 212 years, under the Qing. It may be worth pointing out that a number of Chows believed the last Qing dynasty to be illegitimate. The organised crime triads started as a movement with a slogan to "depose the Qing, replace the Ming". Many of them joined the Communist Party. Of course, a number joined the Kuomintang as well.

But ultimately, Taiwan belongs to the Boongs. All the rest are colonisers.

And as they say, always was, always will be Abor-ig-inal land, no?

No. Democracy is a numbers game. Until the 1980s, when Taiwan was a military dictatorship, that could have been argued to be the case. Today in Taiwan, everybody over 18 gets a say. That means Chows, Japs, Ming, Qing, Kuomintang, Commies, and the Boongs hardly rate.

Not only vote, they do military service too. They pay a price for their citizenship.

I hope this gives you an idea that things are a little more complex that your simplistic decree, but it may well explain why Chi-na is so hell bent on getting Taiwan back in the fold. To them, Taiwan represents the Century of Humiliation, the time when Whitey pinned them down in the south, and the Japs pinned them down in the east.

Today, Taiwan is Taiwan. Tibet too.

Do you want to start a chat on that?

Karnal wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2024 at 8:28pm:



Well - times have changed a bit since then.... you are free to give yours back... without compensation.