big losses for the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan
The message of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost. The “resist China and defend Taiwan” message failed big across Taiwan. What happened to Taiwan’s independence? Isn’t Taiwan’s independence from China what the people of Taiwan want? The big losses for the Democratic Progressive Party is the reason the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, is stepping down as party leader. She will stay on as President until the 2024 election.
“Resist China and defend Taiwan” is a good slogan for those in Taiwan who really want independence from mainland China. What’s really going on? In the recent election, people overwhelmingly voted for the Nationalist Party. The Kuomintang (KMT) or the Nationalist Party, won 13 of 21 seats for Mayor or county chief. This included winning in Taipei, the capital. The strategy of defying China failed miserably.
the people gave the DPP a shellacking
What message are the people of Taiwan sending? Is the U.S. missing this message? China is saying that the U.S. needs to stay out of their business. They accuse the U.S. of interfering in elections. The KMT wants closer ties to China. The seat in Taipei was won by Chiang Wan-an. He is a Nationalist and the great-grandson of Chiang Kei-shek. The people of Taiwan chose China. China also sees this as a win for China. Will the U.S. accept this?
China upped its military exercises in the region after Speaker Pelosi visited Taiwan. Pres. Tsai said that the election was showing the world how Taiwan was defending it’s independence. The KMT had a different political message. They stayed away from the topic of China and focused on Covid. The China and Taiwan conflict will be more of an issue in the Presidential election in 2024.
the people of China are protesting restrictions
Major protests are wreaking havoc in China over Covid restrictions. FTTIS (find, test, trace, isolate, and support) is the policy in China. It is known as Covid Zero. Residents in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing have had enough of the restrictions. They are fighting back with protests. It is uncommon for the people of China to openly protest the communist government. Some are asking for Pres. Xi to step down.
There was a deadly fire in Urumqi. Firefighters were unable to reach victims in time due to barricades for Covid restrictions. Because of this, some cities have banned the blocking of exits. Officials say the escape from the fire wasn’t blocked, but Beijing uses solid objects to close off restricted areas.
the China virus challenges in China spread to the U.S.
Foxconn Technology Group is an IPhone manufacturer in China. They are incentivizing workers to come back to work after they left over the Zero Covid policy. They are desperate to get workers back to work for Christmas sales. It was difficult to buy the latest IPhone for Black Friday sales.
stocks suffer in the world’s second largest economy
Stocks suffered a sell-off in the world’s second largest economy. Investors are selling off Chinese shares. Oil Prices fell to the lowest level this year because of the Covid restrictions. China’s economy could effect supply chains and cause further inflation. The U.S. markets are following suit. Pre-market trading was down this morning. China’s lockdowns are not easing up everywhere as they have new record number of cases everyday. Will communist China listen to it’s protesting people? Something is working because it’s just today that some cities are easing restrictions.
this is what happens in a communist country
Chinese police detained a BBC reporter. He was arrested in Shanghai, while covering the Covid restriction protests. The police held Ed Lawrence for several hours. Police beat the BBC journalist. Lawrence was filming the crowds. Video footage on social media shows police grabbing Lawrence and shoving him to the ground. They beat and kicked him and took him away in handcuffs. China claimed it was to his benefit. He could be infected with Covid. They say he did not identify himself or provide press credentials. The U.K. government condemned these actions.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter that “journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63779176
This maybe be true in some countries. Communist countries are different. When you travel abroad, especially to communist countries, you would think people would be extra careful. Committing a crime and or not following rules in a foreign country does not end well. Look at Brittney Griner. We are not saying what happened to this reporter is his own fault or that he deserved this. Quite the opposite. Make sure the police in foreign countries know who you are if you are a journalist. Even then it won’t guarantee your safety.
Communist countries play by a different set of rules. What we may consider to be unfair here is not necessarily how it is everywhere else in the world. What we consider injustice here, may not be there. We need to learn this. Because we think it is wrong here won’t change what happens elsewhere.
this is an important lesson
We do the same thing here. Some here think that their beliefs need to be accepted by all. Our country tries to cram the beliefs of the few down the throats of the many. In this country we have freedoms. We are allowed to believe what we choose. There are many here that need to learn that lesson.
Trying to force beliefs down the throats of foreigners is even worse. When you travel outside the U.S., it is easier to accept the rules whether you think they are fair or not.
