Wax Politic

It's time to get political. I usually regret political entries, so this might be gone in a few days. We'll see.

Don't know how much you've been reading, but this week marked the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against China and in honor of the event, monks had been pouring into the streets in protest. Which led Chinese officials to contain them. By way of killing. Official reports say that 10 are dead. Hundreds arrested. Some put the figure higher, at 32. And every time news like this hits, I shake at my head at China. And think about my own country. Because the international treatment of Tibet and Taiwan are so drastically different.

I'm not saying we shouldn't sympathize with Tibet. I do. It sucks that China is still a country where protests lead to officially sanctioned death. It really does. But every time Taiwan tries to move toward independence, instead of international sympathy, it gets slaps on the hand. "Nevertheless," a recent NYT article on the upcoming Taiwanese elections read, "American officials continue to warn Taiwan not to provoke China." Provoke- as in try to join the UN. As in think about independence. As in mess up a good thing for the US because she doesn't want to get between Taiwan and China. It boggles my mind how the US is cool that Kosovo is now a country despite being heavily dependent on foreign aid and foreign military support and not really independent. But when Taiwan- with its own currency, demo-freaking-cratic government, constitution, military, and stable economy- tries to claim international recognition, it is immediately chastised by the country that dropped it as an ally to make ties with communist China.

The issues surrounding Kosovo, Tibet, and Taiwan are all unique. And Taiwanese independence is a thorny issue that not everyone in Taiwan agrees with. And that's all OK. What's not OK is the hypocrisy to which Taiwan seems to be subject to from the international community. It's a small, stable, democratic country with an open, liberal economy. And yet whenever it tries to promote itself, it is scolded by the US who instead favors China- a country where even in 2008, monks are being shot to death for protesting oppression.