Joncash2

Not that I am OK with how China is dealing with these things, but this is not exactly an LGBTQ+ issue. As per the article, the reasons for the arrests are kidnapping, not any law against being gay. In fact, China has essentially civil unions for gay people who want to be in a recognized relationship.

Ironically, in this case, it's not a government problem but a societal one. The older generation is very conservative. They set the tone for a lot of censorship. So while your free to be gay or whatever, you can't talk about it or make media about it. This is to not offend the older generation.

The older generation can inflict immense damage on their children as the article points out. If you disobey your elders like your parents, the police will tend to favor the elders as we see in this article.

As a cultural issue, this has kind of been the case since Confucius times. China is kind of famous for over controlling and overbearing parents. And in this case, the government backs them even if the official policy is to let them be. For example in 2017 China ruled that gay conversion camps illegal. Yet the problem still persists in 2019.

Of course as per usual, when the government doesn't know what to do, it tries to censor everything and hopes it goes away on its own.

Like I said, not OK with it, but we should all be aware what it is and be aware of biased reporting from the news.

Well, Chinese cities will seem western and modern to you as well. I have family in China also. The media twists everything that's happening and well, I'm sick of it. I guess in some ways this is just me acting out.

My biggest issue is whenever USA has beef with China for God knows what, Taiwan gets dragged into whatever is going on. Leave us alone, that's all I want. In this case it's semiconductors.

The first Taiwan strait crisis was because USA wanted to beat up on China for the Korean war. Second crisis was a continuation of the first one.

The third Taiwan strait crisis was similar to Nancy Pelosi's visit.

So from my personal point of view, it's constantly the US stirring up trouble. Not everyone in Taiwan shares my views on this stuff. I'm at this point only talking what I believe.

But we all tend to agree to just keep our freedoms and the status quo.

*Edit I should add I dislike both China and the US and think they're bullies. They're bullies who bully each other and uses Taiwan as a flashpoint.

That is correct. Taiwanese people are generally ok with the situation and have what we want so don't stir the pot. Also, I realize in that post I wrote pro-China. That's incorrect, both the TPP and KMT are pro-negotiation with China which I am too and I dislike the DPP who wants to disengage. However, technically all parties are against independence.

To add my own personal opinion, I want people to stop talking about war and conflict with China because I think it's hurting Taiwanese businesses. I believe if we just let things lay and don't stoke the flames, Taiwan would prosper more.

*Edit: To expand upon my anger at people constantly saying China is going to war with Taiwan, who would invest in a nation that is going to war? It creates a situation where people think twice about investments. Better to keep our status quo and to stop talking about war entirely. Taiwan is free, this election clearly shows what we do and want is up to us. Stoking the flames of war only causes people to want to visit less and invest less. Taiwan is a beautiful place that is wonderful to visit. But if you think missiles are going to be lodged at Taiwan, you're less likely to be a tourist. This is why I'm on the side of 60% of Taiwanese and with the TPP and KMT, TPP more than KMT but as a third party they get less votes. OK I'm rambling but I think you get it.

Oops, I miswrote, I meant pro-engagement with China.

As to you quote, here's a more comprehensive article on Ko.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/taiwans-presidential-candidate-ko-wen-je-seeks-a-middle-ground-with-china-attracting-young-voters/ar-AA1mss2T

and here's what he thinks about the possibility of invasion.

“China doesn’t really wish to attack Taiwan

Your quote is just saying the same thing that Xi says all the time. That a military needs to be ready for war.

Taken out of context constantly in western news. All XI and Ko is saying that we don't think there will be war, but if it comes to it we need to be prepared.

KMT isn't pro-China, nor is TPP. Stop putting words in my mouth. I said KMT is pro-status quo and TPP is pro-engagement. Only the DPP wants to completely veer away from China. There also is no evidence that TPP wants to fight for freedom. I have no idea where you are getting that from. They want diplomacy, not war. I don't know why you westerners think of everything in terms of violence. It explains a lot why there's so much violence in the US.

Yup, which is exactly why the Taiwanese wants to keep the status quo and not get into conflict with China. We're already free, why stir the pot? Who cares what China says about who owns what. Now your getting it.

I have stated nothing but facts. TPP wants to engage China.

https://news.yahoo.com/taiwans-opposition-says-towards-better-052635196.html

KMT wants the status quo.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/from-dove-to-hawk-kmts-transformation-and-the-quest-for-new-guardrails-in-cross-strait-relations/

Instead of refuting facts, the above poster resorted to insults. So yes, I insulted him back.

I expect you too will not refute facts but instead keep insulting me.

What your getting at is in my opinion, the core of the matter. It's really an issue of shared decisions. Each side is trying to position themselves to get the lion's share of them. The truth is, regardless of Taiwan and China call themselves one or separate, ultimately it will always be an issue of what decision each side gets to make. In many ways we see that playing out in the US/China relationship as well.

TSMC isn't really that important. Without TSMC and US interference, China would have just chugged along anyway. And we are seeing even with US interference, China's plan is to just chug along. It's the US that keeps bringing up TSMC because as you mentioned, it's a decision that's getting more and more out of US's ability to make decisions on.

China doesn't care about TSMC, it never did, that's a US thing. China was always planning to out compete TSMC, that's what made in China 2025 was about. It's the US that panicked and tried to stop China from doing just that.

You could argue USA is trying to start a war by making China want TSMC, but recent events show China is intent on surpassing then still, regardless of what USA wants.

Jack Ma is fine and is still a multi-billionaire. What about it? And rubber ducks and Winnie the Pooh are both still big sellers in China. Again, not sure your point.

Hong Kong was returned on a lease? There's no lease in Taiwan and the Taiwanese voted how they wanted? Not sure your comparison here.

Kind of. It's basically an unfinished civil war. At this point for most Taiwanese, status quo simply means we have the freedom to do what we want and we can get advantages from China and the US for standing in the middle. Taiwanese people also know that China blusters and constantly give meaningless final warnings. No Taiwanese person believes China will ever attack.

My problem is, everytime we get into the news, there are economic consequences. Like TSMC losing business due to American sanctions. So my goal here is to try to get everyone to just leave us alone so we can live in the peace and prosperity of not being in the news.