Why doesn't Taiwan declare independence?

[AzNmAnJLH]

spp you are correct but some people immigrated back because it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be

 

[Dragnov]

<< FYI Taiwanese people usually speak, well, Taiwanese. The other main language is Chinese (Mandarin) but that is used less often especially in casual talk.

I think the connection you're making between Chinese and American cities is ridiculous. If that were true you could make the same claim about any city in the world. "Walk down a major city in England and everything's basically the same except the buildings are older and the people are English." Whoop-de-doo, so what? The fact of the matter is that they are NOT the same.

I think what KokomoGST is trying to point out is that the reason many Taiwanese want independence is because they are fundamentally different from China or for that matter any other place (e.g. America). He made no comments about Taiwan being just like the good ol' US of A. >>



And this is the problem. While some might consider very weak cultural ties to China there are still some that do. I think about out of all the Chinese/Taiwanese people I've met 80% of them say "I don't care/know. I'm Chinese. I'm Taiwanese. *shrug*" While there is a pocket of them that claim with a vigor "I'm Taiwanese". No uniformity within its own people.

 

[Bluga]

<< US Navy makes port in Taipei rather often >>



they don't.

 

[HamSupLo]

hong kong seems to be doing fine.... don't see any reasons why taiwan would have to.

I'm going to have to disagree with that statement. The fact is, Hong Kong has NOT been doing fine since the handover. The economy hasn't fully recovered and the rift between the rich and the poor has grown dramatically.

The "Two Systems" component has largely proved a failure. Beijing can reinterpret laws set in HK's constitution when it likes. The HK government routinely bows down to the interests of Bejing. It would even contradict the decisions of its courts just to please Beijing.

Tung Chee Hwa, who is the Chief Executive of HK, does not have a clear and defined agenda. He wavers a lot on his policies and lacks a sense of leadership. Many people would rather see him go, but the right to re-elect him lies with a hand picked body of voters set by Beijing. Hong Kong is not democratic by any means. A majority of the legislature is elected by fuctional constitutiences that represent the the business interests. Only a few seats out of the entire legislature is elected directly by general voters.

At the time of the handover, everyone is saying that HK's freedoms would influence China, but I think the complete opposite is happening. It appears that it's the political system from the Mainland is influencing HK in a largely negative way.

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

taiwan rocks.... been there twice. lets get some bubble tea w/ tapioca

my 10 year plan have me moving there to practice medicine

 

[spp]

one day when they see the light at the end of the tunnel, democracy will slowly crawl into its place in China


well we'll see about that... but do you really think that the leaders in china will allow that?
and yes though it is true that some people moved back, majority of them still feel that it is different.
i know my gf's parents told me that even though on the face it seems that there is not much change going on,
a lot of freedom has been taken away.

 

[IGBT]

Their waiting for the Chinese to surrender..or die of AIDS. World Health Org.says AIDS/HIV is going to rage like fire thru China..