US tells aspiring democracy to STFU

[Jon_in_london]

Shut your gobs you small succesfull free-market democracy!
Stop trying to say that you want independence from a larger bully-boy communist tyrany!
Dont you know that the US doesnt want anything to do with supporting succesfull free-market democracies and protecting them from powerfull tyrants!! (unless said democracy happens to be floating on oil of course).

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/08/china.us/index.html/


On the eve of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's meeting with President George W. Bush in Washington, U.S. officials slammed Taiwan's moves towards independence from China.

[KelvinG]

Hmm, shouldn't the US move in and attack China to save Taiwan from that repression regime. After all, that's why they invaded Iraq, right? It was to free the people from opression and violence.
C'mon, George. It's the right thing to do, isn't it?

[richardm]

I wonder if Bush is telling Taiwan to wind their necks in because he knows the USA would come to their aid if China attacked, and would rather avoid that situation?

IMHO it did seem a rather unnecessary and inflammatory step for Taiwan to take.

Edited to add: Then again, since pursuing peaceful means appears to be bang out of fashion, perhaps precipitating a crisis is the best way to get what you want.

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london
Shut your gobs you small succesfull free-market democracy!
Stop trying to say that you want independence from a larger bully-boy communist tyrany!
Dont you know that the US doesnt want anything to do with supporting succesfull free-market democracies and protecting them from powerfull tyrants!! (unless said democracy happens to be floating on oil of course).

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/08/china.us/index.html/


Everybody whose government recognizes "Taiwan" as a country with a right to exist apart from "China" raise your hand.

[richardm]

Originally posted by Suddenly

Everybody whose government recognizes "Taiwan" as a country with a right to exist apart from "China" raise your hand.

Nobody yet, not even Taiwan. However, there are many people in Taiwan who regard themselves as living in a de facto independent country, and are planning on making moves to make it legally so.

If that happens, China seems likely to have a fit.

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by richardm


Nobody yet, not even Taiwan. However, there are many people in Taiwan who regard themselves as living in a de facto independent country, and are planning on making moves to make it legally so.

If that happens, China seems likely to have a fit.

Right. Except we all used to recognize the ROC. We don't now. The whole thing smacks of realpolitik, as we pretty much recognoize diplomatically the PRC's sovereignty over China, except that we don't. It is all about money, and I think we are all whores when it comes to this, so calling out the U.S. on some sort of moral grounds for trying to get Taiwan to quiet down and not start WWIII over what boils down to ego seems silly, like a group of burglars taking affront of one of their own for using the wrong fork for the salad.