SIGNAL Group’s Post

This is not just a #history of #Taiwan's people - this book is a part of Taiwanese culture, a touchstone of the Taiwanese #independence movement. The first edition of this book was published while the island was still under martial law and ruled by #KMT. The author, Su Beng, wrote it while living as a political refugee Japan, and compiled much of the oral history of #Taiwan he'd received that differed starkly from official histories. The first edition was published in Japanese in 1962, and Chinese-language editions were published in 1980 and smuggled into Taiwan, hugely influencing those #Taiwanese advocating for democracy. An English language version did not emerge until 1986. This particular anniversary edition, published in 2023, provides significant contextual commentary on the book, its author, and their impact on Taiwanese independence. The author remains a controversial figure with a colored personal history himself, including working undercover with the #CCP during and after #WW2, establishing an armed group in Taiwan intent on assassinating Chiang Kai-Shek, and decades of political asylum in Japan where he continued to support the #Taiwan independence movement. He returned to Taiwan after its first democratic elections and continued to promote awareness for Taiwanese independence and normalization as a country within the international community. The book is unapologetically rooted in the authors' left-wing leanings and at times criticizes capitalism as harshly as it attacks the imperialist and colonial forces that benefited from harsh rule of Taiwan. But ultimately, the book served as an aim point for those Taiwanese who fought for decades for free and fair elections while struggling under #KMT martial law. Today, Taiwan is a vibrant miracle of democracy, capitalism, and freedom in East Asia. Taiwan's success is an affront to the #CCP as it reveals the goodness and potential of a mostly ethnically Chinese nation living freely. The book is a critical read for those intent on understanding Taiwanese #democracy as it exists today.

The Third Plenum of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress’s Central Committee has started today. Long awaited, the plenary has raised a lot of expectations in and outside China. Qiushi (求是), one of the core mouthpieces of the Party, accompanies this day with a collection of quotes from Xi Jinping on the importance of Chinese self-confidence and self-reliance. Quotes taken from texts from 2013 to 2024 underline the importance the Party Secretary has repeatedly attributed to ➡️ the presumably long and uninterrupted historic tradition of China. He claims a history of nearly 5000 years feeding into todays wisdom of Chinese politics and policies; ➡️ China‘s indigenous experiences; ➡️ the study of foreign experiences to adapt them to Chinese needs, if reasonable; ➡️ the Party as continuation of China’s historic, cultural etc. tradition; ➡️ self-confidence, selfrelience, as well as pride in China. He rejects any (foreign) lectures on what China should do, on how China should change and any criticism of the Chinese system. The timing of the publication is no coincidence. Still, it is not fully clear whether it is a warning to scholars in China who suggest further reforms on the basis of international theory. Or a preemptive criticism of foreign comments on the plenum’s results? In any case it is amazing to realize how often XJP has reiterated the above positions over the past ten years. https://lnkd.in/etd9aqZV #China #chinaeconomics #chinabusiness #cpc #ccp #thirdplenary

🔍 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 by Bart Dessein "𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺" @EGMONT - Royal Institute for International Relations 1️⃣ Henry Kissinger’s assessment that from the outset, Mao Zedong had no intention to accept an international system in the design of which China had no voice remains true to this day 2️⃣ Contrary to expectations of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, China’s political culture is unlikely to fuse into the liberal democratic view of the world 3️⃣ That the EU continues to see the PRC as a “partner” and a “competitor”, in addition to a “rival”, provides ample possibilities for avoiding a decoupling and forging a rebalancing #EU #China #Geopolitcs 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 bit.ly/4adnkCe

Nansha (Spratlys), South China Sea & Prof. Carty As a neutral, independent secularist humanitarian, human rights observer etc., my indepth independent scholastic research shows that NO monarchist-monarchy, royalty, politician, muslim, malaysian, malay, islamist, etc. and those in the categories given, will ever be able to solve China's strong legal claim on the Nansha Islands (Spratlys) in light of Prof. Carty's published extensive research. It seems just like the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China is galvanizing its citizens of the Peoples Democratic Dictatorship with this cheer : Jiayou or Gayau

Want to understand how and why #China engages with #INGOs and what its homegrown (GO)NGOs are doing overseas ? My short book – “Global Civil Society and China” – is coming out with Cambridge University Press in April! In a concise format – as much as an academic can be concise, anyway – I analyze the normative impacts GCS has had on China and the possibilities created by a slew of new “going out” policies initiated by Beijing since Xi Jinping came to power. I also examine the rhetoric and reality of GCS as an emancipatory project and argue that #universalvalues underpinned by principles of #humanrights and #democracy have gained currency in China despite resistance from the state. (Of course, while Beijing is keen to benefit from GCS engagement, it remains determined to minimize the impact INGOs might have on regime security.) I include some examples of #diaspora #activism and end with a few observations about the internationalization of Chinese civil society and future research directions. #globalcivilsociety #civilsociety #China #softpower #cosmopolitanvalues Coming soon at: https://lnkd.in/g2V7e5nY

Professor Jonathan H. Ping of Bond University newest and very interesting article presenting the realities of contemporary #foreignpolicy objectives of #china “This political economy study of contemporary events finds that the use of mercantilist policies within the expanding liberal global market is a policy option to ensure the continuance of political freedom and economic development in the #IndoPacific. Australia and other democracies have experienced a change in the behavior of the PRC that constitutes systemic rivalry, which threatens their continuance as sovereign states. The #CPC is the political party presently leading the Chinese people. Its Chinese Marxist-Leninist ideology, combined with carefully selected history, has created the capacity for hegemonism and conflict, and threatens the contemporary rules-based order” https://lnkd.in/geG5_zsw

Very interesting article on the relations of China and the West with regards to universal? values. https://lnkd.in/eNjDqbds

A comparative study of Chinese-Australian and Chinese-American views on news is undertaken by UTS:ACRI Deputy Director Wanning Sun in a new UTS:ACRI Analysis. Professor Sun highlights some key commonalities between Chinese-Australians and Chinese-Americans in their reactions to their domestic English-language media’s coverage of the People's Republic of China (PRC), bilateral relations with PRC, as well as coverage about ethnic Chinese communities. Read: https://bit.ly/4fiV576

It worked so well in 1957 that Dalai Lama fled in 1959. Okay, be fair. 1. It was Mao. 2. Deng had something to work on even if it did not work out. The problem for China is Deng is a master strategist. To rise to the top seat, he had to compromise a lot - and come out on top. He had hidden levers in every design and used them judiciously for most part and ruthlessly when he had to. 1C2S was not the right model for HK in 1997, but it was all they had to get HK to be handed over with minimal fuss and disruption. But failure to implement Section 23 meant that HK could not be controlled by legislative measures - and the HK admin was not tough and ruthless enough,. They were good managers all of them (or tycoons) but not a Qin Shih Huang. (And Beijing wanted a compliant Qin Shih Huang. I know I know). Now, the 1C2S model still exists in tatters. You can call anything 1C2S if there are some variation from the Chinese model - but HK is not a democracy if the definition is taxation with representation. But hey, one world many definitions of democracies, especially those that have them in their official names.