TripDingo

The Peking Duck reports and bickers over the recent Taiwanese elections for their Legislative Yuan. The KMT successfully secured an overwhelming majority, dealing a major blow to the DPP. I can already imagine millions of pro-independence Taiwanese and anti-China foreigners shedding a massive tear while the pro-unification supporters and “Taiwan-is-part-of-China” Chinese grinned just a wee bit wider. (As someone who recently visited Taiwan and noticed no major social unrest or turmoil, I must admit that I’m constantly amused by people here in China who are convinced that Taiwan must be a huge mess awaiting big brother China to guide them towards social harmony.)

Of course, the overall issues surrounding this power-shift in the Legislative Yuan aren’t so simplistic nor limited to that single contentious China-Taiwan issue. Much of it is about making sure your side has more heads than the other when the infamous Taiwanese legislature brawls break out. However, we can safely say that, yes, the KMT generally is doing a better job of not pissing off the CCP than the DPP, especially with Chen Shui-Bien at the the helm. I mean, not pissing off China when it is poised to relegate your island into the abyss of irrelenvancy is probably a good idea overall, right? (more…)