Eh ? A substantial number of Bay Area Taiwanese-Americans vote Republican, not Democrat. Not crazed Trumpers or overt evangelicals but folks more aligned with Goldwater-era Republicanism. This has been true for decades. If you're going to wade into US politics that way, the Republicans gets have a constituency within the well off sections of Taiwanese, Indian and Korean communities right here in the Bay Area - they are not advocates of NIMBY liberalism.DavidD wrote:Here in the Bay Area, it's chock full of bleeding heart liberals, and they all think they've got the interest of the poor and the immigrants in heart. But we also have a huge homeless problem here, because whenever it comes time to put the money where their mouth is, they never vote for housing reforms that would decrease their property values, worsen congestion, and reduce precious water supply to water their trees and lawns.
You make a compelling argument about looking at data and not statements, and then proceed to state things that contradict your own claims. E.g. relative wealth - proof of that would be in the form of a very predictable path of warming ties as China grows, which is 180 degrees from where htings are now. In reality, almost all Taiwan Straits crises have to do with some internal issue in Beijing that requires the projection of a strongman image.DavidD wrote:My point is that I look at what people do, not what people say. People lie, sometimes they even fully believe their lies. Most like to think their actions are guided by morality, but in the end, it's money that really matters. This relates to my previous post about why the Chinese are not demanding political reform, because they're making money. Democracy, political freedom, etc. have not been attractive to the world because of what they stand for, but because the countries who espouse them are wealthy. If China can show the world that it's not necessary to have one in order to have the other, opinions will change.
Taiwanese were at the forefront of investing in the mainland after Deng opened up. Far from looking down on the mainland, they saw an opportunity before anyone else did, and gained from it. Yet, those very same people have no desire to actually merge. Their kids are vehemently opposed to just the notion that they are 'Chinese' in a nation state sense - they distinguish ethnic identity from the national one just as Singaporeans do.
China, as it usually does, has made its case far worse with the crackdown in HK. This is not because Taiwanese value democracy, but because they value their own system. Their democracy is funny in some ways - their parliamentary melees are legendary. But they have a system, and it works. They see HK has having been offered a deal, and then that deal being openly repudiated. Taiwanese themselves would agree the CKS/CCK authoritarian years were good and preferable for them. Younger Taiwanese today may see mainlanders as ethnic or racial kin, but not co-nationals. As the first and then second generation dies out that will only get more prominent.
While DavidD might trying to finesse around it, Indians should always treat Taiwanese as distinct. Good folks - their culture is a lot closer to Indic cultural norms than mainlanders who retain some vestiges, but have otherwise been societally 'wiped clean' during the Cultural Revolution.