by Michael Turton
The NanfangToday, 11:51
Reuters reports that China is angered by Tsai Ying-wen’s upcoming visit to Japan.
Tsai visited the United States this year, which also angered China.
Many people in Taiwan, which was a Japanese colony from 1895-1945, have a broadly more positive view of Japan than people in China or Korea.
The first, and so far only, DPP president, Chen Shui-bian, infuriated Beijing during his term from 2000 to 2008.
China accused him of trying to push for independence, even though Chen tried to maintain stable ties.
In a piece that consists largely of media platitudes — like saying that relations between Taiwan and China improved with Ma Ying-jeou when it was CCP-KMT relations that improved — that sentence I’ve bolded stands out. Kudos to Reuters — how many international media reports have ever put it so clearly and so straightforward?
Since China’s “anger” is pro forma, perhaps Reuters might simply let Xinhua forward the government’s press releases, and refrain from doing so itself.
…meanwhile BBC “blog” reports with unconcealed glee that Taiwan fans got Bon Jovi’s China concert canceled. BBC is so excited to report that Taiwan Did A Bad that it missed the key political point of this series of events….
Sources have told the BBC that Taiwanese fans had sent the Chinese authorities pictures of those concerts, showing Bon Jovi singing on stage with images of the Tibetan spiritual leader as the backdrop.
The move, it appears, was part of a concerted campaign aimed at getting Bon Jovi’s China tour scuttled so that he could play more shows in Taiwan. Indeed, shortly after Beijing and Shanghai dates were cancelled, he hastily added one more date for Taipei.
Fans were apparently inspired by American rock band Maroon 5’s experience with China. When Beijing recently cancelled their shows after one band member tweeted “Happy Birthday” to the Dalai Lama, the organiser added a concert in Taipei to recoup losses.
Taiwanese Bon Jovi fans were desperate. The band had scheduled only one concert in Taiwan on its Asia tour and tickets had sold out on the first day.
…of course BBC makes the pro forma acknowledgement that no one really knows what caused BJ to cancel BJ, but it is obvious what its actual position is.
BBC then goes on to deliver the key political point…:
For years the band has tried to tap into China, and Jon Bon Jovi recently even learned how to sing one of the best-known songs in Chinese culture, The Moon Represents My Heart.
….which is, once again, that no matter how hard you struggle to serve China, China will use that as leverage to make you serve it even harder, and then go ahead and screw you in the end.This is why China can only be exploited or resisted, but can’t be negotiated with.This is why China can only be exploited or resisted, but can’t be negotiated with. But this far more indicative and interesting insight was ignored by BBC in its haste to blame Taiwan for Beijing’s decision (because everyone knows that Beijing has no agency of its own, so the blame for any actions it takes must always rest with others). *sigh*
Perhaps BBC and its writers in the Chinese world should take that lesson about serving China to heart, eh?
UPDATE: Bon Jovi has canceled the extra show and the original one, typhoon taking the blame.
ADDED: A couple of other points to be made. BBC could have taken the position that China is so easily manipulated. Or it could have done investigative work and found that perhaps the concert promoter realized he wasn’t making enough money, and pulled the concert tour. *wink*
ADDED: BBC scribes:
Perhaps the lessons Taiwanese fans want to teach Bon Jovi are: don’t be blinded by money; don’t forget your first love in greater China – Taiwan; and get it right by singing The Moon Represents My Heart for the Taiwanese.
There’s no such thing as “greater China” and claiming so is a pro-China move.
MEDIA: I should add that corporate news media (and this goes double for a state-run media organ) don’t have “blogs”, blogs are anti-Establishment and alternative by their nature. Renaming your column a “blog” doesn’t make it trendy and insightful and interesting and alternative. It just debases the word “blog” and shamelessly parasitizes on the hard work of those of us who have struggled to make this art form a useful and informative alternative. It also lets everyone know you are so out of touch you think blogs, a medium largely passe these many years, are actually trendy.
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