Today I was walking on ZhongXiao street and I hear this car blasting music from afar. As it comes closer it is flying a bunch of huge Chinese flags and has some signs that say China…something( Can’t read chinese). Is this really tolerated here? Has anyone seen this before?
I mean s*** if I go to China flying R.O.C. flags would it be A okay?
And therein lies the difference between Free China and Red China.
Strike another one up for the Forumosans should actually go to China before commenting thread. You can most certainly fly a ROC flag around China in your little magic car playing whatever KMT song you choose these days. The KMT and CCP are as close as lips and teeth these days. Indeed there’s a play about the life of Sun Yat Sen playing in HK now after a successful stint in Beijing. Come fly your flag. Relax. Just don’t try it on with a DPP flag!
As for that nut job in the CCP powered car, it’s been doing the rounds for at least ten years that I’m aware of. The tune most often played is the old Mao era anthem, The east is red.
HG
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]…Come fly your flag. Just don’t try it on with a DPP flag!
HG[/quote]
In other words, yes, China and Taiwan are very different with respect to freedom of speech. 
Saw the car twice this week on Zhongxiao heading east both days between 2 and 4pm. It’s almost like he is on a schedule and he was driving faster than the others. It’s a brown tan 4 door, not that it matters, because you’ll hear the sounds blaring from the speakers, and see the two flags, long before you’ll notice a tan car.
I hear him more than i see him. living on East Road I remember first noting his 1992 sedan? back in November or December, right after some guy from that party in Taiwan visited that place and those people on the mainland… again. It’s all very boring, but the question I have is whether this fella is being genuine or derisive? I’m sure someone must have interviewed him by now. When I tell people about this guy, with his flags and his music, I project him as being antagonistic; showing the locals what they can expect in the streets after joining up with a country that is still carrying pictures of Chairman Mao while trying to make it with anyone anyhow.
T
I don’t live in Taipei and haven’t seen/heard the nutcase with the Chinese “patriotic” car. I think what would upset me most about it would be the noise, regardless of whether or not it’s pro-China, pro-Taiwan, pro-Islam, pro-Druid, etc. I just hate noise.
But on this issue of wearing one’s patriotism on one’s sleeve, I don’t think any country beats the USA. Never seen so many national flags and bumper stickers out in public as back in my homeland. Well, no longer my homeland, but it was. In the South, the Confederate flag competes for attention, though many “patriots” fly both.
All this flag waving is a load of tripe. How many good people have died, all down the line, due to some fatuous fathead with a flag fixation?
While I would submit that national symbols have their proper time and place, getting all gooey about “the colours” is just plain imperial rot.
I hear the mainland Chinese national anthem from time to time when I go to the bathroom (which has an open window) in our office building (10F). Must be the same car. “Ta tata ta taaa ta… Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves…” If anything, the anthem has more pep than the Republic of China one.
[quote=“TheGingerMan”]All this flag waving is a load of tripe. How many good people have died, all down the line, due to some fatuous fathead with a flag fixation?
While I would submit that national symbols have their proper time and place, getting all gooey about “the colours” is just plain imperial rot.[/quote]
Hah, I couldn’t agree more. Flag waving, singing the national anthem, marching in parades, wearing a uniform, and other forms of nationalist chest-thumping are great ways to rally the masses to fight pointless wars. Even without a war, you’ve got to keep the proles focused on their “proud heritage” and funnel their hatred towards some “foreign enemy” so that they don’t notice that their rotten corrupt political leadership is robbing them blind. It works well for the Chinese Communist Party. It also helps to have some national heroes. I wonder how many people here are familiar with “Comrade Lei Feng?”
More great posters of Lei Feng here:
chineseposters.net/themes/leifeng.php
Actually, back when Taiwan insisted calling itself the “Free China”, pulling stunts like this gets you pretty dead.
In “Free Taiwan”, after the 1996 presidential election, this kind of stuff is tolerated. Mostly because the people driving the Chinese flags around used to be the same people that would get you pretty dead.
I think they are connected with this organization:
iloveroc.org.tw/
愛國同心會
In their website, there is a page dedicated to naming all “pro-Taiwanese independence” people, so that when Taiwan is united with China, they can be tried for violating the “Anti-Separatist Law” of China.
iloveroc.org.tw/fengdis.asp
For some reason, several professional baseball players, such as 張泰山 (Chang Tai-shan) of Eda Rhinos, are also on that list… wonder what they did to deserve such attention from these nutjobs.
I’ve seen this guy plenty of times, but usually don’t have my camera on me. I finally got a picture in late January at Ximending.
The sign reads: Protect the Diaoyutai Islands / Defeat Japanese imperialism
Nutjob. :loco:
I hardly think wearing a uniform qualifies as “nationalist chest thumping” nor does it rally the proles to gear up for collateral damage.
In places like America, it can get a little tedious, all this situational veneration of veterans. But I suppose they are over-compensating for the whole 70’s thing.
[quote=“Hokwongwei”]I’ve seen this guy plenty of times, but usually don’t have my camera on me. I finally got a picture in late January at Ximending.
The sign reads: Protect the Diaoyutai Islands / Defeat Japanese imperialism
Nutjob. :loco:[/quote]
If he is driving forward, he’s doing a remarkable job with the national flag. That is Guinness Book of Records material right there. :discodance:
And then there was this fellow from Wales…
Well clearly he is not a forward-thinking individual. 
My friend of high comedic talents commented on this photo: “He doesn’t know which way the wind’s blowing… or maybe he does. That’s a scary thought.”
And if you’re wondering, he was stopped at a red light when I took the photo.
I saw him today on Zhongxiao E. Rd. He was speeding, like 80km/h. Maybe he was chased by someone.
Once took a photo of one. Classic car. Lots of style.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89506873@N08/
This is in front of the Executive Yuan.
I wonder what this guy thinks he’s achieving?
Tell him to get a day job. Or maybe this is his day job. Maybe this is the new fifty-centing.
Has anyone seen those monks (not sure if real monks or pretending to be) who drive a blue pick-up van sporting the ROC flag and blasting music? They usually stop on Fuxing N. Rd. close to Zhongxiao-Fuxing Station, sometimes sitting on the pavement there. They have a bunch of dogs too with them.