Hands Across Taiwan on 2-28

BUT NOW the Taiwan News via Hsaio Bi-Khim says that the real reason Xian is not coming here for 228 is because Soong talked him out of it.

QUOTES: Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim expressed her regret over local media reports that the opposition PFP persuaded Scottish actor Xian Connery to cancel plans to join in the million-person rally.

PFP spokesman Hwang Yih-jiau reportedly told local media outlets that his party successfully stopped Connery from attending, one day after the hand-in-hand campaign Deputy Executive Director Peter Wang hinted that Connery would show up at the event.

The PFP further claimed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid an appearance fee to secure the Scottish actor’s presence, an allegation later denied by the MOFA.

The ministry had tried to invite Connery to visit Taiwan ever since he met briefly with President Chen in Panama last year, the MOFA said in a written statement.

But the statement said the media was incorrect in reporting that the MOFA - rather than the private organizers - issued an invitation to Connery to join the rally.

Wang demanded PFP Chairman James Soong apologize for the maneuvering claimed by his party spokesman.

“The hand-in-hand rally was a festival for Taiwanese people and had no link with politics. Soong’s political maneuvering to stop Connery from showing up is an international joke. He owes the people of Taiwan and Connery an apology,” Wang commented yesterday.

Connery’s agent, however, indicated on Friday that Connery never had any plans to attend the event.

NOTE: and that is what the Taipei Times exclusive by Andy Morton reported! So what is the truth, O Rashomon?

what a surprise…taiwan once again fucks up and makes a fool of itself sigh

Though I’ve not yet been asked to stand in for Sean Connery, this morning’s TV news showed Hsiao Bi-khim introducing several “foreign friends” who are willing to come forward and express their support for the cause. One of them was Robin Winkler, the American lawyer who last year gave up his US citizenship to become a Taiwanese citizen, but I don’t know who the others were (I saw it in the gym, without the sound on). Were any of you fellow Forumosans among them?

Thus, Robin Winkler is no longer a “foreign” friend.

But what about this statement in the Taiwan News today: “Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim expressed her regret over local media reports that the opposition PFP persuaded Scottish actor Xian Connery to cancel plans to join in the million-person rally.”

Is this what really happened? There are now 3 versions, the DPP version, the Oppo version, and the Andrew Morton version via Hollywood agent. WHere is the truth?

Thus, Robin Winkler is no longer a “foreign” friend.[/quote]

Ha, ha, technically no, but in the eyes of most Taiwanese he always will be, no matter what his citizenship.

It seems extremely unlikely to me that any PFP legislator would hold that much sway over Sir Sean.

Anyway, as I’ve heard it reported, he couldn’t possibly make it to the rally because he has to be in Hollywood for the run-up to the Oscar ceremony on Sunday.

[quote=“lane119”]But what about this statement in the Taiwan News today: “Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim expressed her regret over local media reports that the opposition PFP persuaded Scottish actor Xian Connery to cancel plans to join in the million-person rally.”

Is this what really happened? There are now 3 versions, the DPP version, the Oppo version, and the Andrew Morton version via Hollywood agent. WHere is the truth?[/quote]
DPP: “Would you like to come to Taiwan, spend time with your hero, and support a cause you believe in ? don’t worry about the visa, we’ll sort something out under the table for you”
Sir Sean: “I’d love to”
PFP: “You don’t want to do that, even though you hate us.”
Sir Sean: “Ok, I won’t then”

Same Hsiao Bi-khim that said there was a the maid of a nextdoor neighbour of a friend of someone who heard a rumour that Lian Zhan beat his wife, so it must be true.

Don’t worry, I hear the Senegal football team is coming instead.

I was frankly surprised at the kind of turnout that took place. Of course it would be impossible for volunteers to make an unbroken chain from north to south of the island, but what happened was pretty impressive.
The blue camp’s small rally was pathetic in comparison. The officials jogging in all wearing the same shirts (looking like a vestage of the Garrison Command) and singing some patriotic songs (which Lien Chan didn’t know the words to) was really flat-looking.
Lien gave a speech that he read as if it was the first time he’d ever seen it. The pan-blues just looked like a group totally lost and without an ounce of spirit.
The feeling that I got looking at the people and the enthusiasm was that the blue camp may be feeling the blues very soon.

Which is all the excuse China needs to call it an anti-Chen rally, and dismiss the hands-across-Taiwan as a DPP election ploy, Silly tits, the KMT for not supporting it, and the DPP for making it a DPP demo, not a Taiwan demo.

Frankly I think the blue camp has been profoundly inept in their election campaign. Looks like Lien the Aristocrat picked aristocrats like him who have no idea how to run a campaign to run his pitiful campaign.

I don’t know if I would call it a ‘ploy’ but no one ever thought it was apolitical. It was always a DPP campaign event. That was my point: as far as it went, it was well-supported.

One thing that stood out for me, and I wonder if others had this experience too, was the large number of people who made the effort to thank me for being there. Not that I was doing anything special, I wasn’t waving a flag or anything like that, just standing around like a dork, forming part of the chain. Nevertheless it was remarkable – and at the risk of sounding sentimental, rather touching – how many people wanted to say thanks to me, ssimply as an obvious non-Taiwanese, just for being there, just for paying some attention to and showing solidarity toward their concerns.

Someone close to me consults for the KMT election campaign. This person would heartily agree with your assessment.

20,000 buses were needed to take all the handholders to where they needed to be. That’s a lot of air pollution.
Perhaps if they worked out how many trees would need to be planted to soak up all that extra CO2 they could plant some trees tomorrow and call it a [color=red]‘carbon neutral’ [/color]event.

Then they could call themselves the Green Green party.

Someone close to me consults for the KMT election campaign. This person would heartily agree with your assessment.[/quote]

The explanation for this is quite simple - he came to power through promotions and appointments rather than popular elections. Nothing in his past has prepared him for the campaign trail.

But the KMT did have some competent campaigners (if through vote-buying). At least Lee Teng-hui ran his campaign very well in 1996.

Maybe they’ve followed Lee to the TSU camp. Maybe those staying in the KMT are lying low and fighting a lackluster campaign for Lien — to avoid offending their voters with Lien’s deeply pro-Beijing platform (though Lien would never admit it) and losing their own local voter bases. I’m curious what native Taiwanese KMT men like Wang Jinping, chief of the legislature, might be thinking right now.

I was hoping Lien Chan’s group would run into a street with the hand holders and we can see the hand holders clothesline every one of the blue t-shirt guys.

Stephan Grauwels of the A.P. gave the number at today’s rally at 1.2 million people, much lower than all the other estimates I’ve seen. (AFP put the number at “more than 2.5 million” which is higher than many other estimates, but still probably closer to the truth than the A.P. figure.)

He concludes his story with a mention of the 2-28 Incident:
“Soldiers with the former Nationalist government put down the demonstrations, killing hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.”

Where is he getting his numbers? For 2-28, the question of numbers isn’t one of hundreds vs. thousands. There is no doubt whatsoever that the number of dead reaches into the thousands. Most put the figure at around 20,000.

[quote=“cranky laowai”]Stephan Grauwels of the A.P…concludes his story with a mention of the 2-28 Incident:

“Soldiers with the former Nationalist government put down the demonstrations, killing hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.”

Where is he getting his numbers?[/quote]
He’s taken the media mantra from Beijing, 1989 and applied it to Taiwan, 1947.