[quote][url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/03/24/BAGHRHTD0O1.DTL]Mayor Gavin Newsom won’t attend a reception today at City Hall or a banquet on Saturday at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, much to the consternation of local Chinese American organizers.
“This is not very logical,” said organizer James V. Chung, a San Francisco insurance agent born in China but raised in Taiwan. Many Chinese American voters are attending the banquet, and Newsom met with the mayor of Shanghai last year. “There is no reason why city mayors should not meet. I cannot figure out why he wants to do this kind of thing against the people.”
Mayoral spokeswoman Darlene Chiu said Newsom will be out of town today and has another event to attend Saturday. The City Hall event is being hosted by the San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Committee, she added, and not by the city.
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This is just too outrageous. Taiwan supporters should be up in arms that this USA mayor has not shown the proper dignity and respect to the son of Taiwan and mayor, Ma Yingjiu.
How is China suppose to give Taiwanese the dignity and respect they deserve, if we cannot even get a 2-bit mayor of a gay-marriage supporting city to sit down with a heterosexual Taiwanese with metro-sexual fashion taste.
Is this alleged snub supposedly out of deference to pro-Green interests or to mainland China? Is the PRC covertly rooting Ma on, or are they still trying to rein in the scale of his reception as they do when any Taiwan official heads overseas?
I suspect it is because he trying to toe the line on USA policy of no official recognition of ROC, Taiwan. In fact, there is suppose to be a media blackout for ROC officials in the USA.
But the real reason on the political grapevine is that he is fearful of Mayor Ma fashion sense and physical beauty outshining his own metro-sexual image.
It could be quite possible that Beijing is not pressuring the USA to enforce the media blackout usually afforded visiting ROC official. Since Ma platform is quite moderate and welcomed by both USA and PRC, especially given the “surprises” CSB has been accustomed to throwing the diplomatic community.
A little political rumor mongering never hurt anyone
What exactly do you mean by a “media blackout”? How could the US government enforce such a thing? Do you mean that federal officials won’t meet Taiwan dignitaries at public events or with journalists present? They can’t stop meetings with state and local officials, Congresspeople, etc, can they?
Son of Taiwan? Why do you call him the son of Taiwan? Is George Bush the son of America? Is Stephen Harper, Canada’s new PM, the son of Canada? Gimme a break - Ma’s a mayor.
Why do you bring your prejudices against gay marriage into the discussion? Seems to me gay marriage is totally irrelevant to your topic, and bringing it up in such a negative way only makes the reader wonder what’s going on in your mind. :loco:
Maoman,
Citizen of a gay-marriage supporting country.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]
This is just too outrageous. Taiwan supporters should be up in arms that this USA mayor has not shown the proper dignity and respect to the son of Taiwan and mayor, Ma Yingjiu.[/quote]
“son of taiwan”???
:roflmao:
His family is mainland Chinese and he was born in Hong Kong.
The States Department has protocol of all ROC officials that visit the USA. One of the protocol is that there be no news coverage, there will be nothing on the front page of any of the major news outlets in the USA. Sure the Chinese newspapers will have something, but none of the English language papers will. No USA office holders will meet with an ROC State representative in an official capacity. In NYC Ma only “jogged” with Chinese city councilmen John Liu and NY State assemblymen Jimmy Meng at Kissena Park in Queens.
That’s pretty low profile for the “front runner” of someone who suppose to be the next leader of the powder keg call Taiwan, don’t you think.
Basically all the political corrospondents at all the major news abide by these protocols, less they want their White House/Capitol Hill/Washington DC privilege to suddenly get caught up in red tape.
And why pray tell cannot not a public servant like Ma be called a “Son of Taiwan”. Or is that label reserve for individuals born south of Taizhong with little command of Mandarin.
And why pray tell cannot not a public servant like Ma be called a “Son of Taiwan”.[/quote]
Because it’s stupid. It’s equally stupid when referring to Chen Shuibian, or anyone else…
I think calling Ma a “son of Taiwan” is very hokey. Then again, calling CSB a “son of Taiwan” is hokey as well and it appeals to Hoklo chauvinism, a real problem within the DPP. Hoklo chauvinism on one side, Han chauvinsim on the other.
The only people that should be called "sons of Taiwan, Canada, or the US’’ are the aborigines. The rest just came on the boat from somewhere, just at different times.
LOL, son of Taiwan… gosh. Talk about loose standards. I wonder what AC calls himself. He’s totally brainwashed. A laogai couldn’t do better.
Anyway, Ma already met Mayor Bloomberg in NYC, Councilman Liu in Queens as well, and I think I remembered Pataki around somewhere. So all in all, he’s done pretty good. I’m not sure when Lee Tung Hui visited NYC if he got the same attention. In addition the Chicomm News programming here are in a huge frenzy about the Ma visit in huge 7-15 minute specials. YES IN BLITZKREIG NEWS SEGMENTS ALL ABOUT MA!
SinoTV was talking about Ma for like 11 minutes straight (huge for a 25 minute Chicomm news show with the words FOXWOODS CASINO permanently burned onto the screen). The only parellel I could think of was Hu Jintao taking over, and 9/11.
But “hokey” has cross-over appeal. Hoklo chauvinist and Han chauvinist now have someone to claim as their own.
As for aboriginals, they came over on boats and airplanes too.[/quote]
Ya, I guess Taiwan’s aborigines came over on boats as well…1000s of years ago. I guess there are no genuine “sons of Taiwan” – just sons of Polynesians, sons of Fujianese, and sons of Nationalists. Ironic since so many of Taiwan’s population can’t swim.
Although, North America’s natives came over the good old fashioned way…the walked over the Bering Strait.
SF Mayor, Gavin Newsome is ass-deep in Dem. Cali. Senator Diane Feinsteins political pocket. Senator Ferinsteins husband, Richard C. Blum, is/has been a major PRC business agent for many years. He has multiple milion $$USD contracts with major PRC business units.
Little wonder that Mayor Newsome is keeping his distance from any Taiwanese rising big wig at this time.
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]SF Mayor, Gavin Newsome is ass-deep in Dem. Cali. Senator Diane Feinsteins political pocket. Senator Ferinsteins husband, Richard C. Blum, is/has been a major PRC business agent for many years. He has multiple milion $$USD contracts with major PRC business units.
Little wonder that Mayor Newsome is keeping his distance from any Taiwanese rising big wig at this time.[/quote]
I would just love to see Newsome try and run for statewide or national office and see him try to push his “Marin County muesli type of liberalism” on the people outside of the People’s Republic of Northern Cal. He’ll get “bootfucked” back to the City by the Bay in no time.
I have to agree with ACD this time. I was incensed when Jaw Shaw Kong insulted the president of one of the ROC’s strongest allies, Costa Rica, with his disgusting and baseless comments implying corruption. As I said to my students at the time, Jaw came to that point in his life where he had to decide to be either Chinese or free, and he chose to be Chinese.
I only hope that unlike some in the Blue camp, ACD isn’t just using this as a cheap shot at Greens who will have a good chuckle at Ma’s misfortune. I sincerely hope that he is truly incensed by the incident and that he is just as upset when the DPP president of the ROC is refused admission or snubbed.
Or, it could be the exact opposite. It could be out of his respect for the nation of Taiwan and its federal government after Ma’s public comments on Thursday to numerous US officials and reporters in Washington stating that DPP is corrupt, inept and incompetent. (see front page of today’s TT).
Or, it could be that he simply had other scheduled committments at the time and this is a complete non-story.
[quote=“ScottSommers”]I was incensed when Jaw Shaw Kong insulted the president of one of the ROC’s strongest allies, Costa Rica, with his disgusting and baseless comments implying corruption.
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Development programs cost money, although I would prefer Taiwan’s officials to do a little better job in monitoring the money during all stages of the disbursement and in promoting transparency. Professionalizing the civil service would be a good start. From my owm experience, honor, fairplay, professionlism, and decency are concepts that are not well respected by many blues or greens in government…Paying a daughter of a president reeks of cronyism and guanxi diplomacy.
