Who would sign up for an international brigade if China announced it was going to invade next month ?
- Enlist
- Scarper
0 voters
Just a thought, I’ve just finished reading Homage to Catalonia
I’ll probably get lynched for this, but I’d run like a scared little girl. I haven’t been here near long enough to develop enough of an attachment to this place to put my life on the line.
I Would consider it in exchange for basic rights should I survive
Which side would we sign up for?
I always like to be on the winning team.
Just kidding.
If I couldn’t get out in Time with my whole family, sure, I’d be willing to fight. Either fight or hide by dressing up in a dress or hiding in a hole in the ground like Hussein.
With half the country fleeing the country, I don’t see why the hell I would stick around to fight a fight that the “natives” themselves wouldn’t fight? 
:loco:
You didn’t say who would be commanding this “international brigade.” If it were commanded by the US, I’d consider it.
If it was commanded by the US, I’d scarper and leave the planet.
I don’t want to think about it.
Hmmm…oh yes, out of gratitude for the wonderful rights and privileges Taiwan has extended to me, like being the only one in an entire university to have to get a syphilis test, only getting a 1 year contract when Taiwanese get 2-year contracts, not being able to get a 6-year drivers’ license, not being able to open a bank account without an ARC, restrictions on currency exchange without an ARC, inability to get a phone line, cell phone account, Internet service and the like regardless of my income or credit rating…
No, I guess my Taiwanese guarantor will have to fight in my stead, after all, s/he is considered the only one with the right stuff to sign up for my phone account…
It would probably depend on the amount of Dutch Courage flowing through the veins at the time I made the decision. When I’m on the turps I tend toward a fight, in the sober light of day i think I would leave the locals to it.
I’ve been in combat areas where, despite the risks, I felt very comfortable because I knew the soldiers I was with were brave and reasonably competent. They wouldn’t run.
The problem with Taiwanese is that I have little confidence in their will and ability to fight. Many of them would go over to the dark side. Would we be fighting Chinese or pro-Mainland Taiwanese?
Damn it, I think it would be worth staying and fighting just for the chance to catch ac_dropout: we could strip him naked and force him to wear female panties. Or make a pyramid! 
Well said, Ironlady.
Even though I haven’t yet even set foot on Taiwan, I would have to say I would scarper. I say this because I have had lengthy discussions with friends while in college in the US about how if a draft were to be put into action (especially the one where people in college are not immune, which I have heard is in the motions) I would be on the first plane France. (And I have said France before the existence of Freedom Fries, etc. I am a confused francophile who studies Chinese).
The what’s that now?
Again, the what?
That’s the thick of it. I voted to fight, cuz, well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, ToeDreams.
You see, on paper, I believe in this democracy. I’m not blind. It’s still mostly Kleptocracy and buddha forbid I foray anywhere close to that IP Floor 'em again, but I’d like to see it flourish. I’d like to be around to watch our hosts lead Asia into the ring to compete for global bragging rights…but I also believe in peace…so…go figure…
AJ calls it though. If it was next month, I guess I’d take Mucha Man’s Zombie approach, get some groceries, some peanut butter…
Where the H E double hockey sticks am I gonna go anyway? Not back there, eh?
You old soldiers and your funny ways…
[quote=“Bassman”]Which side would we sign up for?
I always like to be on the winning team.
Just kidding.
[/quote]
Or ironically rhetorical? U Blue ain’t you?
Not me…unless it was BlueFace666 Company. Whaddya say boyz…next Tigerman BeerFest in a foxhole in Fulong? Hexie? Sandman? TMTM?
My luck, a commie red bastard sniper would pick me off right in the dull red glow of my… ummm…inhaler.
The smartass in me wants to ask you if you got room for me. The dreamer in me sez a midnight hour negotiation sees a treaty to recognize Taiwan as an independant, nuclear free, neutral country in exchange for preferred neighbour status and the entire complement of USA bought hardware. The realist in me sez that without the yanks, this isalnd is CHO DO FU.
Methinks the Ironlady protests too much.
I loved your Ode to a Fecal Turd but you are really steamed at this place. I’d’ve hoped that you’d have exorcised alot of that catharsis with the penning of such poetry, in iambic pentameter no less…a truly brilliant exodus, none better…
Let it go…breath in all that fresh air…go for a walk all akimbo…
Or buy a gun…
ToeGoestobednow.
Methinks the Ironlady protests too much.
I loved your Ode to a Fecal Turd but you are really steamed at this place. I’d’ve hoped that you’d have exorcised alot of that catharsis with the penning of such poetry, in iambic pentameter no less…a truly brilliant exodus, none better…
ToeGoestobednow.[/quote]
Well, as difficult as it is to believe, even the antics of the Taiwanese government vis a vis foreigners don’t inspire me as much as my ex-boss. But then again, my ex-boss supplies EVEN MORE ridiculous material for rhymes…
Seriously, though, just coming back to the US has really gotten me even more annoyed about the expectations of Taiwan. Sure, we’re supposed to drop everythign and send the seventh fleet when the sabers rattle, but you won’t give me a cell phone regardless of my history with the company (EIGHT years of on-time payments in full) or my credit or salary situation (both excellent). Meanwhile, I have to register my address or be fined, I cannot switch employers (even when it is generally known that I was stuck with “Sam” who was, um, not exactly a poster boy for Business Ethics), I’m subjected to this and that…yet foreigners wishing to enter the US can do it, get green cards and enjoy all the rights of citizenship save voting (whoop whoop, these days!) and serving in the military (which is what Taiwan wants – basically put, it is seeking for non-citizens of Taiwan to save Taiwan’s pigu…) [/list]
Fair enough, but you might see it differently after a lengthy stay on the mainland. I used to be more or less anti-independence. Living across the border for a while cured that. On one occasion, I just went straight through HK without stopping when going from the mainland to Taiwan. That was after being on the mainland for a while and not having visited Taiwan for about a year. The differences were shocking, no doubt because I wasn’t really thinking about them until I had gotten into Taipei. Maybe it was just a series of coincidences that just happened to occur on one day for me; it just seemed like every little difference between the two places was highlighted for me that day. It had never happened before and hasn’t happened since. If every Taiwanese adult were to have the same experience I had over the course of two days when I flew from the mainland through HK to Taiwan, I think they’d all want to declare independence and fight for it. That, of course, is wishful thinking.
I’d fight. But only if they paid me twice as much as the native recruits, paid for my barracks for a year, gave me a full month of R&R, and guaranteed I would not have to battle anyone ranking below staff sergeant. Hell, perhaps I could pick up a couple of extra dollars a week doing some one-on-one hand-to-hand combat after hours. Maybe take my armored vehicle down to the Kenting beachhead for Spring Scream. :loco:
I’ve been to the mainland recently, and came back directly from there to Taiwan. Sure, Taiwan is nicer. Yes, it’s closer to being a democracy. But that doesn’t mean that I, as a non-Taiwanese citizen afforded virtually a$$-all in the way of “privileges” by the ROC Government, would be motivated to take up arms in its defense.
It’s kind of like the folks who never visit Granny in the nursing home, then are really, really upset when they’re cut out of the will…
[quote=“ironlady”]I’ve been to the mainland recently, and came back directly from there to Taiwan. Sure, Taiwan is nicer. Yes, it’s closer to being a democracy. But that doesn’t mean that I, as a non-Taiwanese citizen afforded virtually a$$-all in the way of “privileges” by the ROC Government, would be motivated to take up arms in its defense.
It’s kind of like the folks who never visit Granny in the nursing home, then are really, really upset when they’re cut out of the will…[/quote]
Oh, come on Ironlady. What if the government promised to throw in a credit card, mobile phone service and land line service, all under your name, after the war? That sounds like an offer not to be refused.
[quote=“ironlady”]I’ve been to the mainland recently, and came back directly from there to Taiwan. Sure, Taiwan is nicer. Yes, it’s closer to being a democracy. But that doesn’t mean that I, as a non-Taiwanese citizen afforded virtually a$$-all in the way of “privileges” by the ROC Government, would be motivated to take up arms in its defense.
It’s kind of like the folks who never visit Granny in the nursing home, then are really, really upset when they’re cut out of the will…[/quote]
ironlady… yes taiwna is a pain is the ass in many ways, but you are back in the US now, Taiwan is but a bad dream, get over it, and get back to posting useful stuff like you once used to 
MOve on… dont become bitter, you’ll never be happy anywhere until you release the anger. I used to box to relieve Taiwan tension, worked a treat.
With the way conscription is looked upon here, how many of the conscripted soldiers are going to flee? No, I have to say my family would be out of here.
On the other hand, if the Uighurs in Xinjiang ever want a Lawrence of Arabia-type figure to help in the fight for an independent East Turkestan, that may be interesting.