Why have the student protesters chosen the sunflower, “unofficial” flower of Mao Zedong’s Red Guards? (corrected… it’s unofficial, not official)
Which one is more likely?
(A) pure coincidence
(B) hero worshiping
(C) sunflowers are cheaper buy than other flowers this month
(D) former members of the Red Guards gave the order
(E) Freudian slip
(F) pure ignorance
(G) making a political statement
How does that old saying go? “Only Nixon Could Go To China” Does that me only the DPP or KMT can “sell” Taiwan to China? (not sure which one is more applicable)
The Red Guards of the People’s Republic
The students in Taiwan… for God’s sake, man, they need better uniforms!
I’m curious… what’s the source of your claim that the sunflower is the “official” flower of Mao Zedon’s red guards? The best I can find is a short anecdote about sunflowers listed here: atimes.com/atimes/China/FB14Ad01.html
My guess is that if you go rifling through decades of history of the world’s most populous nation you’ll probably find them using a variety of other flowers for symbolic reasons. Like, wow, did you ever notice the plum blossom on Taiwanese money, and hey look, Mao Zedong wrote an ode to plum blossoms… must be a communist conspiracy!
[quote=“Xeno”]I’m curious… what’s the source of your claim that the sunflower is the “official” flower of Mao Zedon’s red guards? The best I can find is a short anecdote about sunflowers listed here: atimes.com/atimes/China/FB14Ad01.html
My guess is that if you go rifling through decades of history of the world’s most populous nation you’ll probably find them using a variety of other flowers for symbolic reasons. Like, wow, did you ever notice the plum blossom on Taiwanese money, and hey look, Mao Zedong wrote an ode to plum blossoms… must be a communist conspiracy![/quote]
my apologies, it their “unofficial” flower… but they sure love 'em sunflowers! The Red Guards think of Mao as the sun, so they love the sunflower.
For Taiwanese farmers, sunflowers replenish the soil, help regenerate after harvest. That is the idea for the students to pick this symbol. Look for the Wild Lilies movement info, too.
And the average Taiwanese student knows as much about Mao as about Star Trek or where Timbuktu is. Remember: no time to read for fun, and I doubt the syllabus includes a deep understanding of “those bandits”. If they are still referred as bandits at all.
For curiosity’s sake, how long have you been here, FurTrader? That writing style reminds me of a certain backpacker…
Also, the protest is about anti-blackbox trade deals that can’t be modified, so sunflower represents the student’s desire to shed a light on the matter and expose the dark secrets under the sun…
The fervor and ignorance of some of the anti-trade protesters (without knowing the full context of Taiwan liberalizations or even that many countries don’t have line by line reviews of such agreements) reminds me of Cultural Revolution Red Guards who went after moderate members of the CCP such as Liu Shaoqi…and who had no problem with…storming buildings!
[quote=“ChewDawg”]The fervor and ignorance of some of the anti-trade protesters (without knowing the full context of Taiwan liberalizations or even that many countries don’t have line by line reviews of such agreements) reminds me of Cultural Revolution Red Guards who went after moderate members of the CCP such as Liu Shaoqi…and who had no problem with…storming buildings!
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It is so amusing yet tragic to see someone using their intelligence to become stupider!
They are NOT anti-trade protesters. Stop getting your “opinions” from neo-lib rags for once.
[quote=“ChewDawg”]The fervor and ignorance of some of the anti-trade protesters (without knowing the full context of Taiwan liberalizations or even that many countries don’t have line by line reviews of such agreements) reminds me of Cultural Revolution Red Guards who went after moderate members of the CCP such as Liu Shaoqi…and who had no problem with…storming buildings!
[quote]
Shaoqi fell out of favour in the later 1960s during the Cultural Revolution because of his perceived ‘right-wing’ viewpoints…Mao’s exhortations to young Chinese to randomly destroy old buildings, temples, and art, and to attack their teachers, school administrators, party leaders, and parents. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Shaoqi
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perhaps all Chinese think and act alike…
oh, wait, for God’s sake, don’t tell the Taiwanese students that their behavior and methods are just like the Chinese!
Your Chinese must really be improving in Canada for you to understand so much of what the protesters are saying. What are your sources?[/quote]
Many countries aren’t China and Taiwan. The delicate relationship and history should require more oversight, nu? They’ve been at (cold) war with each other for more than 6 decades, nu?
I would also like to know why the students have made the unfortunate choice of black shirts. Have these political science graduates never heard of Mussolini’s fascist Black Shirt Movement?
Perhaps sunflowers have some age-old significance in Chinese culture. Like the colors red and gold, which adorn the Communist Chinese flag, yet also decorate temples throughout Taiwan.
Don’t get me started about the swastikas on Buddhas and veggie restaurants…
[quote=“Chris”]Perhaps sunflowers have some age-old significance in Chinese culture. Like the colors red and gold, which adorn the Communist Chinese flag, yet also decorate temples throughout Taiwan.
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But sun flower is native to the Americas… Although peanuts, pineapples, chili pepper and other fruits and plants native to the Americas also gained cultural significance in Chinese culture…
So maybe you are right, I’m just not aware of what sunflower traditionally signifies in Chinese culture.
