pugachev_diver
Banned Idiot
re: PLAN Type 071 LPD & its Landing Craft
The Taiwan problem is very complex. It is not the same as the American Civil War, which was completely economical instead a political clash. Many would argue over the true causes, but I personally think that the main cause was the taxation and trade issues (I personally think the abolishment of slavery was somewhat a beautifying mask to justify the unification, anyways, not trying to criticize, just expressing a personal thought). In the Taiwan issue, politics play a big role. Let's be honest, being a patriotic Chinese myself and not a anti-communist, I still have to say that the mainland is an authoritarian regime, which is very corrupt and ruthless to its own people. If anyone of you here ever watched TV shows and political commentaries from HongKong and especially Taiwan media, you'll know how critical they are to the mainland government.
Taiwan had long being indoctrinated with anti-communist ideologies. The local political system is sometimes chaotic and laughable, but it is a functioning democracy and the citizens rights are protected. After years and years of media's brainwashing, they began to detest anything to do with mainland's government. I personally find it interesting when watching Taiwan's news, they still use Cold War terms, such as communist troops and CCP. So the Mainland itself has to change, in order to win the favour of the Chinese in Taiwan.
Another factor is the economy and the national image expressed by the mainland. Chinese people are ordinary human beings that are no different from any other cultures. When you have a poor and unliked relative, you probably distance yourself from that relative. On the contrary, if your relative is rich and powerful, then you would probably more or less try to let people know that you have this connection. Up until the early 90s, when people from Taiwan and Hongkong travel abroad, they would usually say where they're from first, then they would say they are Chinese. Let's be honest, China was still poor and backwards at that time compared to the West, and it was not that glorious to tell people that you're Chinese. But beginning in the last few years, more and more Chinese (Chinese in general) would say that they are Chinese, instead telling people first that they are from Hongkong or Taiwan. This is the result of the rise in China's status and influence in the international circle. Therefore, if it's a proud thing to tell people that you're Chinese, then why not do it. So, it is largely on mainland's part to play the game.
The last factor is how the mainland shows itself to Taiwan. Up to 1996, just before the Taiwan Strait missile crisis, an independent poll suggested that more than 80% of the population agree that they are Chinese. But after the crisis, the figure dropped to 30-40%, a historical low. If Mainland shows itself as an aggressive tyrant, then it is hard for it to be liked by the people in Taiwan. The old Chinese saying goes, "得民心者得天下", which literally translates to "the one that wins the hearts of the people would win the world". Over the last two decades, the mainland has done a lot for Taiwan, but these have been physically undermined by the authority in Taiwan. Usually only the bad things are remembered and the good forgotten. I personally think that the mainland should devote more into the media and propaganda aspect of the overall strategy. Let's be honest, we all know that the war in Iraq was mostly economical, and driven by national interest. But because of the influence of American media, even when millions around the world are condemning the invasion, the majority of the world's population still see the invasion as just and righteous, simply because the American media told them so. If the mainland's media does the same thing, then after years of corrosion, unification would be very easy. Otherwise, it would be obvious that if the PLA tries to take over Taiwan at this stage, even if the whole island is occupied and the Americans don't intervene, the local population would still be uprising against the PLA occupation, similar to those conflicts in today's Iraq.
So after all, unification of Taiwan take a lot more than just guns.
The Taiwan problem is very complex. It is not the same as the American Civil War, which was completely economical instead a political clash. Many would argue over the true causes, but I personally think that the main cause was the taxation and trade issues (I personally think the abolishment of slavery was somewhat a beautifying mask to justify the unification, anyways, not trying to criticize, just expressing a personal thought). In the Taiwan issue, politics play a big role. Let's be honest, being a patriotic Chinese myself and not a anti-communist, I still have to say that the mainland is an authoritarian regime, which is very corrupt and ruthless to its own people. If anyone of you here ever watched TV shows and political commentaries from HongKong and especially Taiwan media, you'll know how critical they are to the mainland government.
Taiwan had long being indoctrinated with anti-communist ideologies. The local political system is sometimes chaotic and laughable, but it is a functioning democracy and the citizens rights are protected. After years and years of media's brainwashing, they began to detest anything to do with mainland's government. I personally find it interesting when watching Taiwan's news, they still use Cold War terms, such as communist troops and CCP. So the Mainland itself has to change, in order to win the favour of the Chinese in Taiwan.
Another factor is the economy and the national image expressed by the mainland. Chinese people are ordinary human beings that are no different from any other cultures. When you have a poor and unliked relative, you probably distance yourself from that relative. On the contrary, if your relative is rich and powerful, then you would probably more or less try to let people know that you have this connection. Up until the early 90s, when people from Taiwan and Hongkong travel abroad, they would usually say where they're from first, then they would say they are Chinese. Let's be honest, China was still poor and backwards at that time compared to the West, and it was not that glorious to tell people that you're Chinese. But beginning in the last few years, more and more Chinese (Chinese in general) would say that they are Chinese, instead telling people first that they are from Hongkong or Taiwan. This is the result of the rise in China's status and influence in the international circle. Therefore, if it's a proud thing to tell people that you're Chinese, then why not do it. So, it is largely on mainland's part to play the game.
The last factor is how the mainland shows itself to Taiwan. Up to 1996, just before the Taiwan Strait missile crisis, an independent poll suggested that more than 80% of the population agree that they are Chinese. But after the crisis, the figure dropped to 30-40%, a historical low. If Mainland shows itself as an aggressive tyrant, then it is hard for it to be liked by the people in Taiwan. The old Chinese saying goes, "得民心者得天下", which literally translates to "the one that wins the hearts of the people would win the world". Over the last two decades, the mainland has done a lot for Taiwan, but these have been physically undermined by the authority in Taiwan. Usually only the bad things are remembered and the good forgotten. I personally think that the mainland should devote more into the media and propaganda aspect of the overall strategy. Let's be honest, we all know that the war in Iraq was mostly economical, and driven by national interest. But because of the influence of American media, even when millions around the world are condemning the invasion, the majority of the world's population still see the invasion as just and righteous, simply because the American media told them so. If the mainland's media does the same thing, then after years of corrosion, unification would be very easy. Otherwise, it would be obvious that if the PLA tries to take over Taiwan at this stage, even if the whole island is occupied and the Americans don't intervene, the local population would still be uprising against the PLA occupation, similar to those conflicts in today's Iraq.
So after all, unification of Taiwan take a lot more than just guns.
