>Sender: >To: >X-Original-Message-ID: <413f01bf3b93$2d609980$9acf69cf@pacbell.net> >From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: F-dancing >Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 16:29:49 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > > > >From a person on our list. > >Enjoy, > >Peter > >------------ > > >In 1565 Nostradamus predicted the following words would one day be written >by Peter McWilliams: > > >But the most frightening George W. Bush line on "Meet the Press" was, "We > >will defend Taiwan!" What? His foreign policy, always fuzzy, now seems to > >be: "The Cold War was good enough for (and very good to) dear old dad, and > >it's good enough for me." Of all the insane, arrogant, > >global-destabilizing boasts ever uttered, this must rank among the top > >ten. > > > >There is NO WAY the United States can stop China from taking Taiwan if > >China set its mind to taking Taiwan. Now that Bush has thrown down the > >gauntlet, however, will China be able to resist? What a propaganda coup to > >defeat the United States of America in a military engagement! If Bush's > >policy becomes U.S. policy, China will have to take Taiwan, even if it > >doesn't want it. > >After "teaching" English in Taiwan for a few months, in 1984 I traveled to >Mainland China and met a young law student who told me, "China will not >invade Taiwan when Ronald Reagan is President. China will wait until >American has a president like Jimmy Carter." > >China has a loooong view of history. They don't mind waiting some scant >decades to make a political move (a hundred years later Hong Kong looks like >a good patient political move on their part). And Peter is right. There is >no way, short of total war, that we could defend Taiwan. China could >instruct 10 percent of their army to swim to Taiwan and the island would be >overrun before our navy figured out we were not looking at some strange fish >migration. > >I never quite could fathom Taiwan. Unbelievable pollution from unregulated >technology usage, and political repression to the point where my students >would sit shaking with fear or with eye's wide and jaw's dropped if I ever >uttered even a slightly left of center politcal sentiment in the classroom. >The Front of the Capitol building in Taipei is decorated with a large map of >the Republic of China's land mass, which includes not just Taiwan, but all >of Mainland China, so they think. Most people there are schooled to live >under the delusion that with America's help they will one day regain control >of all of China. They never stopped fighting the Cold War. > >While I'm blabbing, an anecdote: in one of my classes, my ultra-polite, shy >and socially conservative adult students were reading a lesson on folk >dancing. I had them all take turns reading the dialogue, but I couldn't >figure out how to correct them without leaving them totally embarrassed (for >them, a fate worse than truth). Every one of them continually, and with >smiling confidence, pronounced "folk" as "fuck." > >"We are going fuck dancing tonight! Would you like to join us?" >"Oh, yes! I love fuck dancing!" >"Where did you learn fuck dancing?" >"My uncle taught me to fuck dance. He is a very good fuck dancer. Where did >you learn to fuck dance?" >"I learned to fuck dance with my parents . . ." > >Rasa > > > > > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: