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> reunification Gotta play pedant for a second because it's important here: using the word "reunification" doesn't make any sense when discussing the PRC's imp

> reunification Gotta play pedant for a second because it's important here: using the word "reunification" doesn't make any sense when discussing the PRC's imperialist desires to invade and capture Taiwan. No matter what lense you use, the ruling government of the PRC, that being the CPC, has never ruled any territory controlled by Taiwan. There's nothing to "reunify," there's only further territory that the CPC wishes to capture and wrest control from a sovereign nation. There's danger also in the CPC weaponizing the word "China," which is why I'm careful to refer to the country as "the PRC," as the propagandists in the CPC are happy to engage in cultural imperialism to justify their military imperialism. "Taiwan is China, the people there are Chinese (華人），the people there speak Chinese (中文 / 華語）, they are of Chinese cultural background, we need to "reunify" these Chinese people." If there is an imperialist invasion, and the PRC succeeds, then they will turn their eyes on other nearby "Chinese countries " filled with "Chinese people" speaking the "national Chinese language." These are all propagandic falsehoods so there's no reason we should help them out, and those of us that are in places where it's safe to do so (outside the borders of the PRC) should communicate using the correct terms.

rfoo 4y ago
KMT did control the mainland before 45. How is ROC taking back mainland not "unification"? Disclaimer: My first language is Chinese.
- komali2 4y ago
  The second reason that the CPC taking back land a population that fled the communist revolution currently occupied is still just imperialism: it's an entirely different populace with entirely different identity. Taiwanese identity as Taiwanese. An ROC takeover of PRC territory would be imperialism. Luckily nobody in Taiwan has any such ambutions (that the roc constitution claims PRC territory is a political hostage taking: xi jinping has threatened a trigger invasion if Taiwan changes its constitution, even to remove the given claim). If your first language is Mandarin but you used the unexpected and uncommon example of the ROC taking over the PRC, why do you say "Mainland" instead of "PRC" or "China?"
  - mannerheim 4y ago
    It is technically the English translation for 大陸. I don't think it's an inherently political term.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
The ROC controlled both the mainland and Taiwan before being ejected from the mainland. Before that, Taiwan was part of the Qing empire before being invaded by the Japanese. "Reunification" is factually the correct term for the aim of having the whole of China (mainland + Taiwan) under a single government and state. That the PRC/CCP want that to be under their control is actually irrelevant here. The term does not imply 'right' or 'wrong', either. Of course you know all of this is if you are in Taipei.
- komali2 4y ago
  "Reunification" would only be even in the realm of possibility of a correct term if the KMT took control of PRC territory. Since the CPC has never ruled Taiwan, it's nonsensical to say unify or reunify. In any case that's impossible, the kmt government that once ruled is gone. It's been replaced by a government that held the name but is Democratic, and the KMT party has been losing power ever since then. The people have clearly decided to detach themselves from that way of doing things. Furthermore, given the identities of the people in the PRC and Taiwan, any term involving "unify" is just engaging in cultural propaganda. The taiwanese identify as taiwanese, and lately as distinctly anti-chinese (binary oppositional development is an important sociological concept, see the difference between femininity and masculinity in many cultures, or, the French vs the English cultural identities), the PRC people identify as chinese, these cultures and preference for forms of governance are too different to "unify." If one government rules both of these people anytime soon it will have been imperialism, plain and simple. "China" died at the end of the Qing dynasty imo, since then it's just been a couple han supremacist governments weaponizing the term to leverage nationalist sentiment. There's no more Chinese nationalism in Taiwan so it won't work here anymore (despite even older taiwanese government officials blundering around with han supremacist presumptions even today). I think it's still working in the PRC and that's why they're allowed to do cultural genocide there without much pushback from their citizens.
- mannerheim 4y ago
  Obviously the ROC did not control the mainland, since they were eventually forced to flee to Taiwan. > Before that, Taiwan was part of the Qing empire before being invaded by the Japanese. Anschluss is German reunification because Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Ditto for the Sudetenland, and, well, why not the rest of Czechia, too.
hnfong 4y ago
Kettles calling pots black lol.
User23 4y ago
Is Zhōngguó rén not correct for Han living in Taipei? I know it used to be for Hong Kong.
- luobogao 4y ago
  That term has some mainland chinese vibes. Taiwanese usually call themselves 台灣人 [táiwān rén].

rfoo 4y ago

KMT did control the mainland before 45. How is ROC taking back mainland not "unification"? Disclaimer: My first language is Chinese.

komali2 4y ago
The second reason that the CPC taking back land a population that fled the communist revolution currently occupied is still just imperialism: it's an entirely different populace with entirely different identity. Taiwanese identity as Taiwanese. An ROC takeover of PRC territory would be imperialism. Luckily nobody in Taiwan has any such ambutions (that the roc constitution claims PRC territory is a political hostage taking: xi jinping has threatened a trigger invasion if Taiwan changes its constitution, even to remove the given claim). If your first language is Mandarin but you used the unexpected and uncommon example of the ROC taking over the PRC, why do you say "Mainland" instead of "PRC" or "China?"
- mannerheim 4y ago
  It is technically the English translation for 大陸. I don't think it's an inherently political term.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

The ROC controlled both the mainland and Taiwan before being ejected from the mainland. Before that, Taiwan was part of the Qing empire before being invaded by the Japanese. "Reunification" is factually the correct term for the aim of having the whole of China (mainland + Taiwan) under a single government and state. That the PRC/CCP want that to be under their control is actually irrelevant here. The term does not imply 'right' or 'wrong', either. Of course you know all of this is if you are in Taipei.

komali2 4y ago
"Reunification" would only be even in the realm of possibility of a correct term if the KMT took control of PRC territory. Since the CPC has never ruled Taiwan, it's nonsensical to say unify or reunify. In any case that's impossible, the kmt government that once ruled is gone. It's been replaced by a government that held the name but is Democratic, and the KMT party has been losing power ever since then. The people have clearly decided to detach themselves from that way of doing things. Furthermore, given the identities of the people in the PRC and Taiwan, any term involving "unify" is just engaging in cultural propaganda. The taiwanese identify as taiwanese, and lately as distinctly anti-chinese (binary oppositional development is an important sociological concept, see the difference between femininity and masculinity in many cultures, or, the French vs the English cultural identities), the PRC people identify as chinese, these cultures and preference for forms of governance are too different to "unify." If one government rules both of these people anytime soon it will have been imperialism, plain and simple. "China" died at the end of the Qing dynasty imo, since then it's just been a couple han supremacist governments weaponizing the term to leverage nationalist sentiment. There's no more Chinese nationalism in Taiwan so it won't work here anymore (despite even older taiwanese government officials blundering around with han supremacist presumptions even today). I think it's still working in the PRC and that's why they're allowed to do cultural genocide there without much pushback from their citizens.
mannerheim 4y ago
Obviously the ROC did not control the mainland, since they were eventually forced to flee to Taiwan. > Before that, Taiwan was part of the Qing empire before being invaded by the Japanese. Anschluss is German reunification because Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Ditto for the Sudetenland, and, well, why not the rest of Czechia, too.

hnfong 4y ago

Kettles calling pots black lol.

User23 4y ago

Is Zhōngguó rén not correct for Han living in Taipei? I know it used to be for Hong Kong.

luobogao 4y ago
That term has some mainland chinese vibes. Taiwanese usually call themselves 台灣人 [táiwān rén].