LCD billboard at a Taiwanese rail station hacked to *display* an anti-Pelosi message during her trip.
Most Taiwanese with a stake in the fight also have a stake* overseas. As to Beijing, having seen Hong Kong turned into a weapon, I think the last thing they want is to intake Taiwan before it's time. Which according to Xi is at least as far out as 2049. The real question is what is America willing to do/risk to kill off the economies of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, SE and Central Asia in order to weaken China's economy, all in the name of remaining top dog for a few more years.
Because I’m not Taiwanese, there are some expressions I don’t understand. For example: what does it mean by saying “we’re all descendants from the yellow emperor”? Is this expression being used sarcastically, or seriously? Also, what does it mean that Taiwan is “a burning husk”? Expressions in every language have meanings and it’s one of the hardest things to learn about a new language because it’s usually not meant literally. Please help explain them!
Many Chinese surnames are dynastic, ie: they were taken from the ruling family of a dynasty, usually when they were incorporated into the Chinese Empire. One of the most popular surnames in Chinese is Huang (Yellow).
Burning Husk.
This is an American and English idiom as well, with nearly the same meaning. War burns things and renders them not only useless but a burden. Husk is the outer cover of grains like wheat or rice which are normally milled away and burned as fuel, used a cattle/swine feed, or now a days as roughage in some health foods. The extra entendre here is USA has been stripping out Taiwan's wealth through weapons sales, forced technology transfers, financialization, and therefore Taiwan's economy isn't exactly robust, ie: it's a husk waiting to be burned.
Thank you JMHatch for the corn husk explanation. As for the Yellow Emperor question...I do know who the Yellow Emperor was. A better way for me to ask my question regarding this is does she mean that sarcastically or does she genuinely think that just because you came from the same region genetically that you will think and behave the same? Or that you should protect 'your common ancestors'? As a caucasian...I can't relate to the idea that I should respect, protect or think that all causcasians are alike...think the same way or behave the same way...Hitler was caucasian and there's no way I can relate to any part of his thinking or behaviors, and I certainly would never want to protect, or cannot respect him...so I guess I'm wondering why would she basically say we came from the same ancestors?!
"As a caucasian..." kind of negates the point that you believe being a Caucasian should not influence one's thinking. Yellow Emperor isn't really a genetic indicator, it's a cultural label. To believe that one's culture should not influence one's thinking is either utopian or dystopian, and something I can't begin to fathom, so I don't think you meant that.
To be Chinese is not to be of a race, even what most people label Chinese are by (rather artificial) ethnic/racial labels considered "Han"漢, by Taiwan and mainland governments. This noun denotes a surname 漢, the label of first large dynasty after the unification of China under the Qin 漢代 and that empires cultural achievements漢化, etc. The "Chinese" characters here are called Hanzi (漢字、汉字） in China, and are not the only official writing method or even spoken language in China. For another example the label "overseas Chinese" in a literal translation of 華僑、华侨；has nothing to do with being Han. Instead it implies someone who maintains the cultural traditions of Chinese culture (中華、中华）while overseas. I'm afraid the only way to take it further is if you were to commit a few years to study of China, just as much of the world commits a few years at least to trying to understand USA and to a lesser extent, West European culture. So, not sarcastically, and I'd think the speaker would be extremely shocked that anyone would think such a thing. It's too easy to make these sorts of assumptions when going from one's own cultural point of view, we must be wary of projection.
Hmmm…I don’t think my using an example of being Caucasian is clearly expressing why I don’t understand why, specifically, the man she interviewed would respond by questioning why would Xi invade Taiwan, since they are all ancestors of the yellow emperor. I suspect only that person could elaborate his meaning. I live in Taiwan, I have been studying the culture here and trying to speak Mandarin and have incredible friends here who are great at explaining things to me and I appreciate your knowledge and thoughtful response. While there are some citizens here who are proud to say they are Chinese, there are more that are proud to be Taiwanese. They speak Mandarin and a common Taiwanese language that is different than Mandarin. And of course, depending on where in Taiwan they came from, some will speak the language of their native tribe. I see definite cultural differences in the differing groups, so I guess I was surprised that someone who is over 50 from China would respond in this way, though I shouldn’t be. I remember Tiananmen Square and I would think that at least 1 person would say they were concerned that Xi would have no issue with killing people in Taiwan. Sadly many are afraid of truly speaking their minds for fear of repercussions, and I certainly don’t blame them. It’s a scary world right now.
Very few people have very many original thoughts. I suspect your friends are going with the flow, like most of humanity. 「子曰：’不憤不啟。不悱不發。舉一隅不以三隅反，則不復也。’」Good luck.
We need more voices from Taiwan. Not just speaking about the present but also the future. Thanks for your contribution!
Thanks Alan!
keep up the good work Angelica. I am a fan
LCD billboard at a Taiwanese rail station hacked to *display* an anti-Pelosi message during her trip.
Most Taiwanese with a stake in the fight also have a stake* overseas. As to Beijing, having seen Hong Kong turned into a weapon, I think the last thing they want is to intake Taiwan before it's time. Which according to Xi is at least as far out as 2049. The real question is what is America willing to do/risk to kill off the economies of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, SE and Central Asia in order to weaken China's economy, all in the name of remaining top dog for a few more years.
*Stake: child, wife, or close relative
Because I’m not Taiwanese, there are some expressions I don’t understand. For example: what does it mean by saying “we’re all descendants from the yellow emperor”? Is this expression being used sarcastically, or seriously? Also, what does it mean that Taiwan is “a burning husk”? Expressions in every language have meanings and it’s one of the hardest things to learn about a new language because it’s usually not meant literally. Please help explain them!
Yellow emperor:
was a "legendary" first ruler of ancient China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Emperor
Many Chinese surnames are dynastic, ie: they were taken from the ruling family of a dynasty, usually when they were incorporated into the Chinese Empire. One of the most popular surnames in Chinese is Huang (Yellow).
Burning Husk.
This is an American and English idiom as well, with nearly the same meaning. War burns things and renders them not only useless but a burden. Husk is the outer cover of grains like wheat or rice which are normally milled away and burned as fuel, used a cattle/swine feed, or now a days as roughage in some health foods. The extra entendre here is USA has been stripping out Taiwan's wealth through weapons sales, forced technology transfers, financialization, and therefore Taiwan's economy isn't exactly robust, ie: it's a husk waiting to be burned.
Thank you JMHatch for the corn husk explanation. As for the Yellow Emperor question...I do know who the Yellow Emperor was. A better way for me to ask my question regarding this is does she mean that sarcastically or does she genuinely think that just because you came from the same region genetically that you will think and behave the same? Or that you should protect 'your common ancestors'? As a caucasian...I can't relate to the idea that I should respect, protect or think that all causcasians are alike...think the same way or behave the same way...Hitler was caucasian and there's no way I can relate to any part of his thinking or behaviors, and I certainly would never want to protect, or cannot respect him...so I guess I'm wondering why would she basically say we came from the same ancestors?!
"As a caucasian..." kind of negates the point that you believe being a Caucasian should not influence one's thinking. Yellow Emperor isn't really a genetic indicator, it's a cultural label. To believe that one's culture should not influence one's thinking is either utopian or dystopian, and something I can't begin to fathom, so I don't think you meant that.
To be Chinese is not to be of a race, even what most people label Chinese are by (rather artificial) ethnic/racial labels considered "Han"漢, by Taiwan and mainland governments. This noun denotes a surname 漢, the label of first large dynasty after the unification of China under the Qin 漢代 and that empires cultural achievements漢化, etc. The "Chinese" characters here are called Hanzi (漢字、汉字） in China, and are not the only official writing method or even spoken language in China. For another example the label "overseas Chinese" in a literal translation of 華僑、华侨；has nothing to do with being Han. Instead it implies someone who maintains the cultural traditions of Chinese culture (中華、中华）while overseas. I'm afraid the only way to take it further is if you were to commit a few years to study of China, just as much of the world commits a few years at least to trying to understand USA and to a lesser extent, West European culture. So, not sarcastically, and I'd think the speaker would be extremely shocked that anyone would think such a thing. It's too easy to make these sorts of assumptions when going from one's own cultural point of view, we must be wary of projection.
Hmmm…I don’t think my using an example of being Caucasian is clearly expressing why I don’t understand why, specifically, the man she interviewed would respond by questioning why would Xi invade Taiwan, since they are all ancestors of the yellow emperor. I suspect only that person could elaborate his meaning. I live in Taiwan, I have been studying the culture here and trying to speak Mandarin and have incredible friends here who are great at explaining things to me and I appreciate your knowledge and thoughtful response. While there are some citizens here who are proud to say they are Chinese, there are more that are proud to be Taiwanese. They speak Mandarin and a common Taiwanese language that is different than Mandarin. And of course, depending on where in Taiwan they came from, some will speak the language of their native tribe. I see definite cultural differences in the differing groups, so I guess I was surprised that someone who is over 50 from China would respond in this way, though I shouldn’t be. I remember Tiananmen Square and I would think that at least 1 person would say they were concerned that Xi would have no issue with killing people in Taiwan. Sadly many are afraid of truly speaking their minds for fear of repercussions, and I certainly don’t blame them. It’s a scary world right now.
Very few people have very many original thoughts. I suspect your friends are going with the flow, like most of humanity. 「子曰：’不憤不啟。不悱不發。舉一隅不以三隅反，則不復也。’」Good luck.