Hacker News Reader

Comment by zozbot234 | Hacker News Reader

So what? That doesn't change the fact that, practically, Taiwan is Chinese. The language and writing system, if nothing else, kinda give it away. Taipei's "One China" position merely acknowledges this fact, without committing to any stance that the CCP is the legitimate government of any country.

View on HN

> That doesn't change the fact that, practically, Taiwan is Chinese. The language and writing system, if nothing else, kinda give it away.

So the US is English?

Why would they? England itself is only a minor part of the British Isles. They would however have a chance of being part of a broader Commonwealth of Nations, were it not for a troublesome Declaration they circulated in 1776. This is why claims to "independence" should not be made carelessly, and why official U.S. policy is especially careful to avoid them wrt. Taipei.

You said that Taiwan's language and writing system made them Chinese. By that reasoning, the US would be English. But thanks for clarifying that sharing a language and writing system with another country, doesn't necessarily make you part of that country.

But this is not about "being part of a country"; it's first and foremost about sharing a common culture and history. Facile claims to "Taiwan independence" that ignore these nuances are tantamount to a denial of this shared past and common identity that is part of the continuing lived experience of many people in Taiwan. They are oppressive, dehumanizing and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people who live on the island.

What's the relevance of any of this? You originally said that Taiwan's language and writing system made them Chinese. I've repeatedly demonstrated that such reasoning is nonsense.

There may be other arguments that Taiwan is Chinese, but I haven't really given you my thoughts on those (hypothetical) arguments.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurting_the_feelings_of_the_...

"Dehumanizing" to the Chinese people? You know, I was under the impression that total government surveillance, in-person monitoring of religious minority communities and regular internet censorship was the most dehumanizing part. Whatever the CCP calls 'oppressive' should be taken with a grain of salt.

China and Taiwan can share a history, but that doesn't entitle them to reconciling their differences. Much like the other commenters brought up, establishing Taiwanese independence is obviously the smartest path from here. China has had their feelings hurt for almost a century over Taiwan. Entire generations of humans have lived and died in the time Taiwan has enjoyed sovereignty. China knows it's time to let go, but they can't look weak or suffer the same fate as Russia. Continuing to threaten Taiwan is just part of their political-industrial complex, nothing more.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com