Taiwan’s Authoritarian Past Relegated to Statue Graveyard
An hour’s drive from central Taipei lies a wasteland for Chiang Kai-shek statues, symbols of Taiwan’s authoritarian past.
Tag Archives: Communism
Biden vs. Trump: Differences That Matter
Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, and Paul Jay discuss how working people and the left should respond to the presidential election.
Waving the Rainbow Flag in Taiwan
For a time, Chi Chia-wei says many people thought he was the only gay person in Taiwan. He was the first Taiwanese to come out publicly on television, and for many the only gay person they could see.
The Perons and the Japanese
Historian Roberto Baschetti describes the links between Argentine leaders Juan and Eva Peron with Japan and the Japanese, especially with one of their admirers, Makiko Yamamoto.
Red-Baiting in 2016
A recent attempt by the Liberal Democratic Party to brand the Japan Communist Party as violent has sparked a new debate on the political history of Japan, but it seems to be primarily a cynical political ploy.
One Leader, Two Masters
People in Hong Kong knew in their gut that this day would come, the day when there would be an inevitable showdown with China over the former British colony’s autonomy and desire for full democracy in all its governing institutions.
A Return to Vietnam
The first impression one encounters in Ho Chi Minh City is the swarms of motorbikes. I’d seen pictures of this, but nothing quite prepares you for the spectacle of thousands of the little scooters flowing along the streets and even sidewalks like an endless river. By some estimates there are five million motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh, a city of about eight million, which works out to one for practically every able-bodied adult in the city.
Yamamoto Faces Operation Vengeance
Taro Yamamoto is a man who must be destroyed, and the Japanese establishment has a very impressive record when it comes to destroying men like this one. Yamamoto’s fundamental crimes are that he is young, marvelously handsome, superbly charismatic, and utterly hostile to the conservatives who rule this nation.
Importing the National Security State
The people who wrote this constitution lived in a world more dangerous than ours. They were surrounded by territory controlled by hostile powers, on the edge of a vast wilderness. Yet they understood that even in perilous times the strength of self-government was public debate and public consensus. To put aside these basic values out of fear, to imitate the foe in order to defeat him, is to shred the distinction that makes us different.
