this is an important week in the greater Sinosphere.
this week 30 years ago marks the end of what was the world’s longest running martial law in Taiwan.
this week also marks the death of Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo while incarcerated. (Only one other regime had a Nobel Laureate die while incarcerated: Nazi Germany). China’s Great Firewall is also blocking all searches and images involving Liu’s, candles, and “RIP”. (Apparently Chinese netizens are expressing their condolences by using the image of an empty chair to bypass the censors.)
Taiwan’s legislative fights have always been used by China to warn its population regarding the danger of democracy. Funny how Taiwan’s old authoritarian ruler, the KMT, picked just the right time to instigate an all out brawl to help facilitate that narrative across the strait.
