Taiwan Headlines w Russia, China, the U.S., the American Bar Association, Setting the Record Straight, War vs Peace & Leaving No One Behind at the U.N. General Assembly
New book, REVOLUTIONARY TAIWAN, new screenings of INVISIBLE NATION in London & Los Angeles, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett on With Jamie 9/24, new art in NYC from Tiffany Shlain & Let it Ripple
Happy Monday night and back to school for those on the quarter system! I have lots to share about Taiwan and peace in the world. I’ll do my best to balance the bad news with good. First some good:
This new book, recommended by James Lin (who’s in Invisible Nation), by Catherine Lila Chou and Mark Harrison is a must read. I look forward to posting an interview with the authors. Until then, here’s the blurb and link to purchase.
In the early 1990s, the people of Taiwan gained the right to vote for their executive and legislature. In building a democratic society, they transformed how they saw themselves and their homeland. The outcome of democratization was nothing less than revolutionary, producing a new, de facto nation and people that can be justly called “Taiwanese.”
Yet this revolution remains unfinished and incomplete. In an era of increasing US-China rivalry, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims sovereignty over Taiwan and insists that “reunification” is the historic mission of all peoples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The PRC threatens war with and over the island, inviting a crisis that would engulf the region and beyond.
Common ideas about Taiwan—that it “split with China in 1949” or “sees itself as the true China”—fail to explain why the Taiwanese withstand pressure from the PRC to relinquish their democratic self-governance.
Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order sheds light on this. Each chapter shows how democratization in Taiwan constituted a revolution, changing not just the form of government but also how Taiwanese people conceptualized the island, coming to see it a complete nation unto itself. At the same time, however, Beijing has blocked the “normal” endpoint of this revolution: an open declaration of statehood and welcome into the global community.
Revolutionary Taiwan brings the Taiwan story to a general audience. It will appeal to students and readers interested in international relations, contemporary geopolitics, and East Asian Studies. Informed by years of academic research and life in Taiwan, this book provides an entry point to a remarkable place and people.
Now some bad:
Russia puts Taiwan on enemy list
Japan, South Korea, Singapore also on 47-country list
Sep. 21, 2024 20:00
This matters because Russia, China, and North Korea have been supporting each other more and more lately.
Japanese fighter jets fire flares at Russian aircraft for first time in airspace violation
Defence minister says ‘strong protest’ lodged with Moscow amid growing concerns about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in the region
Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies
Mon 23 Sep 2024 21.36 EDT
Japan said its fighter jets used flares for the first time to warn a Russian reconnaissance aircraft to leave its airspace, the defence ministry in Tokyo said, as tensions rise over increasing Russian and Chinese military cooperation in the region…
Russian and Chinese warships take part in the “Ocean 2024” naval drills in the Sea of Japan on 16 September, 2024. Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters
The incursion came a day after a joint fleet of Chinese and Russian warships sailed around the Japanese northern coast. Kihara said the airspace violation could be related to a joint military exercise that Russia and China announced earlier this month.
© 2024 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
Taiwan Looks for Ways to Defend Itself as U.S. Weapons Supply Hit by Gaza, Ukraine
Delayed shipments raise questions about what island democracy can do to stockpile arms ahead of potential conflict with China
By Joyu Wang
Updated Sept. 21, 2024 12:02
This is about deterrence for Taiwan. It’s not the U.S. but China that’s threatening war.
Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, with China/Xi Jinping and Russia/Putin dominating the U.N. Security Council, Taiwan has no hope of being included in the U.N. General Assembly events this week even as an observer. This is a loss for the world and has been for too long. So many COVID deaths could have been avoided had Taiwan been included in the World Health Organization.
UN Global Goals-Taiwan can help
Data Source:Department of International Organizations
Date:2018-09-20
This was last year,
Asked about Taiwan, deputy UN chief says exclusion of anyone can harm global goals
By Michelle Nichols
September 15, 2023
The strongman, dictator, authoritarian aggression problems and wars of the world have so much to do with gender inequality. The U.N. should recognize that.
World leaders don’t know what girls want.
Girls do.
It’s in our film, Invisible Nation, and I’ve written and shared an excellent video in previous posts about the misunderstanding so many have because of the misinformation and disinformation China uses to keep Taiwan out of the U.N.
Here’s a helpful breakdown of language clarity needed to understand Taiwan’s POV:
One China “Policy” VS “Principle”: How Language is Used to Obscure Discussion on Taiwan
1. “Reunification” Versus “Unification”
2. “One China Principle” versus “One China Policy”
3. The “Mainland” Versus “China”
4. The Difference Between the “Republic of China” and “Taiwan”
This article, timed to the U.N. General Assembly, by Benedict Rogers in London, suggested that Invisible Nation should be screened at the U.N. this week:
Time for the United Nations to recognize Taiwan,
What China might do to invade or blockade Taiwan as early as 2025 is important to understand and prevent.
Our documentary is unique in that it gains intimate access to the sitting head of state, President Tsai, as it explores the history and themes of democracy and universal rights in Taiwan. It is a profile and exploration of the dynamics of democracy in a geopolitically complex region, with a rich and ancient history.
We have seen how the film can be really useful in generating a more informed, mainstream public dialogue about Taiwan.
It won’t be screened at the U.N. but you can catch it next in London and Los Angeles:
In London, Bertha Doc House has extended our week long screenings twice!
Bertha DocHouse
Curzon Bloomsbury
The Brunswick
London, WC1N 1AW
Last screening time and booking in London for September:
Please note: There are only 5 mins of trailers before our screenings
Prices
Peak: £9 (£7 concessions)
Off Peak: £5 (£5 concessions)
Last Chance To RSVP For INVISIBLE NATION Screening At UTA in Los Angeles tomorrow night September 24th
Grab a seat now! Free! Get there early as we are near capacity.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with me and Composer Wei-San Hsu, hosted by Michelle Krusiec, an award winning Taiwanese American director, writer and actor whose lengthy career has proven to be a versatile and influential presence in the industry!
Location: UTA Theater
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
6:30pm - Doors open
7:00pm - Screening begins
8:30pm - Q&A
RSVP here.
Here’s more good news. Michael Fern speaks so eloquently to the American Bar Association about Taiwan’s geopolitical predicament, why it needs to be included in international organizations such as the U.N. and why democracies need to support each other not just in times of war, but in times of peace. You have to watch him introduce Resolution 700 which he succeeds in getting adopted! (video by his friend)
Michael serves on Los Angeles County Bar Association's Board of Trustees and represents the association in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He has proposed resolutions that were later introduced as bills and enacted into law, including AB 419 (privacy rights of victims and witnesses) and AB 1247 (statute of limitations of computer hacking) in 2021.
I was so excited about Vice President Kamala Harris becoming a candidate for president of the United States on July 21st that I had to figure out how to attend my first Democratic National Convention for her historic moment. Thankfully, I managed to pull together credentials, some of my favorite cinematographer friends, and producers, and with only a couple of weeks of planning, pulled off a new film shoot. Unfortunately, our cameras were grounded in NYC on the first day, and so I filmed my first Congressional Black Caucus morning meeting on my iPhone.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is such an intelligent, passionate and powerful speaker, however, the technological limitations of my old phone don’t matter. Watch her speak about her Congressional delegation trip to Taiwan in August and how much the MAGA right have drunk Putin’s Russian Kool-aid. As American citizens we have a responsibility to CORRECT THE RECORD and to VOTE.
I’m looking forward to my friend Jamie Patricof’s interview with Congresswoman Crockett tomorrow morning at 11:30 PT/ 2:30 ET.
To access this conversation and other future Lunch With Jamie events, please consider applying to become a member here.
Jasmine went viral again last week for calling out Trump and Project 2025, which you can see here.
The schedule for the next month on Lunch with Jamie is as follows:
10/1 Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) at 1 pm PT
10/15 Van Jones will be at 12pm PT.
Apply to join Lunch With Jamie
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For friends in New York City: I was there at the end of last week for work, seeing my mom and sister, and on Saturday, managed to join my friend from San Francisco, artist Tiffany Shlain on a special
Mobilization to the Polls & Women's Rights & The Planet,
in collaboration with Let It Ripple, Women Connect4Good, National Organization for Women, the Alice Paul Institute, Vital Voices, and Vote, Run, Lead and the ERA Coalition of which I’m an advisory board member. The program started at 10 am at Madison Square Park and we marched to the Nancy Hoffman Gallery (520 W 27th St) where Shlain’s solo exhibition of YOU ARE HERE will stay through October 19th.
I was so happy to see President Tsai Ing-wen make an appearance in Tiffany’s video art. President Tsai is still one of the world’s few and the world’s best first female presidents of all time.
I hope to see you at UTA tomorrow night!
More screenings to come…and so much more work to do to get Harris-Walz elected in November!
Your New York friends and family love having you visit and share your passionate support for the official recognition of Taiwan and the election of Kamala Harris!💪🏼