Happy Birthday, America

When the going was difficult for the American patriots during the War for Independence, here is what Patrick Henry had to say about the matter:

If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Taiwan, China, and the Olympics Part II: More Half-baked Journalism

Part II of the Keating article posted April 29, 2007. This one contains a concise history of Taiwan for everyone's information:

Taiwan, China, and the Olympics Part II: More Half-baked Journalism

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

As China seeks to use the Olympic torch route to bolster its claim to possess and rule Taiwan, another typical one-sided, hackneyed phrase used by journalists appears. It joins the list of stock phrases that journalists are either ordered to use by their syndicates or are too lazy to seek the full detailed explanations behind them. Some past phrases are "Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province." (Journalists never print what Taiwan considers China.) Or there is the old chestnut, "Taiwan, which has always been a part of China." (Hello, do you ever read history?). The current phrase (while not entirely new) states that "Taiwan and China have been ruled by separate governments since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949." This implies that Taiwan was always ruled by one and only one form of government before. It is time to clarify this half truth and set the record straight.

Taiwan has always been ruled by numerous separate governments throughout its history. From Taiwan's side of the Strait, here is a brief history of who has ruled Taiwan.

Before 1624, Taiwan was ruled by a variety of aboriginal tribes, each guarding their own territory and fighting with those on their borders. Other countries may have tried to claim Taiwan but having the island on one's maps, does not mean they ruled here.

From , small parts of Taiwan were ruled by the Dutch and the Spanish; the majority of Taiwan was still ruled by aboriginal tribes.

From , parts of Taiwan were controlled by the Ming loyalist Koxinga, Zheng Cheng-gong and his followers; the majority of Taiwan still was under control by the aborigines.

From 1681 to 1895, half of Taiwan was loosely controlled by the Manchu Qing government; the remaining half of Taiwan was still ruled by the aborigines. The French briefly controlled a small portion in 1885, but quickly left.

From 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was ruled by Japan following the Treaty of Shimonoseki. This was the first time all of Taiwan was controlled and ruled by any nation. The aborigines no longer controlled any part of the island.

In 1945, at the end of World War II Taiwan was turned over in trusteeship to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of the Republic of China by the United States. Taiwan's status was not spelled out. The KMT under Chiang Kai-shek would control Taiwan by martial law and a police state until 1988.

In 1949, the Republic of China (ROC) under Chiang Kai-shek lost the civil war in China and his forces retreated to Taiwan taking advantage of the police state they held there. The People's Republic of China (PRC) was born and ruled China but not Taiwan; it has never ruled any part of Taiwan.

In 1952, the Treaty of San Francisco did not clarify matters. It stated that Japan must give up Taiwan but it did not say to whom. By the United Nations Charter, the people of Taiwan should have been given the choice of self-determination; they were not. The KMT's Republic of China, now on Taiwan, continued its martial law and police state.

In 1972 the United States muddied the waters and added to the ambiguity by introducing the innocuous phrase "one China" in the Shanghai Communiqué. By this it admitted that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China each had their own interpretation of what was "one China." But it did not state what the USA's interpretation was, nor did it endorse either the PRC or the ROC position. The people of Taiwan were not consulted. (Those that want a more detailed explanation of this can consult my posting of August 10, 2006, "Taiwan, Lazy Journalists, and Unfinished Phrases").

At the end of 1991, all of the surviving members of the Republic of China's Legislative Yuan who had been elected in China in 1947 and had never had to face election again were forced to retire. The people of Taiwan now for the first time had the right to elect all members of the Legislative Yuan.

In 1996 the first ever election of the President of Taiwan by popular vote was held. Taiwan was no longer under the one party KMT state. It was completely ruled by the vote of the people. For the first time, the new separate government was that of the people of Taiwan. On the other side of the Strait in China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) still ruled.

This brings us to the present and the half truth of journalists. Have China and Taiwan been ruled by separate governments since the end of the civil war? Taiwan has always been ruled by many separate governments from 1624 on. After 1949, Taiwan was first controlled by the KMT's one-party state; now it is ruled by its people in a democracy. China has been ruled by the same CCP since 1949.

The ambiguous status of democratic Taiwan from the Treaty of San Francisco remains ambiguous.

Other writings can be found at http://zen.sandiego.edu:8080/Jerome.

Those Attempting to Rewrite History are Probably Planning to Repeat It

I received this from my friend Bernard Williams, WW2 Navy Veteran:

We cannot, we must not, ever forget what happened in Europe over 60 years ago, because it could happen again. Anyone, any group, could be the target.

It has been said that those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it. In this case, those who are attempting to rewrite history are probably planning to repeat it! The hatred is already there, in place, taught to the children from infancy, with promises of glory and honor to those who carry out the plans. Forewarned is forearmed, and I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll do the same.

In Memoriam

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It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This blog post is in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be "a myth," it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because the Islamo-Facists want to do it again.