Comments on: Taiwan food critic jailed for criticizing food

Taiwan food critic jailed for criticizing food

lily_bart — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:19:34 -0800

Blogger jailed over critical restaurant review. The Taichung branch of Taiwan High Court on Tuesday sentenced a blogger who wrote that a restaurant's beef noodles were too salty to 30 days in detention and two years of probation and ordered her to pay NT$200,000 in compensation to the restaurant.

By: Tomorrowful

Tomorrowful — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:21:56 -0800

Note to self: Cancel plans for Taiwanese Yelp clone.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:23:29 -0800

There are many reasons why blogger should pay a debt to society, but this is not one of them.

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:24:57 -0800

And such small portions!

By: bearwife

bearwife — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:25:41 -0800

Yang said he filed the charges because Liu's negative comments about his restaurant led many customers to call him to ask if her review was true. He said he hoped the case would teach her a lesson. Huang Cheng-lee (黃呈利), a lawyer in Taichung, said that bloggers who post food reviews should remember to be truthful in their commentary and supplement their comments with photographs to protect themselves. He also said bloggers should be objective and fair in their writing. Thank you, Anti-Federalists, for the Bill of Rights, and in particular for the First Amendment. And thank you, U.S. Supreme Court, for making it perfectly clear that the First Amendment applies to libel claims, too.

By: flippant

flippant — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:25:43 -0800

These pretzels are making me ~~thirsty~~ feel incredible. Yum!

By: neuromodulator

neuromodulator — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:26:45 -0800

Is this real? I mean, I don't seen any evidence that it's not real, but I'd really like it to be not real.

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:27:47 -0800

Note to self: Cancel plans for Taiwanese Yelp clone. Note to self: Get in touch with Taiwanese mob re: Yelp clone.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:28:25 -0800

How does a dispute between two private parties fall under their criminal statutes? I'm wondering if there's some graft going on behind the scenes.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:30:18 -0800

Were the beef noodles actually too salty?

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:30:25 -0800

How does a dispute between two private parties fall under their criminal statutes? I'm wondering if there's some graft going on behind the scenes. There are criminal libel statutes in Taiwan.

By: Salvor Hardin

Salvor Hardin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:32:43 -0800

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing - apparently criminal defamation statutes are fairly widespread.

By: jnnla

jnnla — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:35:06 -0800

It may be Taiwan...but with rulings like this it's still China.

By: Splunge

Splunge — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:38:55 -0800

...bloggers who post food reviews should remember to be truthful in their commentary and supplement their comments with photographs to protect themselves. How do you photograph the flavor of "too salty"?

By: phaedon

phaedon — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:39:51 -0800

A fresh a peppa?

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:39:53 -0800

X-ray crystallography, duh.

By: bleep

bleep — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:40:44 -0800

Unless there are visible salt crystals you can't say it's too salty. That's not really fair; some people might like it that way.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:40:54 -0800

How could a photograph prove that the noodles were too salty? I think crapmatic is right about there being some hidden factors behind the scenes. Either that, or the court really wanted to teach bloggers a lesson, and decided this was the case to do it with.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:41:14 -0800

Argh, splunge!

By: qvantamon

qvantamon — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:41:59 -0800

The High Court found that Liu's criticism about cockroaches in the restaurant to be a narration of facts, not intentional slander. Health officials who inspected the restaurant did not find conditions to be as unsanitary as Liu had described, so the High Court also ruled that Liu must pay NT$200,000 to the owner for revenues lost as a result of her blog post. To be fair, they did have a sign in the bathroom claiming that cockroaches must wash their hands before returning to the kitchen.

By: librarylis

librarylis — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:42:57 -0800

The one thing I remember distinctly about the Taiwanese airport was this poster, visible as soon as you got off the plane, that said something to the effect of 'Bloggers, watch out! You need to speak respectfully about the nation or there will be consequences.' I can't find the poster I'm thinking of online, but it was really startling, and in fact I sort of remember it mentioning jail time as a consequence. This, coupled with the soldier with the large gun at the X-ray machine between terminals, did not do much for my impression of Taiwan. Nice shopping malls, though.

By: effluvia

effluvia — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:45:15 -0800

A Los Angeles Times food critic recently got the unwelcome mat as well. Ay, the panopticon is upon us.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:46:05 -0800

Well, you all know the saying: If you can't say anything nice, go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:46:22 -0800

I guess they really don't like being criticized in public. Maybe it's considered to be a loss of face.

By: hank

hank — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:47:06 -0800

Food Defamation Laws

By: Naberius

Naberius — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:47:15 -0800

Just as another bit of data, one of the major plot points of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo revolves around the fact that Sweden apparently considers libel a criminal matter that comes with jail time if you're convicted.

By: Old'n'Busted

Old'n'Busted — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:54:43 -0800

I hear that the noodles in question are made from leftover bits of shoe leather, which explains their rather tough texture and their durability as footwear.

By: Citrus

Citrus — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:57:07 -0800

Note to self: Cancel plans to visit Taiwan. Urge friends to do same.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:58:20 -0800

The decision over whether to send poorly prepared food back and risk the cook spitting in it or instead to blog about it is easy in Taiwan. After all, they might not spit in it.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:58:48 -0800

Note to self: Cancel plans to visit Taiwan. Urge friends to do same. That's a jail sentence, right there, Citrus! 6 months!

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:01:20 -0800

librarylis: "This, coupled with the soldier with the large gun at the X-ray machine between terminals, did not do much for my impression of Taiwan. Nice shopping malls, though." Welcome to pure capitalism.

By: Salvor Hardin

Salvor Hardin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:03:14 -0800

Anyone else feel like this could have been a deleted scene from Tampopo?

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:05:07 -0800

I find Astro Zombie too salty.

By: peripathetic

peripathetic — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:08:45 -0800

Note to self: Cancel plans to visit Taiwan. Urge friends to do same. I hope you're being facetious. Taiwan is one of Asia's most underrated destinations with great food, lovely people, an interesting history and very committed political activists. And despite its checkered political past (and present), it's still one of the most vibrant, truer democracies in Asia.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:10:43 -0800

I find Astro Zombie too salty. That's a lawsuitin'!

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:14:54 -0800

I find Astro Zombie too salty. The trick is to get close, without actually licking, Astro Zombie. If there is an actual tongue-touch, that is a 15-point demerit.* *Only under the public competition; the rules concerning licking Astro Zombie in private are, of course, between Astro Zombie and the licker.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:14:58 -0800

This makes me think of "Sorry Fugu".

By: Splunge

Splunge — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:17:46 -0800

Kevin Street: "Argh, splunge!" If I had a dime for every time I've heard that.

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:22:53 -0800

peripathetic at 11:08 AM on June 23 [+] [!] [Taiwan] is still one of the most vibrant, truer democracies in Asia. Not so sure about that. Putting a blogger in 30 days detention along with a fine because of an opinion about noodles is absurd in the extreme and should - at least - be a sign to travellers that Taiwan has one heck of a long way to go before they are a true democracy. [Not that you probably can't find some absurd court cases in America....]

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:26:24 -0800

Could this be a case of one judge gone a little crazy who will be reversed on the appeal that was filed? We have cranky judges in The U.S. too. It sounds as though she may not actually be jailed at the moment. All the article says is that she was sentenced to 30 days and has appealed. I wonder if the newspaper's headline could be hyperbole .

By: gyc

gyc — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:29:16 -0800

Sounds like the 30 days in jail is actually a suspended sentence.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:31:31 -0800

The trick is to get close, without actually licking, Astro Zombie. That's a trick on Astro Zombie. Do you also offer Astro Zombie candy and then throw it away when he gets close?

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:32:41 -0800

Mister_A likes it when Astro Zombie talks about itself in the third person.

By: haveanicesummer

haveanicesummer — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:34:00 -0800

We (probably) shouldn't hold all of Taiwan responsible for this and decide to swear off the whole place. I certainly don't want to be held to account for how Arizona treats immigrants or everytime some state tries to outlaw various consensual acts between adults.

By: kitchenrat

kitchenrat — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:51:45 -0800

i like it. people who write restaurant reviews fall into two categories: self absorbed assholes or friends of the owner.

By: Bwithh

Bwithh — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:09:11 -0800

the details of the particular case aside, the combination of jailtime, probation and compensation seem weirdly out of wack. NT$20,000=~US$700 so the 30days of jail time and 2 years of probation seem crazily too much by comparison.

By: villanelles at dawn

villanelles at dawn — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:16:21 -0800

Bwithh, the article says the fine was NT200,000, which is about half what the average Taiwanese worker makes in a year. The average price of a bowl of beef noodles is probably NT80.

By: thsmchnekllsfascists

thsmchnekllsfascists — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:23:41 -0800

i like it. people who write restaurant reviews fall into two categories: self absorbed assholes or friends of the owner. Or, you know, restaurant critics.

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:24:43 -0800

kitchenrat people who write restaurant reviews fall into two categories: self absorbed assholes or friends of the owner. Let's try your theory shall we? > Blogger: Your noodles are too salty. > Owner: Only a self absorbed asshole would write that my noodles are too salty! OR > Blogger: Your noodles are too salty. > Owner: You're a good friend of mine, thank you! Have some more noodles on me. Nope doesn't fit.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:27:23 -0800

There can be no other point of view, Rashomon.

By: peripathetic

peripathetic — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:27:23 -0800

Rashomon, Taiwan is a true democracy in that their political leaders are directly chosen by the people in free and fair elections. As for press freedom, it ranked 48 in the world last year, but is the third most highly ranked Asian country after Japan and Hong Kong. This court ruling does strike me as unusual and does not jive with my experiences in Taiwan at all, where I worked at a pro-democracy non-profit for two years. There is no such thing as a perfect democracy, of course, but I am a bit annoyed by a couple of knee-jerky responses that I've witnessed so far. I am trying not to take it too personally, but I really fucking love this country and I wish it was better understood.

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:31:38 -0800

This is a nutty case, but nutty cases happen all the time in all kinds of places. 48 isn't an awesome place to be on the press freedom ranking, but neither is it horrible, and to put things into perspective, that's ranked around Italy, Slovenia, Paraguay, and El Salvador. Compare to the 171 ranking for China, deep into the red.

By: humboldt32

humboldt32 — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:45:52 -0800

Suddenly I'm glad to live in the USA. I'm sure that feeling will disappear momentarily.

By: herbplarfegan

herbplarfegan — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:56:24 -0800

Brain is hurting... must stop thinking about this now.

By: FJT

FJT — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:00:08 -0800

I'm an American too, albeit one that was born in Taiwan. Honestly, searching my own reactions, the tone on some of the posts strikes me as "arrogance". It could be American arrogance, or Western arrogance, or just arrogance that comes from living in a big/powerful country. Taiwan owes a good deal of it's existence to the United States. I'm simplifying a bit, but the Truman administration was prepared to let Taiwan fend for itself before the Korean War triggered the containment policy, which then made Taiwan a key strategic partner in the Cold War. This began the long relationship between Taiwan and the United States which led to economic, social, and political development of the island. Taiwan has become one of US's oversea success stories. Maybe one of the few. And Taiwan's had it's own achivements like democratic governance, universal health care, and bubble milk-tea. I'm not telling you that Taiwan is above reproach. There's still political corruption, copyright violations, and the whole relationship with China. But these are largely first world problems. I'm just asking for some nuance and tact to a longtime US ally that's pretty much largely integrated into the global system. Maybe also a consideration that when a country goes democratic, it's not going to be exactly like America. A country whose government actually has changed for the better over the years because of US involvement, and a country whose people can still be said to actually like Americans (not just their money either).

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:00:34 -0800

people who write restaurant reviews fall into two categories: self absorbed assholes or friends of the owner. I have known four print-published restaurant critics, and none of them were assholes. Two of them were a little self-absorbed.

By: hank

hank — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:15:54 -0800

These folks worked to oppose passage of model state food libel laws in the US (historical, no news since 2000)

By: IanMorr

IanMorr — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:50:39 -0800

wrote that a restaurant's beef noodles were too salty It sounds from the article like the crux of the case was that the blogger wrote that all the food in the restaurant was too salty, having only tried the noodles. I can see the reasoning behind their decision, even if the resulting prosecution is an unreasonable response.

By: Splunge

Splunge — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:05:28 -0800

humboldt32: "Suddenly I'm glad to live in the USA. I'm sure that feeling will disappear momentarily." Have you been to the Bachmann FPP?

By: humboldt32

humboldt32 — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:17:34 -0800

@Splunge: Can't bring myself to even read that one. That's ok the "US Supreme Court rules in favor of data mining" FPP brought me crashing down from my euphoric state. Didn't take long.

By: Lovecraft In Brooklyn

Lovecraft In Brooklyn — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:25:47 -0800

A few reviewers in Australia have been sued over bad reviews and ordered to pay large sums of money.

By: eeeeeez

eeeeeez — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:38:17 -0800

It's always interesting to watch Americans discover they live in one of the freest countries in the world.

By: Karlos the Jackal

Karlos the Jackal — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:44:08 -0800

Do you also offer Astro Zombie candy and then throw it away when he gets close? Yes. I'm withholding it. Look at me, getting off.

By: tumid dahlia

tumid dahlia — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:50:38 -0800

I hope they never find that online review I did of their tiger dick soup. ("Way too dicky.")

By: Zed

Zed — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:02:23 -0800

The article isn't very clearly written, but it seems to say that while the judge did criticize the blogger for the "saltiness" thing, the fine was for accusing the restaurant of unsanitary conditions which were ruled inaccurate. It doesn't attribute a specific cause for the jail sentence or probation. According to Wikipedia, in the U.S., "Criminal libel is rarely prosecuted but exists on the books in many states, and is constitutionally permitted in circumstances essentially identical to those where civil libels liability is constitutional."

By: zippy

zippy — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:13:37 -0800

'The court that ruled that "too salty" is libel is too salty' ... is what I heard one stranger on the street say to another recently.

By: the noob

the noob — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:32:40 -0800

Were the beef noodles actually too salty? thin ice Astro Zombie.

By: His thoughts were red thoughts

His thoughts were red thoughts — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:42:50 -0800

A few reviewers in Australia have been sued over bad reviews and ordered to pay large sums of money. No, the restaurant in the SINGLE case that you so blithely refer to, ultimately lost in the Supreme Court.

By: His thoughts were red thoughts

His thoughts were red thoughts — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:44:08 -0800

What's the penalty for pointing out that beef noodles are *supposed* to be salty?

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:45:25 -0800

They send you to the salt mines.

By: His thoughts were red thoughts

His thoughts were red thoughts — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:50:24 -0800

They send you to the salt mines. I see. How are the noodles there?

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:50:47 -0800

Surprisingly bland.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:51:30 -0800

Oh, crap! *is beaten to death for badmouthing the noodles at the salt mines*

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:20:03 -0800

peripathetic Understood. Taiwan is indeed a democracy. And this article is most definitely cherry picking a case to make it seem like Taiwan is some backwater dicatorship. I guess it just drives me crazy when I see stories like this. But having never been to Taiwan I am hoping it is an exception to the normal course of daily life there. I guess we should take this article with a grain of salty beef noodles.

By: Namlit

Namlit — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:21:09 -0800

The cockroaches were too salty, but no one took pics to support the claim. [And I, a hobby food blogger, may have to go to that lovely country in the fall for my job...colleagues promise to take me to "that great place, maaan, you have no idea", where they had whatever or else. I'd better get writer's block for a while. Blogger's block, really.]

By: tumid dahlia

tumid dahlia — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:27:31 -0800

The story behind why beef noodles are so salty is that once upon a time, it was the only way to smuggle salt out of the country, to start a new life in the Americas, where once they had no salt, and now they have all of the salt. Immigrants used to arrive by boat and the smugglers would transfer to special "salt skiffs", which were basically a square floating platform with a fine bamboo mesh stretched across the middle. The immigrants were instructed to finally empty their bladders - a great relief, having held it in the entire way - through the fine mesh, which filtered out the mineral particulates, namely, salt. Their great satisfied moans of "Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" echoed throughout this strange new continent, and noticeably voluminous urinators were said to be "worth their salt" and generally sent back to the continent for more salt. Repeat performers were "true to their salt" but generally wanted to escape, and were locked downstairs in a cellar known as a "salt hold" (as in "hold that salt!"), and a burly man, known as a "salt shaker", would go down to rough them up from time to time to teach them the error of their ways. Those few that survived became "old salts", and died destitute, crippled by multiple strokes and sometimes pinched to death, their salty remains feasted upon by emaciated salt-dogs.

By: Dasein

Dasein — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:49:08 -0800

Is it silly that this makes me slightly less willing to support Taiwan in a war against China?

By: His thoughts were red thoughts

His thoughts were red thoughts — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:11:35 -0800

Is it silly that this makes me slightly less willing to support Taiwan in a war against China? I don't know. Can you rephrase you question by reference to the comparative saltiness of beef noodles?

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:18:36 -0800

Is it silly that this makes me slightly less willing to support Taiwan in a war against China? All LULZing aside, I think of this as part of a continuum of a mindset born in China (locally, anyway, not on a human scale, of course). To support freedom is to support Taiwan's independence. From that freedom, must other freedoms grow over time. In other words, this makes me even more determined to support Taiwan in a struggle against China. So that justice can flourish.

By: peripathetic

peripathetic — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:34:30 -0800

Is it silly that this makes me slightly less willing to support Taiwan in a war against China? Yes. Extremely.

By: secondhand pho

secondhand pho — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:49:24 -0800

Having spent nearly two years there, I'm surprised to hear this. Never encountered anything of the sort. There is an English language Yelp-ish review site based out of Kaohsiung, which is Taiwan's 2nd largest city. Its parent site is based in Hanoi, and it's thriving, despite the complete lack of free speech in that nation.

By: rahnefan

rahnefan — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:00:58 -0800

Wonder what would happen if you videotaped the cops taking the critic away.

By: polymodus

polymodus — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:43:42 -0800

Just as a point of perspective, this happened in Taichung. Obviously it would never ever happen in Taipei, which without any doubt whatsover is much more westernized / cosmopolitan and attitudes are more enlightened. Think Arizona versus California, etc, and apply your usual irrational stereotyping.

By: polymodus

polymodus — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:01:53 -0800

detention along with a fine because of an opinion about noodles is absurd Another point of Asian perspective. They have fracking good food over there. The other side of the hemisphere implicitly understands (and for centuries have understood) an aspect of human existence called food culture, that Americans in comparison have only just awakened to. More specifically, beef/beef soup noodles are a national specialty. It is even served in 5-star hotels like at The Regent Taipei. So when a random food critic publishes a bad review of your beef noodles, it may very well demolish your business and livelihood. Of course, this specific case may be overshadowed by issues such as organized crime and corruption within the Taiwanese justice system and/or unsustainable attitudes about free speech amongst the Taiwanese. But, a dispute about beef noodles? You betcha big deal.

By: askmehow

askmehow — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:28:07 -0800

taiwan doesn't have a jury system, so its basically luck of the draw w/r/t to the judge hearing the case. If he's having a bad day or loves beef soup noodle or is crazy you can get a bad ruling. In general taiwan is an amazing country, wonderful people, delicious food and plenty to do and see. However its got its idiosyncrasies like everywhere else. Fist fights in congress, shrimp tempura pizza from dominos, and those weird uncanny valley computer animated news segments to name a few.

By: Poagao

Poagao — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:09:52 -0800

Judges here in Taiwan don't have to have any legal experience; all they have to do is pass a test. Also, the way "public insult" law is enforced ensures that there is no really trustworthy review mechanisms in the media. People have been successfully prosecuted for giving someone else the finger, under the same law, in Taipei. It is not uncommon, and as many people in Taiwan support this state of affairs, it's not going anywhere. I do wonder if the judge realized at the time that this seemingly small act would impact Taiwan's international reputation when the news hit the Internet, which, thankfully, is not beholden to Taiwan's public insult laws as it would not exist in that case.

By: ShutterBun

ShutterBun — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:14:38 -0800

Umami, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law Taiwan has put an end to my bloggin' and I'm so far from my home

By: Ahab

Ahab — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:26:41 -0800

The Taichung night market is the only place I've ever found grilled duck arseholes on a stick. Tiny little rings of delight, all threaded through with bamboo, redolent of wood smoke, sprinkled with chilli, Szechwan pepper and salt. Lots and lots of salt. They were delicious.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:47:54 -0800

MetaFilter: duck arseholes on a stick

By: FJT

FJT — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:17:28 -0800

Dasein: Is it silly that this makes me slightly less willing to support Taiwan in a war against China? It's actually silly to only think about supporting a country in the event of war. People should support a peaceful and equitable solution to the Two Chinas Dilemma. One that doesn't result in thousands, if not millions of people losing their lives. And at least in my opinion, I don't expect much support in the unfortunate event of a war. Taiwan is only recognized as an independent country by approximately 20 nation-states, most of which are poor countries that receive foreign aid from Taiwan. In addition, there's this whole thing of fairness in expecting outside parties to be dragged into another war they probably don't want to engage in.