Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Lamenting China’s occupation of his homeland while recounting how Beijing has exploited his people and tried to destroy their culture, Japan Uyghur Association chairman Ilham Mahmut recounted how he become an activist for the independence of East Turkestan — now under Chinese rule as Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — and urged Taiwanese to be cautious when dealing with China to avoid history repeating itself.

“When you try to deal with the Chinese, it is important to remember that the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] government could make hundreds or thousands of beautiful promises, but none of those will ever be realized,” Ilham told the Taipei Times in an interview on Thursday in Taipei.

The Past few weeks have been like a Neocon’s comeback convention in Taipei with visits from celebrated warmongers, including former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld and former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz. It’s very easy to talk trash about these guys, but when you’re as isolated as Taiwan is, you need all the friends you can get — even if they are evil.

A few friends of mine mix in higher circles and one of them had the displeasure of dining with the Wolf while he was visiting — he even survived to tell the tale. Wolfowitz apparently told my buddy over burgers that Washington policy wonks couldn’t understand why President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is so unpopular, what with increased cross-strait stability and stable economic growth during his four years in office.