Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

From little acorns can grow mighty oak trees

Wang Dan 王丹

A message appeared on an overseas dissident Web site on Feb. 19, calling on people to gather at 2pm the next day in 13 major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Nanjing. The message was quickly spread on Twitter and Facebook, and pretty soon everyone was talking about the “Jasmine Revolution.”

Sure enough, on Sunday afternoon, people went to the suggested locations. The Jasmine Revolution had begun in China, albeit on nothing like the scale we have seen in the Middle East in recent weeks.

Protesters tail Chinese envoy as he tours south

Taipei Times

Protesters from around the country yesterday converged in Greater Kaohsiung, the first stop of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) first trip to southern Taiwan, for a second day of protest.

Small groups of rowdy demonstrators streamed into key venues throughout Chen’s visit, including E-DA World, the tourist complex where Chen was staying and had lunch with local Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians and business executives.

A chance to stand on right side of history

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

The “Jasmine Revolution” is rolling over North Africa: first Tunisia, then Egypt and now Libya. Oppressed people are suddenly seeing that entrenched regimes are not forever, and are taking to the streets, giving people power new meaning.

However, it is having worldwide repercussions: Restlessness and unrest has not been confined to neighboring countries such as Bahrain, Yemen and Syria. This weekend, pro-democracy activists in China attempted to spread the word on the Jasmine Revolution, leading to an unprecedented crackdown by security forces, and an almost total clampdown on the Internet. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party politburo reportedly met to discuss measures to prevent the news of what is happening in North Africa from spreading in China.

Beijing praises Ma’s use of ‘mainland’ designation

Taipei Times

Beijing yesterday praised President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) call for Taiwanese to refer to China as “mainland China” or “the other side,” a move that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said constituted political manipulation.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) said that Chinese officials had seen reports of Ma’s comment on the matter and they welcomed the move wholeheartedly.

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