More from @notXiangyu

Jul 27

Lai Ching-te would make a great eunuch in an imperial court, an advisor to the emperor, doing what he does until the very end with great determination and stubbornness. But instead he’s proven to be a very ineffective leader of not just Taiwan, but his party, the DPP 🧵

Because of his impatience, he decided to launch a "great recall campaign" (you’re naive if you really believe it was truly "grassroots") to gain the majority in the opposition-dominated legislature. Instead of exploiting existing rifts in the opposition, he mended them.

How so? Firstly, the KMT itself is a very internally-divided party. This is why it’s been so weak since 2016. He could have exploited this. Secondly, the opposition has the majority seats in the leadership because the TPP is now allied with the KMT against the DPP.

Read 8 tweets

Jul 20

WHY THE "NEWS" OF CHINA RECENTLY BANNING ONLYFANS IS FAKE!

Pornography is already illegal on the Chinese mainland, as is using the internet to transmit pornographic content.

Below are the relevant laws 🧵

1. Criminal Law of the PRC

Article 363: Criminalizes the production, duplication, publication, sale, or dissemination of pornographic materials for profit. Penalties range from imprisonment to life imprisonment for severe cases.

Article 364: Bans the dissemination of pornography through the internet or other channels. Offenders face up to 2 years imprisonment; severe cases may lead to 2–10 years.

Read 15 tweets

Jul 19

Chinese state media has failed at winning over the hearts of Taiwan compatriots, not because there’s no talent, and definitely not due to some shortage of Taiwan compatriots willing to work with them, but because the incentive structure is utterly broken. 🧵

When making content intended for Taiwan audiences, rather than making content that genuinely appeals to the people here, most of the pressure is about pleasing higher-ups. It’s a circle jerk that encourages performative loyalty, not sincere engagement.

So what do we get? Some junior employee at a state outlet thinks it’s a win to get someone from Taiwan on camera shouting slogans about reunification under the five-star red flag! Yeah, I’m all for that goal, but this isn’t how you win over people who aren’t on board yet.

Read 19 tweets

Jul 19

Some updates from the ground in Taiwan 🧵

Political chaos, economic strain, and democratic backsliding are all accelerating, all with the @ChingteLai administration at the center of it. Here’s what you need to know:

If you’ve been following me, you’d know about the "Great Recall" that’s going on right now. Basically, the DPP decided that it’s an affront to democracy for an opposition-held legislature to vote against DPP policy. Their solution is to recall KMT legislators.

However, the DPP’s recall strategy is collapsing. Even they internally admit that only 4 seats might flip. They need 6 to gain a majority. But the damage has been done: society is now more polarized than ever, and dialogue is basically impossible at this point.

Read 9 tweets

Jun 29

In the west, the story of Hitler is mostly framed around his nationalism and his views on Jews. We’re told to hate him because he was a bigot, while the political economy of the Nazis is not mentioned.

Fascism isn’t just bigotry + nationalism, but finance capital in crisis mode.

Hitler wasn’t some blind, hateful maniac, but rather a tool. Specifically, a last-ditch effort by finance capital to destroy the Soviet Union after the west failed to crush the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.

Hence why Wall Street and western elites backed him early on.

But western liberals & the elites they serve don’t want you thinking about that

So they hyperfocus on Hitler’s antisemitism, and depoliticize fascism into just "hate speech" + "right-wing vibes.

The end result is fascism being understood as an aesthetic and not a class project

Read 16 tweets

Jun 2

🧵Why is the KMT more popular than the DPP among Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, especially on the east coast?

The KMT has a long history of clientelist politics in Indigenous areas, dating back to martial law. Vote-buying—cash, rice, alcohol—was once common, especially in the east coast counties of Hualien and Taitung. Not exactly clean, but very tangible.

Many Indigenous voters to this day think "at least the KMT got close with us and bought our votes. What does the DPP offer? Token indigenous politicians who don’t know our lives?”

It’s realpolitik in action.

Read 12 tweets