fcgamer | 4,723 Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Good to see systemic racism is alive and well here in the second largest city in Taiwan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWunderful | 2,927 Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Foreigners is a race now? Xenophobic is the word you are looking for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 12 hours ago, MrWunderful said: Foreigners is a race now? Xenophobic is the word you are looking for No, it's not actually. You need to know a bit about the language and culture to understand this. The word foreigner translates into Chinese as 外國人, but this term is generally only used for white folks, and possibly black folks. So a Japanese or Vietnamese, while a foreigner to Taiwan, would not generally be referred to as a 外國人. So yeah, in this situation it's 100% based solely on skin colour, and race, though I don't fault you for not knowing this, as it's something that requires a deeper knowledge of the culture and language to know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWunderful | 2,927 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 Oh ok. So I would have to convert english to chinese, then have to understand the local Taiwanese cUlture Thats quite a stretch at victimization, but sure, why not! “Man Taiwan is a terrible place for white people, we all feel your plight and stand with you” DAVES LIFE MATTERS 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 2 hours ago, MrWunderful said: Oh ok. So I would have to convert english to chinese, then have to understand the local Taiwanese cUlture Thats quite a stretch at victimization, but sure, why not! “Man Taiwan is a terrible place for white people, we all feel your plight and stand with you” DAVES LIFE MATTERS Lol, give it a rest Corey, you should just admit that you have no clue on the actuality of the situation, rather than just making narrow-minded assumptions viewed from the eyes of an American without the knowledge to understand any of the matter at hand. Don't worry, I'll hold your hand and walk you through the process, maybe you can actually learn a thing or two Go to Google translate, select English to Chinese (traditional characters), type in "foreigner". It will spit out the following, 外國人 (wai guo ren), literally meaning something like "outside country person", aka foreigner. Now take the term and do a Google search, and you'll see that this generally only refers to people of certain races, and not other races. Go back and translate 外國人 into English, it will just give the word "foreigner", but without any context at all. I suspect that this shares a similar usage and context with the Japanese term gaijin, though I don't speak Japanese or know enough about the culture to know for sure. If we want to take it further, the word for "foreigner" in Taiwanense is something like ahdawa, I was told it translates literally as high nosed people or big nosed people or something like that. It again refers exclusively to one particular race, despite translating generally as "foreigner". So yeah, the sign had nothing to do with xenophobia at all, and everything to do with race. I don't fault you for not knowing any of this to begin with, but I do genuinely wish that instead of trying to take small stabs and what not, you instead recognise that you were wrong and take it as a learning experience about racism in other parts of the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,521 Editorials Team · Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 On 12/27/2020 at 4:06 PM, fcgamer said: Good to see systemic racism is alive and well here in the second largest city in Taiwan. I still don't understand why you choose to live there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 (edited) https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/05/europe/european-coronavirus-lockdowns-2021-intl/index.html Edited January 5, 2021 by avatar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 As a new surge of COVID-19 cases crops up, China is again wielding doors shut to homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) Edit: see post below by @fcgamer Edited January 22, 2021 by avatar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Thank you! It's good to be back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 On 1/20/2021 at 4:02 AM, avatar! said: Intentional Karen embarrassing Americans all over the world... SIGH It's funny, actually I've seen this woman before, as she lives in the same city that I do. I don't personally know her, but I certainly know of her, and have seen her before. It's also funny to see a video randomly posted on VGS of someone I "know". @OptOut , have you seen this woman before? She's even been spotted before all the way out in Puli. I'm not going to justify her actions and say that she is in the right, but the comments that avatar! said are far, far from the truth, too, it's not just a case of a woman trying purposefully to be a Karen. This woman has been a resident of Taiwan for a long, long time. The expat community in my city all know of her, she seems to have some sort of mental illness, and subsequently, she seems to be just scraping by. For those who don't know, there are not a lot of options for those who suffer from mental illness over here, there's a stigma a million times worse than in the States for it. Then we come to the next situation. A local bloke was intentionally trying to antagonise the woman just to get a reaction, so that he could get a decent amount of hits on his YouTube channel or whatever. We should look at the culture some to understand it. First of all, minority groups anywhere in the world have their actions highly scrutinized compared to the locals / majority groups. You guys have seen me posting pictures and complaining left and right on here about locals not social distancing, not wearing masks, etc, but it only becomes an issue because this person isn't local. Locals wouldn't necessarily make a scene like this, as Taiwan is a culture that revolves around the idea of losing face in public. Contrast that with many western societies, if someone starts to unfairly pick on one of us, I'd reckon we are much more likely to tell the person where to stick it. And the video recorder knows this, it's a young guy. He is purposely trying to single out and bait a western woman, knowing full well the following: 1. Because she is a minority group, it's easier to get the rest of the population to stand on his side. 2. He will likely be able to get a fighting/negative response from her. 3. She likely won't endanger him, as a woman. If it were a dude, he might not have done it, for fear of getting punched. 4. He might have even been able to detect she is not mentally sound, making an easier target for his shenanigans, it's hard to say. Additionally, despite what headlines make it out to be, the woman was wearing her mask, it's just that her nose wasn't covered by it. As I've said before, I've seen tons of locals do this, from children to grandparents, to politicians. Yelling at people and having a breakdown on the train, yeah I agree it's embarassing, especially when the videos are edited and headlines are designed to paint a story of a "Karen". But in actuality, nah, it's just a mentally ill woman that was baited into a breakdown so a local gay boy could have a few lulz and get a few hits to his online channel, whilst dozens of local passengers in the rest of the damn train did the same "offence" or worse, regarding mask usage. Honestly doesn't seem like Karen behaviour to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) Thanks @fcgamer I do apologize for jumping to conclusions, and it really did seem from the video like she was a true Karen, but I'm glad to have your side of the story to get the full picture. I am sorry to hear she has a mental illness, from the video it seems like she was just arrogant. Clearly, jumping to conclusions is wrong - a natural reaction perhaps, but we have to be careful. Edited January 22, 2021 by avatar! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 @avatar!No harm, no foul, I'd definitely had thought the same as you had I not known the backstory. The fact that it even made it over to whatever place that you saw it though, says something, that I'd then even recognise the woman, us both attending a small forum as VGS. Just to make a point though, I haven't seen any video of this, or of it becoming big news (yet?): https://taiwanenglishnews.com/bus-driver-passenger-fight-over-proper-mask-wearing/ I also saw a picture of a politician riding the subway with his mask down, though I don't have the picture at the moment. I don't think the attitude "oh the locals are doing it" should give the "guests" a free pass, though similarly at what point does the "guest" become a "local"? In many countries, you can obtain citizenship without giving up your original citizenship, in what, 5 years? In Taiwan that's not the case at all. Then there's ABC living in California for his whole life, with dual Taiwanense/American passports, who flees to Taiwan because life is better here during these covid-19 times. But I'd say that having spent just under 1/3 of my life in Taiwan, I'm more Taiwanense than he would be. And the idea of trying to pick fights with people for YouTube clicks, well don't get me started with that, I see it here, with police audits, etc. If there's truly an issue to begin with (such as the link above), then by all means, but trying to pick fights, yeah that's not cool in my book. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Looks like the WHO shat the bed again: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4112874 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 I really hope the USA steps-up and supports Taiwan in their struggle for freedom and democracy https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-can-defend-taiwan-11611684038 The stakes for America are immense. Keeping Taiwan out of Beijing’s grip is crucial for denying China’s goal of attaining regional hegemony and eventually global pre-eminence. The island occupies a pivotal geographic position. If Taiwan falls, China would have the ability to project military power throughout Asia. Japan, the Philippines, Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands would all be more vulnerable to China’s military. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202101280010 Taiwan only receives third place? I'd really like to see the elements as to how they are ranking these countries, as Taiwan did better than both Vietnam and New Zealand. Likely bullshit politics at play. Why do I argue against the ranking? Well time to throw out some numbers: -Less than one hundred cases of the virus transmitted in the country -Economic Growth -less than ten deaths -no lockdowns, everyone is living basically a normal life here All the other "Taiwan cases" are just people coming into the country, either travellers for business, or dual citizenship holders. What happens? Well they catch covid-19 while abroad, in Europe or the USA or wherever, then they bring it back to Taiwan. But...they enter a two week quarantine after arriving in Taiwan, then another self maintenance period, at home, and if they then test positive during this time they go to the hospital for treatment. So even count these cases is irrelevant, especially when we would be double counting people as they are picking this up abroad. Even still, we are at just under a thousand cases, and the lion's share don't even enter into society until they recovered. So my ass that Taiwan is third place, it's obviously a political powerplay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 5 hours ago, fcgamer said: https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202101280010 Taiwan only receives third place? I'd really like to see the elements as to how they are ranking these countries, as Taiwan did better than both Vietnam and New Zealand. Likely bullshit politics at play. Why do I argue against the ranking? Well time to throw out some numbers: -Less than one hundred cases of the virus transmitted in the country -Economic Growth -less than ten deaths -no lockdowns, everyone is living basically a normal life here All the other "Taiwan cases" are just people coming into the country, either travellers for business, or dual citizenship holders. What happens? Well they catch covid-19 while abroad, in Europe or the USA or wherever, then they bring it back to Taiwan. But...they enter a two week quarantine after arriving in Taiwan, then another self maintenance period, at home, and if they then test positive during this time they go to the hospital for treatment. So even count these cases is irrelevant, especially when we would be double counting people as they are picking this up abroad. Even still, we are at just under a thousand cases, and the lion's share don't even enter into society until they recovered. So my ass that Taiwan is third place, it's obviously a political powerplay. Edit: furthermore, new Zealand cargo pilots should learn how to wear face masks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Welcome to the 2021 Medieval & Barbaric Times https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/29/two-gay-men-indonesia-publicly-caned-77-times-vigilantes-broke/ The consumption of alcohol, gambling, tight clothing for women, and extramarital sex have also been outlawed under Shariah ordinances. The men, aged 27 and 29, were whipped on Thursday with a rattan stick in front of dozens of people by a team of five enforcers wearing long brown robes and hoods. The pair reportedly winced as they were struck and the punishment was briefly halted to allow them to drink water. The mother of one man fainted at the scene. A Shariah court last month sentenced each man to 80 strokes, but they received 77 to compensate for time spent in prison. Morality offenses including gay sex can be punished by up to 100 lashes. On the same day, a woman and man were each given 20 lashes for being caught in close proximity to each other, and two men were given 40 lashes each for drinking alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 As Monty Python would say, And Now for Something Completely Different! If you're a fan of British comedy, you'll love this... and, well, it's not really comedy but it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/europe/russia-navalny-doctor-maximishin-dies-intl/index.html "(Maximishin) knew more than anyone else about Alexey's condition so I can't dismiss possibility of foul play," he added. "However Russia's health care system is very poor and it's not uncommon for doctors of his age to suddenly die. I doubt there will any investigation into his death," Volkov continued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) Diplomat Daniel Kritenbrink for the win! And the rap From your boy in Hanoi Edited February 10, 2021 by avatar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-china-55996728 Whether you believe that covid-19 was leaked from the lab or not, it seems quite convenient to me that now the WHO is stating that the virus may have originated in Southeast Asia. Quite convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 3,983 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 41 minutes ago, fcgamer said: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-china-55996728 Whether you believe that covid-19 was leaked from the lab or not, it seems quite convenient to me that now the WHO is stating that the virus may have originated in Southeast Asia. Quite convenient. The WHO and this report are a complete farce. They should have been there at the start, not a year later. China have already silenced the people that know things. Now they are pointing the WHO towards a SE Asian country so China can save face. Any leader that believes this WHO report must have rocks in their head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,811 Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/14/health/who-mission-china-intl/index.html The slow emergence of more detailed data gathered on the WHO's long-awaited trip into China may add to concerns voiced by other scientists studying the origins of the disease that it may have been spreading in China long before its first official emergence in mid-December. Embarek, who has just returned to Switzerland from Wuhan, told CNN: "The virus was circulating widely in Wuhan in December, which is a new finding." ...Embarek said the mission's circumstances -- of intense quarantine periods and social distancing -- had led to some frustrations, along with the global scrutiny of its conduct and findings. Yeah, it's a bit hard to you know, trust China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kguillemette | 1,544 Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/17/facebook-will-ban-australian-users-from-sharing-or-viewing-news.html I feel like this will be a big deal in the coming weeks. I'll be watching what happens closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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