Dear Friends
NI HAO….
Hu Jin Tao is now is now in the U.S. I just saw him standing next to George. I heard his speech. I heard what he had to say about Taiwan, and I heard what George had to say about it all. If Taiwan decides to join China… that is Taiwan’s choice. Unlike China, Taiwan is a democracy. People here are free to choose their leaders, their religion, and their path in life. There is freedom here that I have never known before. These people know what it means to have rights. They have lived it! In my lifetime these people lived under marshal law. These people have been close allies with the U.S. since WWII. During the days of the Red Scare & McCarthyism the U.S. saw Taipei as the official capital and leadership of China. Now the U.S. is willing to forsake millions of people for a bit of economic gain.
I only hope that his (Hu Jin Tao’s) call for peace is sincere. China still has a long way to go before it can be trusted. It has some severe civil rights violations still in practice and it must be called on to be a better steward of the environment. Taiwan will choose when it wishes to be part of China again. As a U.S. citizen here in Taiwan, I know the U.S. needs to standby Taiwan as a long time friend and not jump onto an economic bandwagon with abandon.
Friends and family back home, please pay attention to this issue, listen and think. Let me know your opinions on this matter. If Taiwan and China are to reunify let it be on behalf of a democracy and not the remnants of the worst “communism” had to offer.

xiaxia ni or thank you very much….from this side of the world… Daniel James