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Sorry, I didn't really mean to paint you, personally, as any kind of communist yourself. But, I was pointing out...and apparently you expected it to be done...that the reasoning you are giving for some of your stances on issues is similar and in some cases congruent to their own...that's all.

As to the points you were making about the intertwining of Formosa and the mainland...one of those points you used to negate this particular comeback was that the ROC government claims to be the legitimate government of the mainland...but that is not the case anymore and is something nearly a decade or so out of date.

I believe from my own experience that the people on Taiwan are freedom loving, entreprenuereal, and vibrant compared to what I have experience on the mainland...particularly when you get away from the glittery showplaces that have been created in certain economic zones. I believe that is the case because of the freedom they enjoy and the republican institutions and free market they have established.

I have friends there who continue to do quite well...and not just some kind of executives. I am talking about mid-level management and workers that I know personally. Perhaps not as striking as it was a few years ago...but still comfortable by the vast majority of this globe's standards. That's the point I am trying to make, along with the fact that the CCP continues to be the inpediment to liberty for the people on the mainland...and that as long as their funding continues, I do not see that ending peacefully or happily any time soon.

FRegards.

and apparently you expected it to be done...

Yes I've been around long enough (6 months!) to know that certain arguments are received in certain ways. Yet when our honest opinion closely follows one of those known tangents, then we must just be prepared to defend our words!

Look, I'd like to believe in a more pie-in-the-sky view of a capitalistic Taiwan, and it is of course infinitely superior to the twisted and sick dictatorship on the mainland. But after having been here at age 20, and returned at age 37 after a great deal more business experience, I just see many more things now than I did the first time I was here.

Namely, that despite their ancient culture of putting on good impressions, they are much nastier than I remember. This year the scandal blew up where Taiwan was importing Thai workers under one agreement, then forcing them to work at half the rate of pay by doubling their working hours without compensation. A riot finally exploded when the Chinese (or Taiwanese) managers starting hitting the Thais with electric prods!!! (Thais aren't known for taking other people's crap, particularly electric prods).

In my own dealings here I have come across some of the snidest, creepiest little behaviors I've ever seen, and no doubt the crappy economy is bringing out the worst in people, just as it does in the US when our economy tanks.

Anyway, everything I see is different now, and while I agree they are better than the mainland, I can also see how closely related they are, and how much your experience with them depends directly on how much they need you. And I'm not even implying that they are evil or wicked, only that they are a lot more calculating than I ever knew, in my opinion.

Are they worth supporting? Maybe, maybe not. I personally don't think so, but maybe the "established democracy" argument is correct and I'm wrong. The only thing for certain is that it would be nice if the Mainland Communists would just leave! All of this at that point would be, as you say, moot.