East Asia News & Politics Thread: China, South Korea, Japan...

I would not put my faith in Taiwan's current leader. Then again, I'm surrounded by family members who all think she's a complete moron who is the worst thing that has happened to Taiwan in ages.

I'm wondering if she's gonna push for Trump to sign off on the TPP.

edited 5th Jan '17 11:33:46 PM by M84

Japan can eat shit over that IMO, recalling an ambassador because some dared to call you out on historical war crimes is petty at best.

As someone who grew up in a household strongly influenced by Asian culture...I completely agree. Yes, there's merit to filial piety and honoring your ancestors...but denying war crimes is beyond the pale.

Heck, I'm of Chinese descent (technically Taiwanese), and I'm ready to admit that China has been kind of a dick in the past. And is still kind of a dick.

Granted, my opinion as a Taiwanese-American of Chinese descent probably doesn't hold as much merit considering the...less than friendly history between China and Japan.

edited 6th Jan '17 12:14:29 AM by M84

Seoul was the scene of an immolation taken from the pages of the Vietnam War.

This was due to President Park's refusal to attend the constitutional court.

Wait, you mean self-immolation?

Yeesh. You know someone's bad when people are willing to set themselves on fire as an act of protest against them.

edited 9th Jan '17 2:41:22 AM by M84

Yep. Think Korean NPA confirmed it. He's in the hospital for treatment.

He wants the police to arrest her for treason.

edited 9th Jan '17 2:48:54 AM by Ominae

At this point it's looking like that or she gets attacked by an angry mob. Would the police even defend her at this point?

Hell, at this point I think a lot of the police would join that mob.

President Park has said that she takes the blame for "listening" to her friend, but denied other charges against her ever since not attending the court.

Since I don't usually read up on Korean politics, I have to ask: What on earth did she do to illicit such hatred? Burning yourself alive to protest isn't exactly common.

Two words: Korean Rasputin.

The NIB summarizes it in a comic.

edited 9th Jan '17 4:24:56 AM by M84

TLDR; South Korean president was confirmed to be a puppet of an honest-to-god Korean Illuminati.

She really should have resigned when what she did became clear.

Imagine if Richard Nixon was impeached and convicted by the national legislature, and there were a million people gathered for protest in Washington DC and New York City cheering the decision. Would he want that?

edited 9th Jan '17 7:30:33 AM by Trivialis

Double Post

Several Chinese military planes alarmed both South Korea and Japan when they flew right through the strait between them and violated their airspaces.

edited 9th Jan '17 9:18:58 PM by Trivialis

I guess someone isn't happy with what Taiwan is "doing" recently (read: Trump's diplomatic faux pas on the "one China" issue is somehow all Taiwan's fault), and doesn't want either Seoul or Tokyo getting any funny ideas.

edited 9th Jan '17 11:19:14 PM by MarqFJA

Yep, more trademark sabre-rattling courtesy of the CCP. Just another "courteous" reminder that they are the big fish in these parts.

It'll be a bit more alarming in the near future, since it's likely that a Trump administration will either botch things up and escalate the conflict, or chicken out the moment China reminds Trump that he still owes them over half a billion dollars and leave Taiwan, Japan, and S. Korea ripe for the picking.

I also don't have a lot of confidence in Taiwan's future (and I have family in Taiwan so this is kind of personal) since...well, there's a reason Taiwan's current leader has low approval ratings (she's an idiot).

edited 9th Jan '17 11:56:07 PM by M84

About President Park: When somebody bunkers down in what amounts to a huddle going "no-no-no-no" and that somebody is known to have both been groomed and manipulated since they were a child?

Saying "she should have resigned" is missing the whole "probably has a personality type prone to freaking out and shutting down when facing hard choices when they're left alone with no templates they know how to follow" thing. It's not fun to be that person.

In short: she can't handle triggering her own exit. She's stuck. And, hoiking her out and lynching her isn't actually going to do anything more than kill the patsy. -_-

If there is nothing in place to remove her without her input according to the law... the law has found where it is being an ass.

edited 10th Jan '17 1:43:29 AM by Euodiachloris

Being a Puppet King rarely ends well. The best thing for everyone at this point would be for her to resign, but she's too Weak-Willed to do it.

It's a damn shame that someone that unwilling to face responsibility or make hard decisions on her own got elected to be a head of state.

edited 10th Jan '17 2:11:49 AM by M84

She can't be prosecuted while president, which means it will happen after she leaves office (it has precedent).

Considering how covert the relationship was, it didn't have any real impact on the election.

edited 10th Jan '17 2:22:23 AM by TerminusEst

I didn't mention prosecution. If there are no lawful systems in place to get her out in the state she's obviously currently in, there aren't ones in place to get anybody who starts going full schizoid at the wrong time out, either.

In any system of government, enabled or superficially functional people will get to positions of power and either will not or cannot see why they're not fit. So, getting them out should be a feature. A well understood, hard to impose for the giggles one (because there is always somebody who will subvert a system to get ahead).

In short: South Korea is facing a situation it didn't plan for. Yay, cluster C: you go, girl! Show those cluster Bs we can screw up in power, too!

edited 10th Jan '17 2:25:53 AM by Euodiachloris

They can impeach her, effectively removing her from power, but I'm not sure if the Constitutional Court can make the decision in absentee. It's a common feature though, so I assume they can.

edited 10th Jan '17 2:25:04 AM by TerminusEst

This sounds an awful lot like a parent demanding that an unruly child come out of her room so she can accept her punishment only for said child to angrily refuse. And the parent is stuck since they aren't wlling to break down the locked and barred door. Of course, this stalemate can't last forever (for one thing, the kid's room doesn't have that much food or water in it) and things will only get worse the longer it lasts.

You know, with added massive geopolitical consequences and civil unrest.

I imagine that Kim Jong Un is laughing his ass off over this.

edited 10th Jan '17 2:31:32 AM by M84

Kids are people, too. Just... without the mileage to self-delude as effectively, yet (they need help to do that).

They may be in place (and working), but they need to consider timescale. <_<

When people are turning themselves to torches and thinking about pitchforks, you need to be a bit clearer about what you are doing, or do it a little faster.

Even if they could impeach her in absentee, it'd probably have more of an impact and send more of a message (and certainly would be more satisfying to the public) if she was impeached in person.

If Wikipedia's sources are correct, She's already de facto impeached and suspended from her position, but the Constitutional Court has until early June 2017 to decide whether the impeachment should be binding.