So Observers…… I have just been triggered…. call me a snowflake if you want, whatever floats your boat. I just saw a post in our TO – News from Taiwan group that got me miffed. This isn’t some “BREAKING NEWS” but I wanted to talk about it. Here we have some images of coming from the WHO, specifically World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, in which they mark Taiwan as “Taiwan, China”. In my eyes, unacceptable!
Taiwan has done exceptionally well at keeping the pandemic from ravaging our society like so many other countries have experienced. Yet we still get pushed to the side by the WHO, which is supposed to represent the world, but then excludes 23 million people. The US was right to leave the organization, the WHO is a joke.

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This got me thinking how does China still make this happen? They barely occupied the island (never having full control) before giving it up to Japan in perpetuity. The island then declared independence as the “Republic of Formosa” before the Japanese came to invade making us their first colony. [our up coming book will explain more, stay tuned for that]

The way this happens is through the buying of developing nations votes in UN organizations with massive loans and debt traps by China. That’s how China gets away with this nonsense. They basically tell these nations that they have to vote the way China votes and will punish them if they don’t. China often speaks of retribution to countries that don’t want to play their game. Now for a developing nation with little money and massive debt to China that threat is very real and can push them to do things that might not ideologically agree with, like excluding Taiwan from the WHO.

This aggressive diplomatic policy isn’t sitting well with countries all over the world and will have a bad end for China and their emperor if they continue on the path. But authoritarian regimes don’t have much other choice do they? They have to keep their people obedient and distracted. Causing problems and the blaming it on the outsiders is a go to in the authoritarian play book. We will have to wait and see how long they can keep it up.

Ok rant over. Back to your lives!

-Vincent

A video posted to the Facebook page of a Kaohsiung -based restaurant shows a man in blackface promoting the upcoming recall election of mayor Han Kuo-Yu. In the video, the man, dressed in a suit and tie, and wearing a headband promoting the recall election, urges people to get out and vote, and reminds them to wear a mask when doing so. He also mentions in the video that he is playing Tedros, the WHO director General, and makes a pun about wearing your mask and wearing your pants.

Taiwan Observer contacted the restaurant and inquired about the posts. The Facebook page features a number of pictures of the owner dressed up in a variety of different costumes, mainly portraying local deities and other characters. When asked if he knew how offensive this particular costume was to the black community, he claimed that it was not his intention in any way to mock or ridicule black people.

He went on to explain that he often paints his face different colors when portraying characters. He referenced his Guan Yu (an ancient military general) costume, wherein he painted his face red, and stated that he also painted his face white in his depiction of Chang’e, goddess of the Moon. He reiterated that painting your face when playing certain characters is common practice, and compared it to painting your face white when playing Ronald McDonald. He claimed that his only goal was to raise awareness for the upcoming recall vote in Kaohsiung, and to get people to mask up, not to ridicule any group of people.

Judging by the comment section, it is clear that many still do not understand how derogatory the use of blackface is to the black community. However, some commenters have attempted to bring the issue to his attention. When one commenter asked if the use of blackface was really necessary, the page issued t he following response (translated): “I also paint my face red when playing Guan Yu…Just smile…Don’t make too much of a fuss…Hahahahahaha.”

This is the second blackface incident on social media this week, this time specifically targeting Tedros. The WHO director general received backlash for accusing the Taiwanese government of facilitating a racist attack against him, as well as on Africans.

This incident coincides with the Black Lives Matter protests currently unfolding in the United States and around the world, which were sparked by the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, George Floyd, and countless others.

Taiwan is now gaining more global recognition for its effective pandemic response and its push for soft power with mask diplomacy. Educating the public on issues important to the international community can only help to bring us closer to our allies.

*He has since deleted the video and issued the following apology (translated):

“Hello friends. I am the one who made the video that offended our black friends because of my ignorance towards our cultural differences. I apologize to the international community 120,000 points (times). I promise that I will do not this again. The post has been deleted. I am sorry.”

A few weeks ago, a dance group for a local nightclub, the “Luxy Boyz,” received backlash for performing in blackface. They were trying to emulate a popular meme of Ghanaian pallbearers dancing with a coffin, set to electronic music. The problem with this was the clear use of blackface, or darkening the skin to make oneself look “black,” which is historically associated with minstrel shows and discrimination towards people of African descent.

That being said, it seems the backlash towards the Luxy Boyz failed to educate the broader community, because just two days ago, on May 31st, another such incident occurred. Three men from a comedy group known as the “Wackyboys” took to the streets of Tianmu in Taipei, Taiwan, once again donning blackface.

The three men went to a department store in Tianmu, where they sported the same garb as the men in the meme, carrying a prop coffin, and danced. None of that is where the problem lies. Rather, the problem lies in the fact that these men did this while in blackface, which demonstrates their ignorance to how this is deeply offensive to the black community.

Unfortunately, the insult doesn’t stop there. One of the men from the group posted a picture to Instagram of them holding the coffin with the caption “My cotton is coming.” This part of the post was later edited out. Now, the man could have simply made a mistake, mistaking “cotton” for “coffin,” as English is not his first language; this is not a huge leap in logic. At the same time, this shows that the poster understands that this part of the post was discriminatory to African people and made the correction.

This begs the question: if he can understand that the reference to “cotton” is discriminatory, then it shouldn’t be a huge logical leap to see how his other actions are also discriminatory, right? Yet the post remained up and the video and pictures have weren’t deleted from Facebook or Instagram. (This has since changed)

The previous incident with the Luxy Boyz showed us that if you are willing to listen and educate yourself, you can make a change for the better. The Luxy Boyz have changed their routine since the backlash. They have kept the garb, the coffin, and the dance, but they have removed the blackface make-up. They also deleted the videos and issued a public apology. That is a step in the right direction.

As seen in the comment sections, many have yet to realize that the concept of blackface is not something to be taken lightly. Many find it hilarious. Some pointed out the need for a fourth person to complete the group, and that three isn’t enough. A few are calling them out, explaining how and why blackface is offensive to the black community.

An insightful comment from a local musician, @kerilmusic tries to explain to the men that their actions are discriminatory, even going so far as to provide a full history lesson on the topic, complete with resources, to help them better understand why their actions are discriminatory and why they cannot be tolerated. The comment received almost 100 likes on the Instagram post, before deletion.

When contacted by Taiwan Observer, @kerilmusic said he is deeply disappointed that he has not received a response from the Wackyboys, and added that this is particularly tone-deaf and insensitive, considering the BlackLivesMatter protests currently unfolding in the United States and other parts of the world.

These protests were sparked by the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and countless others. The protests have been extensively covered by news outlets around the world, so it is not hard to believe that these career “influencers” have not seen what’s been going on.

However one of the group did respond to a fan saying that they did not mean to ridicule anyone and that they have deleted the posts. The Facebook video and Instagram posts have since been removed, but at the time of writing this, the Facebook photos remain visible to the public.

This isn’t to say that we condone sending hate messages to the Wackyboys or anyone else guilty of ignorance. We can use this opportunity, as @kerilmusic and many others did, to educate those that may still be ignorant, instead of calling for them to be “canceled” outright. The group has already started removing their posts, but they have yet to issue an apology. We will keep you posted if they do.