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by fipple 2690 days ago
My values don’t contain anything about Taiwan. I’ll call whatever you want because I don’t think I have nearly enough contextual knowledge to know who is “right” and “wrong” in that conflict.
4 comments

It's pretty obvious that the Chinese government is "wrong" on this one.

Whether Taiwan is a real country or not, banning references to it is just tyrranical.

Imagine if the US banned you from selling software that made reference to the lost city of Atlantis. Clearly wrong.

I can imagine it, because US already doing that to Iran, Cuba, etc...
You're not allowed to sell software in the US that acknowledges the existence of Iran and Cuba? That does not sound believable.
I believe it is not about acknowledging the existence, but making business.
Well that's a different thing then.

It is oppressive that the US government won't let free people do business with people in Iran and Cuba, but it's not the same thing as banning people from acknowledging that those places exist.

> It's pretty obvious that the Chinese government is "wrong" on this one.

I don't think it is that obvious. Particularly if you take into account China's long history

I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people don’t think it’s “obvious” that the ROC and the PRC are different countries. Neither side has exercised control over the others territory in almost 70 years. In fact the PRC has _never_ controlled Taiwan and the other territories under control of the ROC.

What reasoning would support the idea that the PRC represents a legitimate government and not the ROC?

yep, the whole story it's actually reversed and ROC has the proper government for all China, PRC gov are just revolutionaries/separatists, not vice versa, sadly ROC don't have good cards in hand to play this game
No the ROC isn’t the proper government of “all China”. The ROC is the proper government of Taiwan, Kinmen, etc. The PRC is the proper government of the mainland. There is no “one China” the encompasses both regions. That’s just a fiction promoted by both sides in attempt to legitimize military aggression.
Regardless of any country's history, it is not reasonable to ban people from selling software that acknowledges the existence of a country. Even if that country does not exist.

Even if you don't take a stand on whether Taiwan is a real country or not, it is wrong to ban people from selling software that purports that Taiwan is a real country. How is this not obvious?

Actually no, your example is not "clearly wrong."
That kind of amoral capitulation only works until you want to make a product or service available in both countries.

Then once China convinced the West that Taiwan isn’t a thing, next is Tibet, then Nepal, then the Philippines, and so it goes.

Basically from my understanding: at the fall of the last Chinese dynasty in 1912 a republic was created. Then after the communists took power, that republic exiled to Taiwan, that was in 1949. Current day China is still trying to eradicate that original republic.
You have a vast amount of knowledge at your fingertips. There is a difference between a dystopian authoritarian country like China, with "reintegration" camps for Uighurs and "re-education" camps for people who speaks out against the single-party system - and Taiwan, which doesn't.

There is no both sides, and saying there is is incredibly disingenuous.