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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 24, 2021 4:49:10 GMT
Chapter Forty-Six: Towards the Edge of Demise
CHINESE TROOPS LAUNCH MASSIVE ARTILLERY BARRAGE AGAINST TAIWANESE-HELD ISLANDS OF QUEMOY AND MATSU, RUMORS OF CHINESE GROUND INVASION OF PHILIPPINES CIRCULATED
Vancouver Sun
July 12, 1995
Beijing, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA – Taiwanese officials confirmed today that a massive artillery barrage launched by the People’s Liberation Army had damaged much of the islands of Quemoy and Matsu, as the rest of the Chinese forces launch an amphibious invasion. At the same time, the Chinese government announced the suspension of all domestic and international flights arriving in and departing from all Chinese airports, citing a potential enemy attack on civilian airliners, as a Sichuan Airlines Tu-154 aircraft came under intense Vietnamese anti-air cannon fire while flying from Singapore’s Changi International Airport. It is not a secret that the Chinese government is suspending all flights to reserve its airspace for the bombers that are taking off from various Chinese airfields to drop their payloads on targets in Vietnam and the Philippines.
“The government of the democratically elected Republic of China in Taiwan condemns the barbaric attack by the so-called People’s Republic of China. Many of our citizens have been confirmed among the casualties, including citizens of the PRC who are attempting to defect to the ROC,” Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui reports. “In accordance with the United States-Republic of China Mutual Defense Treaty, I call upon the US government to intervene right away.”
The Jackson administration, unlike earlier times when it chose not to aid the Tadiar regime in the Philippines when they were being bombed, are under intense pressure to act. Taiwan, as a democratic nation, would be far more important to the United States as a strategic ally, due to its position in the Taiwan Straits. Moreover, the attack on Taiwan might force President Jackson to get firsthand experience in handling foreign policy without the constant help of Counselor for National Security Madeleine Albright, who is due to travel to Japan with prominent philanthropist George Soros, for a financial summit involving the relocated staff from the Asian Development Bank, whose headquarters in the Philippines had been targeted by Chinese aerial bombardment. In addition, the US 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, have been given orders to mobilize their naval assets for a potential confrontation with Chinese forces in the Taiwan Straits.
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TAIWAN, SINGAPORE, SEE A LARGE INCREASE IN IMMIGRATION APPLICATIONS FROM FEARFUL HONG KONG RESIDENTS UNWILLING TO LIVE UNDER CHINESE RULE AFTER HANDOVER
Taipei Times
September 12, 1995
(Taipei) – The Taiwanese Minister for the Interior, Huang Kun-huei, has revealed that a record number of over 4,984,215 immigration papers have been sent to his office from the residents of the British colony of Hong Kong, many of whom are British citizens of Chinese ancestry. The revelation of the Hong Kong residents’ desire to leave Hong Kong, despite still being a British colony, comes at a time when neighboring China has embarked on an aggressive military campaign in the South China Sea against the SE Asian claimants who are at war with them. The number is expected to climb higher, as the deadline for the formal handover of the colony from Britain to China nears, while applications sent from the Portuguese colony of Macau have so far, been smaller, although many of the immigration forms sent from Macau had ended up in Brazil.
“The military aggression from the communist regime in Beijing has increased fears among the residents of those two colonies under British and Portuguese control and having seen what China can do when its interests are being threatened, they will not hesitate to use the same amount of force again,” comments Interior Minister Huang. “However, we are presently faced with a huge challenge to come up with an ambitious project to resettle those potential refugees who will flee from communist rule. So far, President Lee and I narrowed it down to the expansion of the next few cities to accommodate the refugees.”
Hengchun, Chiayi, Hualien, and Taitung are projected to become the next four Taiwanese cities to be granted government funding for infrastructure projects as the expected number of refugees will only increase. Earlier, President Lee Teng-hui had also authorized the creation of a special guest worker visa for any resident of Hong Kong or Macau who takes part in the Next Century Project, which his government is in the process of proposing and possibly launching, that could potentially lead to that guest worker visa being upgraded to permanent residency status. After the candidate acquires the special guest worker visa, he or she would work in any area earmarked by the Next Century Project, until the project is finished. Before and after the Handover is complete, the families of the NCP guest worker would automatically be qualified for permanent residency status. However, the Taiwanese President also participated in an unheard-of rescue mission, codenamed Operation: Yellowbird, which is primarily about smuggling the dissidents who participated in the infamous Tiananmen Square protests that ended in a massacre. Around 239 Chinese dissidents from the Mainland had been smuggled via Hong Kong, and most of them had gone on to Western countries, but over 157 dissidents managed to settle in Taiwan.
In contrast, the Filipino guest worker population in Taiwan is facing a pressure to leave their country after Taiwanese nationalist rallies targeted them for pogroms, leading to a bizarre situation where the Taiwanese government could not legally send them back into the Philippines, as both Taiwan and the Philippines had downgraded their diplomatic relations after the latter’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China in the Mainland. Moreover, former Filipino opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, had stopped in Taipei, before landing in the Philippines, and his eventual death. Presently, the Tadiar regime has also reduced their diplomatic presence in the world to just Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Australia. Starting in 1996, any future deals that will be made between Taiwan and the Philippines must first go through the Japanese government, as the Tadiar regime has announced all closures of all Philippine Embassies and Consulates.
Likewise, the government of Singapore has also received many immigration applications from Hong Kong residents, seeking to relocate to the city-state, straddling the Straits of Malacca. Unlike the situation with Taiwan, the Singaporean government might have an easier time accommodating the Hong Kong refugees, as both Singapore and Hong Kong have cultural ties to Great Britain. In addition, Singapore has also admitted over 500,000 Chinese Indonesians fleeing from the country before the fall of Suharto and the rise of Prabowo Subianto as President. President Subianto has decided to mend relations with the Chinese Indonesian community by offering to repeal the cultural assimilation policies that forced them to adopt Indonesian sounding surnames.
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Excerpts from “When Civilization Collide: America in the Age of Rogue Generals”
By: Paul Manafort
Simon and Schuster, published 2019
Chapter Five: A Fish Out of Water
I noticed it greatly that President Jackson and Vice President Jerry Brown are a pair of complete train wrecks without Madeleine Albright telling them what to do in terms of foreign policy. She and some philanthropist named George Soros had traveled to Japan, to speak with Japanese government officials on a joint policy making towards China, leaving the President alone in the American capital without any help at all. This was evident when he had to call all the Joint Chiefs of Staff into the Pentagon for a meeting, and I was invited to come along, as a representative of the CIA. Although President Jackson was not happy seeing me inside the office, I was given clearance by one of Oliver North’s boys. We all sat down in the briefing room as the President and Vice President looked at each other, before turning their attention to the military officers. I can tell what the meeting will be all about.
“Earlier at 0500 hours, Eastern Standard time, which is basically 1700 hours in Taipei, we had confirmed that a large Chinese artillery barrage had struck the two islands of Quemoy and Matsu, currently owned and controlled by the Republic of China in Taiwan. Estimated casualty rate is high in Kinmen County, as around 832 civilians were reported to have died. PLA troops are massed close to the island, while the PLA Navy’s surface vessels are preparing to blockade Matsu Island,” explains Admiral David Jeremiah in front of the President. “The 7th Fleet is prepared to sail towards the Taiwan Straits to monitor and stop any additional Chinese military aggression against Taiwan.”
President Jackson raised his hand up. “Are you sure that the attack on the two islands is unprovoked and that it was caused by China?”
“Positive.” All the military bigwigs waited to see how the President will act. After his so-called ‘reluctance’ to drop the Philippines like a hot potato for China to grab, we are not willing to put up with another round of appeasement, especially in the case of Taiwan. “I think that the Chinese military leadership is getting a bit too reckless, and overconfident. We must knock them into their senses.”
“Hold on a minute, Admiral,” President Jackson told him. “Are you suggesting that we go to war with China over Taiwan? Because while I am aware of the Mutual Defense Treaty that we have with the Republic of China in Taiwan, if we go in with guns blazing, we will become the aggressors.”
“The Chinese are already aggressors in SE Asia, and Mr. President, with all due respect, this is something that cannot be solved with mediation!” General John Shalikashvili snapped angrily, standing up as he glared at the president. “We can understand your decision to drop the Tadiar regime like a toxic waste, but if you pull the same stunt with Taiwan, then all of us in this room will resign, effective immediately!”
“Watch your tone, General!” Vice President Brown yelled back, but Admiral Jeremiah slammed his hands into the desk.
“And you need to watch yours as well!” that same general snapped back. “Frankly speaking, your administration has been completely inept in foreign affairs. While I admit that you and President Jackson may be credited for trying to rebuild our great country after that disastrous earthquake in California back in ’89, you two are still as completely inept as ever. Moreover, you do not have Madam Albright to tutor the two of you in foreign policy, so it is about time you two learn how to manage America’s interests overseas!”
I could not blame General Shalikashvili for such outburst. Many of America’s top generals and admirals have been screaming for President Jackson to do something about the Chinese military aggression in whichever sea they wanted to call it, but at the same time I think that the President is entitled to some form of respect. However, I refrained from reprimanding General Shalikashvili, mainly because I agreed with what he said. Still, the tensions between the Jackson administration and the US military leadership had started to deteriorate to the point where whispers of a deep state were being broadcasted. It was at this point that I stepped in, hoping to deflate the situation before it got bad.
“How long until Chinese troops will invade those two islands?” I asked General Shalikashvili. President Jackson glared at me, but I ignored him.
“In around three hours. Double that amounts if China is poised to invade Taiwan proper,” Shalikashvili answered.
Everyone waited for the President to decide, me included. It was this sort of indecisiveness that is hammering the President at the opinion polls, and Republican Presidential nominee Jack Kemp is harping about the President’s lack of foreign policy experience as a way of promoting himself for the candidacy as President. After listening to one of his self-nomination speeches a while back, I realize that the Republicans might reap the benefits from a lame duck Democrat administration, even after three Republican administrations became synonymous with political scandals. The only thing I can think of within the United States is that politics would gradually evolve on a series of ethnic-based interests. The Latin American population are possibly becoming the new source of support for the Democrats, while the Filipino and Vietnamese populations in the US are thinking of switching back to the Republicans after President Jackson’s lacklustre performance, including what has just happened right now. Do not get me started on that fool Lyndon LaRouche, because his rantings about the fascist menace in the US has started to cost him support from whatever supporters he has left. He was only elected on the basis that both the Democrats and Republicans had neglected the American people. I was startled by President Jackson standing up and looking at his officers.
“Tell the 7th Fleet to position its warships in the Taiwan Straits, but maintain a defensive posture. You may only fire when you’re being fire upon, and only fire back in self-defence,” the President commanded, to the relief of the generals and admirals.
I nodded in agreement. “That is the best decision ever made, Mr. President.”
“A difficult one, but a decision, nonetheless,” President Jackson replied darkly.
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“President Jackson’s decision to have the US 7th Fleet deploy into the Taiwan Straits was commended by some military leaders, who also felt confident with his additional order to fire in self-defence being given to them. Yet, when Chinese naval vessels had started to bombard Quemoy and Matsu Islands close to the Fujian coast, they did not intervene as per the President’s orders. It was only when the first Chinese amphibious ship started to steam towards Taiwan, and within sight of American warships, did the US 7th Fleet officers readied their weapons. From July 19 onwards, until German Chancellor Rudolf Scharping’s intervention that led to an uneasy peace treaty signed in Germany between China and the other claimants on January 15, 1996, both American and Chinese naval vessels were at odds with each other, though the amphibious missions were promptly cancelled when it became apparent that the PLA troops would be sitting in the water for a long time, without ever eating any meal at all. Although the Chinese bombing campaign had finally stopped on October 11, 1995, the aftermath of the bombardment had kicked in, as footages of emaciated Vietnamese and Filipinos walking in the streets of Hanoi and Manila were broadcasted to the world that China was compelled to stop the bombing, lest they be slapped with UN sanctions. The international community accepted Germany’s offer to host the peace summit, in which the Chinese Foreign Ministry was instructed by Premier Jiang Zemin to pressure the claimant nations to sign away their claims on the Spratly Islands to the Chinese government, but Filipino Foreign Minister Arturo Tolentino had done something that was as bold and outrageous, in the eyes of the Chinese delegates: not only did he refuse to sign the peace terms, but had walked out of the peace summit and flew straight back to the Philippines. The Chinese delegates were furious that they were robbed of their victory, and they took it out on Tolentino himself, with tragic consequences. On January 28, 1996, Chinese anti-air defenses had shot down PAL Flight PR/PAL 001 while it was flying over Taiwanese airspace, using a KS-1 missile to bring it down. The Philippine government reacted with such fury over the apparent murder of their Foreign Minister, that the Tadiar regime had resorted to committing acts of terrorism, targeting Chinese civilians. It was the murder of Foreign Minister Tolentino that led to the infamous 1998 Shenzhen Bus Bombings, the Xiamen Car Bombing attacks that were caused by Uyghur separatists trained by Tadiar’s dictatorship, and most notorious of all, the infamous Oriental Pearl Radio Tower attack in Shanghai, caused by Aum Shinrikyo terrorists who hijacked an aircraft, and smashed it into the tower, killing over 1,593 residents of Shanghai. Even worse, the Philippine Navy, in addition to being one of the primary perpetrators of mass murder of captured left-wing activists, has resorted to piracy, targeting shipping throughout both the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. All in all, the Philippine Navy’s piracy had resulted in the loss of over $300,000,000 in international trade, and the merchant ships that were targeted came from China and Singapore. The CIA’s Corsairs also participated in the act of piracy, by training Philippine Navy officers and sailors on how to stage raids against commercial ships, blowing up vessels through covert actions, and hostage taking, with the hostages normally killed in the end.” Alex Jones, from “Corporate America’s Dirty Little Secret”, sponsored by “The American Cause”.
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CHANCELLOR SHARPING CALLS FOR BOTH PARTIES TO CEASE MILITARY OPERATIONS, OFFERS TO HOST PEACE SUMMIT TO FORMALLY END SOUTH CHINA SEA WAR
Die Welt
January 16, 1996
(Berlin) – Chancellor Rudolf Scharping announced today that the German government has intervened in the South China Sea War by offering to host a peace summit in the German capital, as China continues its military campaign in SE Asia. The German offer was welcomed by the Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino governments, as international pressure is placed in China to cease its military activities when it became apparent that any attempts at invading the island of Taiwan, currently controlled by the Republic of China government in Taiwan, would be met with American military response. Additional reports from Beijing confirm that the Chinese military intervention in Central Asia, dating from the Second Russian Civil War, had met most of its objectives, with the Uyghur separatists moving their base of operations from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, to avoid Chinese airstrikes that hammered most of their training camp. However, news of Al-Qaeda’s expansion of their activities into southern Kazakhstan had been met with alarm from both Russia and China, which feared the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Eurasian heartland, as Al-Qaeda would use Central Asia as a base from which they can launch precision attacks on targets within Russia or China.
In addition, representatives from the newly formed European Continental Association are expected to be present in Berlin, to supervise the peace process that would certainly force the warring parties to negotiate. However, the Chinese government has made it clear that the price for peace in SE Asia is all the Spratly Islands chain but apologized to the Bruneian and Malaysian governments for its conduct and has offered to purchase their control of the islands as compensation for war damage. In contrast, the Vietnamese government is expected to surrender not only Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, but the Khmer-populated regions of southern Vietnam to Cambodia, as the Cambodian government is sending their delegates to Germany as well. Finally, Philippine Foreign Minister (and interim President) Arturo Tolentino (Artemio Tadiar has decided to not formally take the Presidency in this case) is expected to arrive in Germany to take part in the peace process.
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HEINOUS MURDER OVER THE SKIES OF TAIWAN! CHINESE ANTI-AIR MISSILES SHOOT DOWN PR/PAL 001, CARRYING FOREIGN MINISTER TOLENTINO AND OTHER DELEGATES IN REVENGE FOR DIPLOMATIC INSULT IN BERLIN
Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 29, 1996
Manila, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION – The Philippine government has lowered its flags at half-mast, to commemorate the death of Foreign Minister Arturo Tolentino, whose plane, the PR/PAL 001, was shot down over international waters bordering with Taiwanese territorial waters. Tolentino, whose political career was tied to Artemio Tadiar after the EDSA Revolution of 1986 that toppled former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, had been the de facto figurehead controlled by Tadiar during the Filipino Civil War. Also killed alongside Tolentino is Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was serving as one of the negotiators involved in the failed peace deal between the Philippines and China, and Domingo Siazon Jr., who acted as Tolentino’s aide-de-camp during the peace process. Upon Tolentino’s death, Artemio Tadiar had appointed Brigadier General Manuel Oxales as interim Foreign Minister, until a suitable, permanent replacement has been found. Already, anti-regime activists overseas criticized Tadiar’s selection of a military officer as Foreign Minister, and while official sources have not yet confirmed it, Joker Arroyo, one of the junior politicians serving under the Tadiar regime, has announced his defection when he stepped inside the lightly damaged Australian Embassy in Manila, citing fears of a renewed political purge in the wake of his daughter’s death.
“Foreign Minister Tolentino’s murder at the hands of the thugs in Beijing is a coward’s act. Yes, while he may have issued a diplomatic insult to the Chinese delegates in Germany by refusing to sign the peace treaty with the Chinese government, I would personally commend Mr. Tolentino for his refusal to cede even one inch of Philippine soil to the communist enemy,” says Tadiar during the funeral speech inside Malacanang Palace. “His death at the hands of the Chinese government is an indication that China is to be declared an aggressor state, and that until China vacates from Scarborough Shoal and other parts of the Spratly Islands that the Philippines controls, we remain at a state of perpetual war with China.”
It is expected that the funeral service of Mr. Tolentino would be overseen by an obscure Catholic priest by the name of Adolfo Rodriguez Vidal, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Chile, who is appointed as the interim leader of Tadiar’s re-organized Roman Catholic Church Philippine Archdiocese, until he makes a final decision on the fate of the Catholic clergy in the Philippines, especially those who are a part of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The attendance for Mr. Tolentino’s funeral is expected to reach over 14,000, mostly in Manila alone, but few prominent guests will appear at the funeral, among them Antonio Floirendo Sr., whose businesses stand to profit from the elimination of his rivals, and his status as a former Marcos crony who defected to the Council for National Sovereignty, of which Artemio Tadiar is the current head, is especially important. Also attending the funeral is Brigadier General Eduardo Kapunan Jr., a former Reform the Armed Forces activist who later joined the Tadiar camp.
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Reports from the Interview with General Eduardo Kapunan
Sky News AU Interview, October 13, 2013
Discussing the End of the Tolentino Era and the Rise of Nicanor Faeldon
Interviewer: The last time we spoke, we briefly talked about your role in the EDSA Revolution that toppled former President Marcos, and the civil war that followed, and finally, the rise of Artemio Tadiar. Since then, we did not talk much about the events that happened after Tadiar’s rise to power, but what I really want to talk about today, is how you felt about the death of Arturo Tolentino. What was it like, seeing the funeral service?
Kapunan: Well, Mr. Tolentino’s funeral was not elaborate, as the Tadiar regime was too impoverished to afford a lavish funeral ceremony, and Mr. Tolentino’s family had already cut their ties to him because of political differences. You need to remember that even among the Marcos cronies, only Antonio Floirendo Sr. and Roberto Benedicto, had defected to Artemio Tadiar. The rest, like Roberto Ongpin and Rodolfo Cuenca, were driven into exile, with their wealth confiscated, because of Tadiar’s anti-Chinese hysteria. Roberto Benedicto was the one who convinced Tadiar to develop the open door policy that allowed the Japanese medical workers to work in the Philippines, shortly before his death, and was succeeded by Jon Ramon Aboitiz as Minister for Economic Development from 1998, until Tadiar's resignation and the rise of Loren Legarda.
Interviewer: OK, so let us talk about what they called ‘the Great Oriental Excursion’. What went into Tadiar’s mind when he made an elaborate scam to trick the Filipino-Chinese business owners into investing in what appeared to be a legitimate real estate opportunity in Macau but had in fact been tricked into revealing their financial information, through the usage of Taiwanese mobsters from the Bamboo Union who posed as Macanese investors?
Kapunan: Well, the original plan was that Tadiar would lure the Filipino-Chinese population that included both upper- and middle-class families into a combination of a business and immigration opportunity to go to Macau and Singapore. However, the news of the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds from Turkey, Iran, and Syria had forced the Tadiar regime to backpedal on it, as well as the potential backlash from even within the junta at the logistical nightmare that it will take to expel them. Thus, only the rich Filipino-Chinese business families were expelled, and the rest were subjected to assimilationist policies.
Interviewer: Some say that Tadiar’s plan to forcibly assimilate the Chinese minority in the Philippines harkens back to a similar kind of dictator who also did such a thing. It was the only time that even President Prabowo Subianto had dared to criticize his ally, reminding him that the Philippines’ ties with Indonesia would worsen if he, and I quote, ‘pulls off another stupid stunt like what Suharto did that led to his downfall’. Moreover, Taiwan and Singapore had received a barrage of immigration applications from the residents of Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines, citing political persecution. How did you feel about Tadiar meekly obeying President Subianto’s advice to not escalate things further?
Kapunan: It was rather strange, to be honest. Normally, Tadiar would not even listen to the advice of his former classmate, Manuel Oxales, who later defected to Australia after Nicanor Faeldon’s rise to political prominence. However, Tadiar realized that Indonesia is the only lifeline left for the Philippines, since they are the ones who are literally feeding the country after China bombed our agricultural production. It is a tragedy when Banaue Rice Terraces, the so-called ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, has been napalmed mercilessly, and it would take almost ten years to fix it. Maybe more.
Interviewer: (nods) So, let us talk about Nicanor Faeldon. What was your opinion on Faeldon like?
Kapunan: At the time of Tolentino’s funeral, Faeldon was just a young Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Tadiar liked Faeldon, mainly because he was a fellow Marine like himself. It has reached a point where officers from the Marine Corps had controlled a good chunk of the military leadership of the entire AFP, though Tadiar was careful to appoint Army, Navy, and Air Force officers for such roles. For instance, the coastal and other island provinces that were reorganized, because of the Federalization Act of 1998, were mainly governed by Philippine Navy officers who were appointed as governors. Tadiar had appointed the appropriate officers to govern the provinces, as befitting their rank and position. Ultimately, these officers would establish their own power base from which they could ultimately challenge the Tadiar regime.
Interviewer: Was Faeldon appointed a position as well?
Kapunan: (shakes his head) No, he was too young to assume a post. However, Tadiar did give Faeldon an important task.
Interviewer: What was the task if I may ask?
Kapunan: There were over a million Filipino orphans whose parents were killed in the Chinese aerial bombardment that have nowhere to go. Faeldon organized a network of orphanages where orphans would be sheltered and fed, and these were staffed by both Philippine Military Academy graduates and Chilean officers who opted to remain in the Philippines, as to avoid being sent to the Hague to stand trial for crimes against humanity. At that time, the travel ban imposed on the Philippines also meant that the orphans could not be adopted by foreign couples, which played right into Tadiar’s hands, as he would be able to turn them into political foot soldiers of Faeldon’s new movement.
Interviewer: You are referring to the Fatherland Freedom Party, correct? (Kapunan nods) How did Faledon managed to attract international attention?
Kapunan: Nicanor Faeldon was sent to Spain on a humanitarian mission, despite the travel ban, mainly because he was traveling under the cover of the UN, which was seeking to deliver humanitarian aid, and so they eased up a bit on the travel ban. Yet, I soon learned that Faeldon’s trip to Spain was not just about the request for humanitarian aid.
Interviewer: How so?
Kapunan: The people who also paid for his trip were members of the Falange Espanola de JONS. Do not forget, Spain at that point was gripped by the recent election that saw the People’s Party gain seats. There was also a resurgence of the political right in Spain, and following the Mexican Civil War of 1995-98, many more Spanish nationalists wanted to create a similar organization to the British Commonwealth of Nations, involving Latin American nations due to their common history as former Spanish colonies. Faeldon showing up in Spain is a signal to the Spanish nationalists that they are willing to use Falangism to restore Filipino-Spanish cultural ties.
Interviewer: That does make sense, especially when the Philippines is undergoing a slight anti-American sentimentality in the country, but that kind of sentimentality crossed the line when Tadiar began to invite the Japanese to settle in the Philippines, while taking advantage of the travel ban. Under the cover of humanitarian work, the Tadiar regime would approve over half a million immigration papers for numerous Japanese immigrants coming from Japan and Latin America. Even the Japanese living in Canada, Australia, and the United States were invited to settle in the Philippines to the point where Davao City boasted the largest Japanese diaspora population in the Philippines. That was when Filipino anti-Japanese sentiment was tied to the anti-Tadiar protests, especially from WWII war veterans, and survivors of the Japanese Army’s comfort stations. What did you think of the protests there?
Kapunan: Well, Tadiar’s rehabilitation of the legacy of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic had infuriated the generations that lived through the war, comparing his legacy with that of Jose P. Laurel, and even Pacifico Marcos came out to protest, mainly because he did not like the fact that his own father collaborated with the Japanese.
Interviewer: That is quite surprising, General.
Kapunan: Well, there is more. The humanitarian missions in the Philippines opened a job market for medical workers, and Japan had a glut of doctors and nurses who graduated from universities there but could not find any work there. The Tadiar regime reached a bizarre deal with the government of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, where 300,000 Japanese medical workers would be allowed to work in the Philippines, in exchange for the equal amount of Filipino guest workers being allowed to work in Japan. The main problem, of course, was the travel ban, but thanks to the UN easing up on it, Filipinos could work in Japan, but only in essential services. We are talking about letting Filipinos work in food processing and agricultural labor, in exchange for Japanese medical workers staffing Philippine hospitals. Naturally, Japanese nationalists are irritated at the sight of the Filipinos working in Japan, but the Tadiar regime had emphasized on how to behave in Japanese society for those guest workers, and to make sure they integrate well.
Interviewer: The role of the Filipino guest workers in Japan is like that of Turkish guest workers in Germany, although unlike the Turks in Germany, the Filipinos in Japan were able to earn enough cash to send back to the Philippines, and most of the remittances were given to their intended recipients, but the Tadiar regime had to take a 5% cut from the remittances for the purpose of national recovery. Did the Japanese eventually warm up to the presence of the Filipino guest workers?
Kapunan: They had to, because some of the Japanese nationalists knew friends who worked as medical workers in the Philippines. Eventually, they began to see Filipinos as victims of Chinese imperialism, and even dreamed of a unified bloc that would consist of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan in an alliance together against Chinese imperialism. Eventually that bizarre deal would evolve into the 2007 Philippines-Japan Open Border Policy, where Filipino and Japanese citizens can work, reside, and study in each other’s countries. It is like the Schengen Agreement, but for Asian nations. That would explain why anti-Tadiar activists like Rodrigo Duterte have denounced Tadiar’s open door policy towards Japan as ‘building a Second Japanese Empire’. Frankly speaking, Nicanor Faeldon’s organization of patriotic rallies, and the large presence of the Japanese, had started to scare the rest of Asia, except for Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Out of those nations, Vietnam and Indonesia had ex-IJA troops participate in their Wars of Independence.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 24, 2021 5:15:20 GMT
OMAKE ELEVEN: The Resurgent Light
To commemorate Persian New Year, or Nowruz, here’s a special update.
ABDULLAH OCALAN EXECUTED IN DIYARBEKIR BY FIRING SQUAD, KURDISH MINORITIES THROUGHOUT TURKEY, IRAN, AND SYRIA REVOLT IN RESPONSE
Washington Times
September 7, 1995
Diyarbakir, TURKEY – Turkish officials had confirmed the execution of noted Kurdish activist Abdullah Ocalan at 0500 hours, local time. Turkish Minister of Interir Nahit Mentese also confirms that the Kurdish population there reacted with outrage in response to the execution of Ocalan, although additional sources say that the Turkish Army is preparing for a major operation against the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey. Southeastern Anatolia has been a source of a Kurdish revolt against Ankara for decades, stemming from the Turkish War of Independence that created the modern Republic of Turkey. However, the rise of a de facto independent Kurdish entity in northern Iraq, because of an increased amount of instability inside Saddam’s dictatorship, has raised fears of a similar Kurdish revolt throughout the Middle East, especially in Iran and Syria, both nations with Kurdish populations of their own.
“The deed is done. The terrorist is finally dead, but at what cost?” a local resident of Diyarbakir commented. “Now the Kurds will escalate things here.”
Although technically Ocalan is qualified for the death penalty in Turkey, having committed various acts of terrorism within Turkey itself and his role in the Kurdish insurgency, Syrian and Iranian officials pleaded with the Turkish government to not execute the convicted Kurdish activist, unless they want to see an all-Kurdish revolt throughout the Middle East that would certainly have a negative effect on the stability of the region. Yet at the same time, numerous Turkish nationalists had clamored for the death of Ocalan, and even the expected Kurdish revolt, because it would be a good excuse for them to expel the Kurds from Turkey.
“Thank Allah that our government has executed the terrorist Ocalan. Now that the Kurds will revolt throughout southeastern Anatolia, we can finally expel them from our lands for sure!” one local Turkish ultranationalist activist commented. “The Grey Wolves have defeated the Armenian scum in Kharabakh, and soon, all of southeastern Anatolia, up to the Euphrates, will be clear of the Kurdish scum!”
Revolts had also been reported in Syria and Iran, in response to the execution. The Syrian government under the dictatorship of Hafez al-Assad has responded by launching an operation against the Syrian Kurds of Rojava, bombing their villages while directing the ground offensive to recapture key villages in Rojava that were taken under control by Syrian Kurdish militias. Moreover, Suheil al-Hassan, the commander of the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, has also ordered his troops to secure vital strategic targets to cripple the Syrian Kurds’ ability to transport supplies between each battlefield. It is also confirmed that the Syrian Kurds have been supplied with enough weapons from their Iraqi Kurdish counterparts, as well as weapons captured from Iraqi Army deserters fed up with the weakened dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
“Iraq cannot help us in this regard because its regime is teetering on the brink of collapse. As a result, we will have to rely more on Turkey and Iran to help us with the revolts going on,” says Suheil al-Hassan after his troops had captured the strategic border town of Nusaybin, straddling on the border between Turkey and Syria. “If we do not put down this rebellion, it will eventually destroy the stability of the region.”
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SYRIA, VENEZUELA, TO HOLD FIRST EVER DIPLOMATIC SUMMIT OVER CONCERNS OF AMERICAN ACTIVITY WITHIN LATIN AMERICA AND MIDDLE EAST
The Moscow Times
May 24, 2001
Caracas, VENEZUELA – Syrian President Bassel al-Assad is due to travel to Venezuela for his first ever meeting with his counterpart, Venezuelan President Ramon Rodriguez Chacin. Both authoritarians are holding the first Syrian-Venezuelan diplomatic summit over concerns of increased American military activities in Latin America and the Middle East, following their 1997 intervention in the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. Both Syria and Venezuela had loudly criticized the US government’s overreach in both regions, while the American government under President Jack Kemp had brushed off their criticisms, denouncing it as mere ‘complaints’, before proceeding with the speech he made in the White House today.
“The United States faces a new Axis of Evil, which is coming from Syria, Iran, and Venezuela. Both Syria and Iran have partaken in the biggest act of ethnic cleansing not seen since the end of World War Two, although the expulsion of the Armenian minority from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region could also be viewed as another example, only this time it is the Kurdish minorities of those regions who were forcibly expelled, at gunpoint,” says President Jack Kemp. “Venezuela on the other hand, has a new kind of dictatorship whose leader is trying to become the Latin American Assad, or the Latin American Saddam. Make no mistake about this: the United States will not tolerate another left-wing dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere, as long as we are active and willing to put an end to this.”
The United States is facing an enormous pressure on all fronts, even as the international community has shifted its focus away from the Tadiar dictatorship in the Philippines to the new left-wing dictatorship in Venezuela. However, ever since Chancellor Rudolf Scharping’s diplomatic intervention in the South China Sea conflict between China, which is the primary claimant of the Spratly Island chain, and the other claimants that were dragged into a new war with them. Of these claimants, only Vietnam and the Philippines were locked in a military confrontation that turned deadly, when China resorted to aerial bombardment not seen since the Vietnam War. Yet, unlike Vietnam, which signed a peace treaty with China, ceding Hoang Sa and Truong Sa to China, along with consenting to a Chinese occupation zone in northern Vietnam, while Cambodia, which fought alongside China, were to receive the Khmer-populated areas of Vietnam, the Philippines never signed a peace treaty with China, and in fact, after the peace negotiations were being held in Germany, Arturo Tolentino ‘s plane was shot down by Chinese anti-air missiles while it was flying over international waters bordering Taiwanese territorial waters.
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“Events in Iraq have forced this administration to do the unthinkable: we are going into Iraq, to restore order to the country, but with the consent of other Arab nations willing to participate in the peacekeeping operation. The United States will not tolerate another act of ethnic cleansing in the world, and the Kurdish people, who have suffered enough from persecution because of their ethnic origin, must be saved from the tyranny of the regimes that persecute them. While the Middle East could not afford anymore political instability, this brutal act of persecution is not an excuse for restoring stability. Therefore, I have issued Executive Order No. 13010, which calls for the establishment of a de facto Kurdish homeland for the Kurds of the Middle East, to be established in Iraqi Kurdistan. Unless Iran, Syria, and Turkey cease with the violent expulsions of their Kurdish minorities, the United States will begin to support the Kurdish people’s aspirations for their own nation. Moreover, should Turkey continue to persecute their Kurdish minority, I will see to it that the expulsion of Turkey from NATO be subjected to a vote between member states, with Turkey being banned from voting.” Jack Kemp, addressing the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime on December 30, 1996, and the start of the US military peacekeeping operation in Iraq.
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PRESIDENT KHATAMI TRAVELS TO RUSSIA FOR MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BURBULIS, RUSSO-IRANIAN COOPERATION ON THE AGENDA
The Sun
July 27, 1996
(Moscow) – The Presidents of Russia and Iran are set to meet each other in the capital of Moscow, for the first time since the Cold War. While Iran did not recognize either side during the Second Russian Civil War, its controversial support for Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had dampened Russia’s relations with the Islamic Republic. Since then, both the Russian and Iranian governments have pledged to mend ties with each other, and to discuss a variety of issues, ranging from security in the Caucasus, to plans for a joint Russo-Iranian railway project, and additional economic, security, and socio-cultural discussions as well. In addition, the issue of Al-Qaeda’s presence in Central Asia is also a key topic that would be discussed between the two Presidents, and Iran’s offer to establish a joint intelligence hub with Russia at the Autonomous Republic of Dagestan, which will serve as the headquarters for monitoring the activities of Al-Qaeda.
“Although Russia wishes for normalization of its diplomatic relations with Israel, we cannot ignore Iran’s importance to the Middle East, and South Asia,” comments President Burbulis when asked about Israel’s reaction to the Russia-Iran summit. “Furthermore, as Iran is currently not under any UN sanctions, we can serve as Iran’s advisor in case things go out of control.”
Russia’s reconstruction projects are a main priority right now for the Burbulis government, as it struggles to rebuild its shattered country after a brutal civil war that destroyed the former Soviet Union. While it has temporarily withdrawn itself from international affairs, citing reconstruction efforts as its main reason, it has also kept a vigilant eye on Central Asia in case Al-Qaeda tries to expand its activities to Russia itself. The Russian military, in need of a complete overhaul after the National Redemption Army’s performance during the Second Russian Civil War, is planning to cut down its troop size to just 900,000 active troops, and its reserve forces to just 1.5 million, with plans for a transition to a fully professional military force by the year 2015. Its excessive amount of old Soviet military hardware could be of great use, as President Burbulis may also discuss possible sales of military hardware to Iran, in exchange for Iranian investment in the economies of Russia’s North Caucasian Autonomous Republics. To incentivize further Russo-Iranian cultural ties, the Russian government has decided to recognize the Persian New Year holiday of Nowruz as part of Russia’s cultural calendar.
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