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If you noticed that a street or two were shut down near the Bonaventure Hotel this afternoon, that's because the President of Taiwan was arriving for his overnight stay. President Ma Ying-jeou is in Los Angeles tonight before he heads to South America. On his way back, he will stay in San Francisco. While he has no public appointments in the U.S., he may hold private meetings to improve ties between the U.S. and China.
Although he is credited with quickly easing some tensions between his country and China since he took office on May 20, his low-key trip to the U.S. still drew the attention of some protesters this afternoon.
At least 15 cars and motorcycles were assigned to his Ma's arrival this afternoon. Eight black SUV limos pulled up to the hotel as people from the opposition party (they voted for the other guy), who were bussed in, protested across the street from the hotel.
LAist Books Editor Callie Miller contributed to this report
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What were they protesting?
Vega, they were probably protesting in support of the independence of Taiwan (the platform the other guy who ran against this President in the other party ran on). Ma Ying-jeou wants to "improve" ties with China *and* U.S., while the other party only wants to improve ties with U.S. because they want Taiwan to be an independent country recognized by the U.N.-something China would never allow and is always threatening Taiwan over.
Something funny. The notice put out by LAPD says he's the president of China:
The following information pertains to an upcoming Special Event Permit Application
recently filed with the Los Angeles Police Department Board of Police Commissioners.
This notification is provided in an effort to minimize the impact the event(s) may have on
your neighborhood and/or business. If you have any questions concerning the details of
this event, please contact the applicant (below) or the Los Angeles Police Department,
Special Events Permits Unit, at (213) 847-1640.
8/12/2008 Welcome President Ma of Republic of China
TIME: 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
ASSEMBLY: Sidewalks of Flower Street and Figueroa St, between W. 4th Street and
W. 5th Street
ROUTE: N/A
CONTACT: Friends of Ma
Jimmy Liao 626-922-0252
626-922-0252
Actually, the LAPD notice says the Republic of China....which is indeed Taiwan.
Indeedy - R.O.C. (Nationalist Taiwan) vs. P.R.C. (Communist China), which is the whole problem with countries not being able to recognize both. R.O.C. used to rule the Mainland until the Commies won and kicked them out; Taiwan is where they exiled. Officially, the R.O.C. has said they would "take back the mainland" and reconquer it once they regrouped ... but that is outdated policy now.
So that's where the "one China" policy comes from. Countries can only recognize one or the other...something this new President wants to change. The protesters in this article represent the D.P.P. (Democratic Progressive Party) wants Taiwan to become "Taiwan" and not another China, to be independent. The recent election of Ma represents a reversal in this progress, since the DPP ruled for a few terms before him. Change of party.
Impromptu history/Taiwan straits lesson. :)