The Hammer of Taiwan
This video is an extension of the "Hammer" assignment in the Animation 218 (Fundamentals of Animation), taught in the Spring Semester 2014, at East Los Angeles College, by Professor Michael Libonati. The purpose of the original assignment is to study the rotational motion of an object (in this case, the hammer) around a central point.
In this Flash movie, almost all images have been imported .jpeg or .png files. Inserted into the key frames of the Flash Layers, their scales and shapes have been edited with the Transform Tool to create effects of animation. The animated dancing Sunflower is a Graphic Symbol copied from the Library of another Flash file, the Ballet of the Sunflower project.
Two events in Taiwan that shocked the whole world ...
While completing the original assignment, I watched news reports on TV stations from Chinese Mainland and Taiwan Province. Two important events caught my attention, one is the Sunflower Student Movement to oppose the "Free Trade on Service Business Agreement" promoted by the KMT (Kuomintang or National People's Party of China) in Taiwan, which a lot of Native Taiwanese believe to be threatening to the survival of small businesses in Taiwan (usually owned by the Native Taiwanese people, about 20 millions in population) and benefiting only the big businesses in Taiwan (usually owned by the Out-side Provincials or descendants of the supporters of KMT, mostly exiled from China back in 1949, and now with a population of around 3 millions) and Mainland Chinese "Nouveau Rich" (whom the native Taiwanese suspect to be KMT supporters). The other is the destruction of a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, the Founder the KMT, by a group of native Taiwanese led by Professor Tsai Ting-gui; this is an epoch-making event since Sun Yast-sen has been worshipped as a great political icon by both the Communist Party-led Chinese Government in China's Mainland and the anti-Communist KMT regime exiled in Taiwan, as well as the anti-Communist groups inside and outside of China. The Taiwanese group vowed to pull down the remainder of Sun Yat-sen's statues in Taiwan, as a means to protest against the past atrocities and mistreatment of the KMT regime against the native Taiwanese. In Los Angeles, Taiwanese students and their American supporters held large-scale demonstration in front of the Federal Building in Westwood. It happened that in another course, there is an assignment to produce a digital video under the topic of "freedom and change." thus, I went to the event to shoot some pictures; and a group of Americans who called themselves the US Committee in Solidarity with the People of Taiwan talked to me, proposing some ideas for a political cartoon.
Two events in China that invite rethinking about history and the future ...
In addition, in the recent decades, two important events took place in Chinese intellectual circles, both in China and Overseas. The first is the official recognition of the great contributions made by the Manchu people including their aristocratic leaders, the Manchu-led multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Qing Government, and the Aisin-Gioro Clan (the Royal House under the Qing Dynasty), to China's economic growth, social progress and cultural development, by China's historians and governmental institutions. The other is the open discussion of the nature and consequences of the 1911 Republican Rebellion and the role of Sun Yatsen. Many critics of KMT believe that around the year 1911, the Qing Government was moving fast towards the establishment of a constitutional government and Chinese people enjoyed a wide range of civil liberties in the last ten years of the Qing Government, and that, after the overthrow of the Qing Government, the so-called Republic of China regime actually caused China to degenerate into a vicious cycle of civil wars and total destruction of the peaceful and stable traditional Chinese society without building up a viable alternative. They also argued that (1) even today, many democratic and prosperous countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Denmark, are constitutional monarchies, while some countries with a republican form of government such a s Burma and Sadam Hussein's Iraq are actually dictatorships; therefore, both constitutional monarch and democratic republic are equally legitimate forms of democracies, and neither is better that the other; (2) constitutional monarchies are for sure democratic but un-democratic republics are actually dictatorships. Based on these facts, they argued that the 1911 Republican Rebellion was unnecessary and even illegitimate.
The Chinese Nation says Goodbye! to revolution ...
Many Chinese intellectuals nowadays, especially those educated in the English-speaking world (the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore), believe that the 1911 Republican Rebellion (or the "Xinhai Revolution") did not make any positive contribution to the improvement of Chinese people's livelihood; instead, it abruptly ended the genuine endeavors of the Aisin-Gioro Royal House, the Manchu aristocrats, and the Han-Chinese mandarins-gentry to peacefully reform China's traditional institutions, to lead China's integration into the mainstream of international community, and to promote economic development and social progress; it actually replaced a genuine democracy under a benevolent constitutional monarchy with a so-called Republic of China that is neither republican nor democratic but in fact, a military dictatorship. Therefore, these intellectuals argue that the Chinese Nation needs to say goodbye to revolution, or to be more precise, to the mentality of Sun Yatsen and the KMT he founded to resort to violent overthrow of existing social institutions overnight instead of working within the system to promote viable improvement from within. This shift of mentality is very important in light of China's rise as a global power, a responsible player in the global system of political-economics.
While the above-mentioned controversial opinions are thought-provocative to me, I cannot come up with a solid argument to totally reject or even ignore them; therefore, I have to agree that these opinions are to certain degree viable.
In my personal opinion, the recent events in Taiwan, i.e., the student protest and toppling of the statue of Sun Yatsen, are the tragic outcomes of the KMT's role in China's modern history. Originally founded by descendents of the Ming Dynasty loyalists as a rebel group against the Manchu-led Qing Government and its close ties with the British Empire, and supported during different periods of time by the Japanese Black Dragon Society, the Soviet Union and the Communist International under Soviet control, and during and after the World War Two, the United States, the KMT has started a series of Chinese Nationalist Revolutions or Civil Wars to overthrow the Qing Government (1911), the Bejing Government of the Republic of China (1927), to eliminate the Chinese Communists as well as its own internal dissidents (after 1927), and to suppress Taiwanese Communists and regionalists (1947-1990); these civil wars did not bring any tangible benefits to the majority of Chinese people (including the Taiwanese); instead, it caused too much destructions of life and properties and created too many enemies in China (including Taiwan) and Overseas.
Although I sincerely respect Sun Yatsen as an important political figure in the history of modern China and even agree with some of his ideas about public service and social welfare for the people, especially the poor, I also respect the position of his enemies and critics (no matter how controversial, offensive or provocative they may be to me and to the supporters of Sun Yatsen). I conveniently picked up the ideas of the Taiwanese protesters and their American supporters, and combined their ideas with the opinions of China's new generation of historians, to develop a sample animated political cartoon, in the form of a Flash movie.
The event of toppling Sun Yatsen's statue in Taiwan has been thought-provoking and shocking to international news media, and has aroused hot debate about Sun Yatsen's role and the real impact of his failed Nationalist Revolution in China's modern history. The Youtube website hosts some footage of the event (please click the linked text to access the videos from the Youtube web site):
1. Taiwan - Sun Yat-sen Statue "toppled"
2. Taiwan group topples Sun Yat-sen statue
The event of wide-spread protests in Taiwan by native Taiwanese students in 2014 has shocked the international community and reveres the deep hatred and grievances that still exist between KMT exiles and native Taiwanese population in the island, which, despite of recent progress in political democratization, remains a source of instability in Asia. The Youtube web site also hosts many shootages of the protests:
1. Taiwanese Students Protest against Cross Strait Pact and
2. Protesters Occupy Taiwan Parliament Over China Trade Deal
3. Students occupy Taiwan's parliamentary chamber - Truthloader
4. Aerial footage: Taiwanese police clash with student protesters
5. Taiwanese students continue to protest trade pact with China despite
6. Taiwan police's brutal crackdown on peaceful student protesters
7. 2014 03 30 ~ 330 NYC Time Square Sun Flower Civil Right Rally
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Please note that any opinion(s) expressed in this movie are strictly those of the people who requested the producer to develop this Flash animation movie. As the producer of digital movies, I maintains strict neutrality with regard to any social, economic, philosophical, ideological or cultural issues; makes all efforts possible when dealing with any issues with the highest degree of objectivity; does NOT endorse, oppose or try to exclude any points of views, liberal or conservative, middle-of-the road, or otherwise; and has ABSOLUTELY NO interests in interfering in the internal political affairs of the diverse groups of people living in Taiwan.
This video is produced as a humorous expression of political attitudes of some groups of people in the Chinese and Taiwanese communities, in China's Mainland and Taiwan Province, or Overseas, or to be more accurate, the political attitudes of some Chinese (including Taiwanese) who are up to this point strictly opposed to KMT and its role in Chinese and international politics due to the tragedies their parents have suffered from the KMT-led Chinese Nationalist Revolution; however, it does NOT reflect my position. It is intended to open up people's mindset, NOT to offend anyone with strong and non-compromising political stand.
In addition, some of the images used in this project are from the Internet; they might or might not be copyrighted; and they are used under the "fair use" clauses of United States and international copyrights laws and conventions.
Any question? Please email me: [email protected]
In this Flash movie, almost all images have been imported .jpeg or .png files. Inserted into the key frames of the Flash Layers, their scales and shapes have been edited with the Transform Tool to create effects of animation. The animated dancing Sunflower is a Graphic Symbol copied from the Library of another Flash file, the Ballet of the Sunflower project.
Two events in Taiwan that shocked the whole world ...
While completing the original assignment, I watched news reports on TV stations from Chinese Mainland and Taiwan Province. Two important events caught my attention, one is the Sunflower Student Movement to oppose the "Free Trade on Service Business Agreement" promoted by the KMT (Kuomintang or National People's Party of China) in Taiwan, which a lot of Native Taiwanese believe to be threatening to the survival of small businesses in Taiwan (usually owned by the Native Taiwanese people, about 20 millions in population) and benefiting only the big businesses in Taiwan (usually owned by the Out-side Provincials or descendants of the supporters of KMT, mostly exiled from China back in 1949, and now with a population of around 3 millions) and Mainland Chinese "Nouveau Rich" (whom the native Taiwanese suspect to be KMT supporters). The other is the destruction of a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, the Founder the KMT, by a group of native Taiwanese led by Professor Tsai Ting-gui; this is an epoch-making event since Sun Yast-sen has been worshipped as a great political icon by both the Communist Party-led Chinese Government in China's Mainland and the anti-Communist KMT regime exiled in Taiwan, as well as the anti-Communist groups inside and outside of China. The Taiwanese group vowed to pull down the remainder of Sun Yat-sen's statues in Taiwan, as a means to protest against the past atrocities and mistreatment of the KMT regime against the native Taiwanese. In Los Angeles, Taiwanese students and their American supporters held large-scale demonstration in front of the Federal Building in Westwood. It happened that in another course, there is an assignment to produce a digital video under the topic of "freedom and change." thus, I went to the event to shoot some pictures; and a group of Americans who called themselves the US Committee in Solidarity with the People of Taiwan talked to me, proposing some ideas for a political cartoon.
Two events in China that invite rethinking about history and the future ...
In addition, in the recent decades, two important events took place in Chinese intellectual circles, both in China and Overseas. The first is the official recognition of the great contributions made by the Manchu people including their aristocratic leaders, the Manchu-led multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Qing Government, and the Aisin-Gioro Clan (the Royal House under the Qing Dynasty), to China's economic growth, social progress and cultural development, by China's historians and governmental institutions. The other is the open discussion of the nature and consequences of the 1911 Republican Rebellion and the role of Sun Yatsen. Many critics of KMT believe that around the year 1911, the Qing Government was moving fast towards the establishment of a constitutional government and Chinese people enjoyed a wide range of civil liberties in the last ten years of the Qing Government, and that, after the overthrow of the Qing Government, the so-called Republic of China regime actually caused China to degenerate into a vicious cycle of civil wars and total destruction of the peaceful and stable traditional Chinese society without building up a viable alternative. They also argued that (1) even today, many democratic and prosperous countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Denmark, are constitutional monarchies, while some countries with a republican form of government such a s Burma and Sadam Hussein's Iraq are actually dictatorships; therefore, both constitutional monarch and democratic republic are equally legitimate forms of democracies, and neither is better that the other; (2) constitutional monarchies are for sure democratic but un-democratic republics are actually dictatorships. Based on these facts, they argued that the 1911 Republican Rebellion was unnecessary and even illegitimate.
The Chinese Nation says Goodbye! to revolution ...
Many Chinese intellectuals nowadays, especially those educated in the English-speaking world (the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore), believe that the 1911 Republican Rebellion (or the "Xinhai Revolution") did not make any positive contribution to the improvement of Chinese people's livelihood; instead, it abruptly ended the genuine endeavors of the Aisin-Gioro Royal House, the Manchu aristocrats, and the Han-Chinese mandarins-gentry to peacefully reform China's traditional institutions, to lead China's integration into the mainstream of international community, and to promote economic development and social progress; it actually replaced a genuine democracy under a benevolent constitutional monarchy with a so-called Republic of China that is neither republican nor democratic but in fact, a military dictatorship. Therefore, these intellectuals argue that the Chinese Nation needs to say goodbye to revolution, or to be more precise, to the mentality of Sun Yatsen and the KMT he founded to resort to violent overthrow of existing social institutions overnight instead of working within the system to promote viable improvement from within. This shift of mentality is very important in light of China's rise as a global power, a responsible player in the global system of political-economics.
While the above-mentioned controversial opinions are thought-provocative to me, I cannot come up with a solid argument to totally reject or even ignore them; therefore, I have to agree that these opinions are to certain degree viable.
In my personal opinion, the recent events in Taiwan, i.e., the student protest and toppling of the statue of Sun Yatsen, are the tragic outcomes of the KMT's role in China's modern history. Originally founded by descendents of the Ming Dynasty loyalists as a rebel group against the Manchu-led Qing Government and its close ties with the British Empire, and supported during different periods of time by the Japanese Black Dragon Society, the Soviet Union and the Communist International under Soviet control, and during and after the World War Two, the United States, the KMT has started a series of Chinese Nationalist Revolutions or Civil Wars to overthrow the Qing Government (1911), the Bejing Government of the Republic of China (1927), to eliminate the Chinese Communists as well as its own internal dissidents (after 1927), and to suppress Taiwanese Communists and regionalists (1947-1990); these civil wars did not bring any tangible benefits to the majority of Chinese people (including the Taiwanese); instead, it caused too much destructions of life and properties and created too many enemies in China (including Taiwan) and Overseas.
Although I sincerely respect Sun Yatsen as an important political figure in the history of modern China and even agree with some of his ideas about public service and social welfare for the people, especially the poor, I also respect the position of his enemies and critics (no matter how controversial, offensive or provocative they may be to me and to the supporters of Sun Yatsen). I conveniently picked up the ideas of the Taiwanese protesters and their American supporters, and combined their ideas with the opinions of China's new generation of historians, to develop a sample animated political cartoon, in the form of a Flash movie.
The event of toppling Sun Yatsen's statue in Taiwan has been thought-provoking and shocking to international news media, and has aroused hot debate about Sun Yatsen's role and the real impact of his failed Nationalist Revolution in China's modern history. The Youtube website hosts some footage of the event (please click the linked text to access the videos from the Youtube web site):
1. Taiwan - Sun Yat-sen Statue "toppled"
2. Taiwan group topples Sun Yat-sen statue
The event of wide-spread protests in Taiwan by native Taiwanese students in 2014 has shocked the international community and reveres the deep hatred and grievances that still exist between KMT exiles and native Taiwanese population in the island, which, despite of recent progress in political democratization, remains a source of instability in Asia. The Youtube web site also hosts many shootages of the protests:
1. Taiwanese Students Protest against Cross Strait Pact and
2. Protesters Occupy Taiwan Parliament Over China Trade Deal
3. Students occupy Taiwan's parliamentary chamber - Truthloader
4. Aerial footage: Taiwanese police clash with student protesters
5. Taiwanese students continue to protest trade pact with China despite
6. Taiwan police's brutal crackdown on peaceful student protesters
7. 2014 03 30 ~ 330 NYC Time Square Sun Flower Civil Right Rally
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Please note that any opinion(s) expressed in this movie are strictly those of the people who requested the producer to develop this Flash animation movie. As the producer of digital movies, I maintains strict neutrality with regard to any social, economic, philosophical, ideological or cultural issues; makes all efforts possible when dealing with any issues with the highest degree of objectivity; does NOT endorse, oppose or try to exclude any points of views, liberal or conservative, middle-of-the road, or otherwise; and has ABSOLUTELY NO interests in interfering in the internal political affairs of the diverse groups of people living in Taiwan.
This video is produced as a humorous expression of political attitudes of some groups of people in the Chinese and Taiwanese communities, in China's Mainland and Taiwan Province, or Overseas, or to be more accurate, the political attitudes of some Chinese (including Taiwanese) who are up to this point strictly opposed to KMT and its role in Chinese and international politics due to the tragedies their parents have suffered from the KMT-led Chinese Nationalist Revolution; however, it does NOT reflect my position. It is intended to open up people's mindset, NOT to offend anyone with strong and non-compromising political stand.
In addition, some of the images used in this project are from the Internet; they might or might not be copyrighted; and they are used under the "fair use" clauses of United States and international copyrights laws and conventions.
Any question? Please email me: [email protected]
Figure HT-1. Digital images of the hammer and of the hand holding it, processed in Photoshop, saved as .png files with transparent backgrounds, and imported into the Flash file of the project as basic elements for animation.
![]() Figure HT-3. The Guangxu Emperor Aisin-Gioro Zaitian), the first monarch in Chinese history to promote social, economic and political reforms towards modernization. Many of the best universities and public works projects could be traced back to Guangxu Emperor's Reign. Some historians, Chinese and Western alike, think that the emperor is the first Chinese leader to implement policies of modernization and capitalism.
Some Westerners love the image of the Dragon Flag, as well as Qing style fashion design. Please watch this Youtube video:
1. My flag pole with my new flag of the Qing Dynasty 2. Late Qing National Flag flying once again in Western New York 3. Hong Kong Design guru decodes Qing fashions |
![]() Figure HT-4A. The map of the Great Qing Empire of China, the first government in China's history that administered Taiwan as a province in a systematic way. Like elsewhere in China, the Qing Government relied on local elites (landowners, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals) to govern local people. In Taiwan, the Qing Government also promoted free education to the aboriginal tribal peoples of Taiwan, to bring them into the "mainstream" of Chinese civilization, in sharp contrast to the previous Chinese Ming Dynasty regime that regarded aboriginal Taiwanese as "barbarians" and massacred them in large scale genocidal military campaigns in order to seize their tribal territories. Many members of the aboriginal tribes up to these days are still thankful to the Qing Government for benevolent policies towards technologically less-advanced ethnic groups.
![]() Figure HT-4C. In 1921, the Soviet Union supported a rebellion in Outer Mongolia leading to the declaration of "independence" (in reality, dependency on the Soviet Union); in 1945, the KMT regime recognized the "independence" of the "Mongolian People's Republic." Thus, Outer Mongolia is no longer as part of China as it was under the Qing Government. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian troupes have been withdrawn; thus, Mongolians achieved their real independence.
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![]() Figure HT-5. The Dragon Flag of the Great Qing (the national flag of China before 1911). Please note that the term Great Qing is actually not a correct translation of the name Daicin (大清), which is originally a Mongolian word meaning the vanguard, soldier or hero; the word has been incorporated into the Manchu language; thus, the original name of the dynasty Daicin Gurun (大清国) actually means the Nation of Vanguards. Although the Qing Monarchy has ended in 1911, some Overseas Chinese still use it as a symbol of traditional Chinese civilization, at home or in the activities of community groups. The coat of arms of the American-supported Republic of South Vietnam also features the same image of the dragon.
![]() Figure HT-6. The Tiger Flag of the Democratic State of Taiwan. In 1895, the Government of the Great Qing Empire of China lost war over Korea with Japan; the Empire of Japan forced China to cede Taiwan. The people of Taiwan did not want to accept Japanese rule; under the leadership pf loyal Qing Government officers and local gentry, the Taiwanese established the Democratic State of Taiwan which continued to recognize the Qing Empire as sovereign over the territory. The use of the image of Tiger means that Taiwan is like a son with filial piety to the Qing Dagon, the father.
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Figure HT-7. To produce these images of the Qing Dragon Flag, digital images of a yellow flag have been shot first; next, the images of the dragon and red sun have been selected and copied from the image of the Dragon Flag, pasted in the Photoshop files containing the images of the yellow flag, and edited with the Warp and Liquify tools.
About the February 29 (1947) Uprising in Taiwan ...
The February 28 Incident, was a popular armed uprising in Taiwan by local Taiwanese people against the corrupted and oppressive Chinese Nationalist regime. The uprising was violently suppressed by the regime which soon started a Martial Law rule lasting 38 years (the so-called "White Terror"), during which thousands of Taiwanese vanished, died, or were imprisoned. The subject was officially taboo for decades. On the anniversary of the event in 1995, Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui addressed the subject publicly. The event is now openly discussed and February 28 is commemorated as Peace Memorial Day. Many memorial parks and monuments have been built to promote reconciliation between the Native Taiwanese and the descendants of the supporters of Chinese Nationalist regime. The February 28 Peace Memorial Monument in Taipei is one among them.
The February 28 Incident, was a popular armed uprising in Taiwan by local Taiwanese people against the corrupted and oppressive Chinese Nationalist regime. The uprising was violently suppressed by the regime which soon started a Martial Law rule lasting 38 years (the so-called "White Terror"), during which thousands of Taiwanese vanished, died, or were imprisoned. The subject was officially taboo for decades. On the anniversary of the event in 1995, Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui addressed the subject publicly. The event is now openly discussed and February 28 is commemorated as Peace Memorial Day. Many memorial parks and monuments have been built to promote reconciliation between the Native Taiwanese and the descendants of the supporters of Chinese Nationalist regime. The February 28 Peace Memorial Monument in Taipei is one among them.
Meanings of the Graphic Elements in the Taiwan February 28 Peace and Reconciliation Flag ...
The flag features prominently a golden star and the number 2.28 to represent the good fight of the Taiwanese Freedom Fighters against the oppressive Chinese Nationalist regime, a red cross that stands for human rights and reconciliation, the green structure in the middle is the silhouette of the February 28 Peace Memorial Monument in Taipei, the provincial capital of Taiwan, the Great Wall at the base of the Memorial Monument could be interpreted as Taiwan being a fortress in the ocean for China's national defense or as the solidarity of all social groups in the traditional Taiwanese society (gentry-literati or intellectuals, peasants, workers or artisans, and business people) in their endeavors to build a multi-cultural community in the island. The ocean waves have special meanings, to be explained as follows:
The ten crests of the waves:
(1) Struggle of the Aboriginals against Dutch colonial rule, (2) expulsion of the Dutch colonialists by Ming General Zheng Chenggong, (3) struggle of the Aboriginal Taiwanese against genocidal campaigns of the regime of Ming General Zheng Chenggong, (4) liberation of Taiwan and emancipation of the Aboriginal Taiwanese by the Manchu-led Qing Government, (5) integration of Chinese and Aboriginal communities in Taiwan under the Qing Government, (6) resistance of all Taiwanese against Japanese invasion under the Democratic State of Taiwan Government, (7) Taiwanese struggle for self-government and civil liberties in the 1920's against Japanese colonial rule, (8) the February 28 Insurrection of Taiwanese against Chinese Nationalist regime, (9) the rise of the democratic progressive movement that brought an end to the White Terror regime, and (10) the continuous struggle of the Taiwanese people to remove all traces of the White Terror and to reach a meaningful social reconciliation.
The four layers of white and blue waves:
(1) The development of Taiwan by the Aboriginal Taiwanese before the arrivals of the Dutch, Spanish colonialists and Chinese immigrants, (2) the integration of Aboriginal and European civilizations under Dutch colonial rule, (3) the integration of Chinese and Aboriginal societies under the Manchu Qing Government which promoted the development of the Taiwanese people as a special ethic group of China, (4) the integration of Taiwanese and Western civilizations under Japanese colonial rule, and (5) the endeavors of the Taiwanese people for local self government since the end of World War Two.
The flag features prominently a golden star and the number 2.28 to represent the good fight of the Taiwanese Freedom Fighters against the oppressive Chinese Nationalist regime, a red cross that stands for human rights and reconciliation, the green structure in the middle is the silhouette of the February 28 Peace Memorial Monument in Taipei, the provincial capital of Taiwan, the Great Wall at the base of the Memorial Monument could be interpreted as Taiwan being a fortress in the ocean for China's national defense or as the solidarity of all social groups in the traditional Taiwanese society (gentry-literati or intellectuals, peasants, workers or artisans, and business people) in their endeavors to build a multi-cultural community in the island. The ocean waves have special meanings, to be explained as follows:
The ten crests of the waves:
(1) Struggle of the Aboriginals against Dutch colonial rule, (2) expulsion of the Dutch colonialists by Ming General Zheng Chenggong, (3) struggle of the Aboriginal Taiwanese against genocidal campaigns of the regime of Ming General Zheng Chenggong, (4) liberation of Taiwan and emancipation of the Aboriginal Taiwanese by the Manchu-led Qing Government, (5) integration of Chinese and Aboriginal communities in Taiwan under the Qing Government, (6) resistance of all Taiwanese against Japanese invasion under the Democratic State of Taiwan Government, (7) Taiwanese struggle for self-government and civil liberties in the 1920's against Japanese colonial rule, (8) the February 28 Insurrection of Taiwanese against Chinese Nationalist regime, (9) the rise of the democratic progressive movement that brought an end to the White Terror regime, and (10) the continuous struggle of the Taiwanese people to remove all traces of the White Terror and to reach a meaningful social reconciliation.
The four layers of white and blue waves:
(1) The development of Taiwan by the Aboriginal Taiwanese before the arrivals of the Dutch, Spanish colonialists and Chinese immigrants, (2) the integration of Aboriginal and European civilizations under Dutch colonial rule, (3) the integration of Chinese and Aboriginal societies under the Manchu Qing Government which promoted the development of the Taiwanese people as a special ethic group of China, (4) the integration of Taiwanese and Western civilizations under Japanese colonial rule, and (5) the endeavors of the Taiwanese people for local self government since the end of World War Two.
Figure HT-11A. The images of the Chinese and American flags and of the flag pole have been shot in Los Angeles areas, edited in Photoshop, saved as .png files, imported into the Flash file, and inserted into the Layers key frames to create the effects of animation.
Figure HT-11B. To create the images of the Taiwan February Peace and Reconciliation Flag, the digital images of Chinese flag shown in Figure HT-11A have been edited in Photoshop to remove the four small stars which are not part of the Taiwan February 28 Peace and Reconciliation Flag; next, the remaining graphical elements of the Taiwan February 28 Peace and Reconciliation flag have been copied and pasted on top of the edited Chinese flag; next, the Liquify tool from the Filters menu and the Warp tool from the Transform submenu of the Edit menu have been used to edit the pated graphical elements so as to fit them into the shapes of the edited Chinese flag; next, the Lesso and Feather tools have been used to select some portions of the pasted graphical elements, and the Brightness and Contrasts tool from the Image Adjustments submenu of the Edit menu has been used to edit the tonal values of the pasted graphical elements and to make them fit those of the edited Chinese flag.
Figure HT-11C. To create the images of the Flag of the Olympic Games Committee of Taipei, China, which the Chinese Government authorizes the Taiwan Authorities to use in international activities, digital photos of a white flag have been used as the base; next, the graphical elements from the flag (shown on the left) have been copied and pasted; next, similar tools as explained in the caption of Figure HT-11B have been used to complete the images.
Figure HT-15. Digital images of the hand holding a brush used in the Flash movie.
Figure HT-16. Digital images of the hand holding a sickle used in the Flash movie.
![]() Figure HT-17A. The starting screen of the Hammer of Taiwan Flash movie. The White Star over the Blue Stripe flanked by Red Stripes are graphical elements from the National Flag of the United States of America and represents the American supporters. Red and Blue are also traditional colors of the Mongolian and Manchu peoples (the major founding ethnic groups of the Qing Government). Thus, the background colors also represent the solidarity among Mongolian, Manchu, and American peoples.
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![]() Figure HT-17C. Among Overseas Chinese, Guangxu Emperor is still revered as a great leader guiding China towards modernization. In the Internet, many historians start to criticize the Republican Rebellion of 1911, and advocate that the Chinese Nation should say goodbye to revolution and to embrace peaceful and gradual reform, working within the current international system.
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![]() Figure HT-17D. Some Chinese historians have started to criticize Sun Yatsen as too radical ("Horny head, thorny body, a permanent rebel!"), and to revere his secret deal with the Japanese "Black Dragon Society," the Japanese imperialist organization responsible for launching World War Two; some even go as far as to call Sun Yatsen a Japanese Collaborator or a Traitor of the Chinese Nation. All of these represent drastic change in Chinese thought about their modern history, because for the past 70 years, since the KMT came to power with Soviet support, Sun Yatsen has been officially designated as the "Founding Father of China" by the KMT regime.
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![]() Figure HT-17E. Among Overseas Chinese, some descendants of supporters of the Qing Government still hate Sun Yatsen, not necessarily because their disagree with his Chinese Nationalist ideology, but because of wide-spread suffering of the Chinese people during KMT rule, both in China (Mainland) and in Taiwan. The image of the hand holding a brush signing off the death penalty verdict with the Dragon of the Great Qing tatoo on the lower arm represents these groups of Chinese both inside China and Overseas.
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![]() Figure HT-17F. The head of a Golden Dragon pulling down the statue of Sun Yatsen with a chain symbolizes the resurge of Qing Civilization and political tradition in China and the failure of the Chinese Nationalist Revolution promoted by Sun Yatsen. The Golden Dragon here represent the cultural heritage of the Qing Dynasty, with a red eye symbolizing hatred and revenge.
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![]() Figure HT-17P. The raising of the National Flag of the People's Republic of China symbolizes the gradual decrease of support for the KMT in the Chinese-American communities in the recent decades, and the acceptance of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and the recognition that Taiwan is a province of China (the official stand of the United States Government so far, which is still resisted by decreasing number of strong supporters of Taiwan and of KMT regime among Chinese-Americans).
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![]() Figure HT-17Q. The raising of Taiwan February 28 Peace and Reconciliation Flag, the proposed Flag of the Taiwan Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in the near future, and the installation of the Regional Emblem of the New Taiwan, symbolizes the inevitable outcomes facing Taiwan today: (1) the demise of the KMT regime in Taiwan (the "Outsider's Exiled Regime" as the majority of Taiwanese residents call it), (2) the establishment of the Democratic Self-Government for the Taiwanese people, and the eventual unification of Taiwan with China's mainland.
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![]() Figure HT-17T. The Dragon Flag of the Great Qing, the National Flag of China under the Qing Government (February 17, 1616 - February 12, 1912), is now used by traditionalist Chinese in the Overseas Communities as a symbol of traditional Chinese virtues and cultures. In fact, about 70% of Overseas Chinese are descendants of refugees from China during the Civil Wars among different political factions under the so-called Republic of China regime (1912-1949). A lot of these people are still nostalgic to the "Good Old Days under the Great Qing" and resentful of the KMT for replacing their ancestors' happy life with a series of disastrous Nationalist Revolutions.
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![]() Figure HT-17U. The Celebration of the Revival of Qing Civilization. In the recent decades, the cultural legacies and heritage of the Chinese peoples of all ethnic groups, especially those of the Manchu people, which have suffered a severe blow during the Civil Wars (1912-1949) and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-196(), have been partially restored in China. The Sunflowers here are symbolic of loyalty to the great traditional heritage of the people in modern times. The bas-relief image of Aisin-Gioro Nurhaci, The Founding Grand-Father of the Great Qing Empire of China, is symbolic of his great contribution to the integration of different cultural heritage of all ethnic groups into a harmonious Manchu-Chinese Qing Civilization.
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![]() Figure HT-17W. The installation of the statue of Khan Nurhaci in his equestrian posture, symbolic of his heroic crusades against the totalitarian Ming Dynasty regime for the emancipation of the oppressed minority groups of China, and for the establishment of a new Chinese nation-state on the principles of equality among all ethnic groups and of social cooperation among all classes of the people. Khan Nurhaci established the legal system of the Qing Government, created the all-people's Eight Banner Armies, and often led his troupes to battlefields.
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![]() Figure HT-17X. The installation of the statue of Khan Nurhaci in his royal robe, symbolic of his contribution to China's cultural growth and integration. Nurhaci led the Manchu scholars to create a new Manchu writing system based on Mongolian alphabets, and contributed to the integration of Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese cultures.
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