4th of July: New Meaning in China
6Jul2008 Filed under: news Author: Jenny Zhu
On top of being America’s Independence Day, 4th of July now represents a new era for China and Taiwan’s relations as direct flights started on this day. Eventhough the two sides are inextricablly linked at the civilian level through trade and cultural exchange, direct flights hold deep sentimental value. Ever since 1949, there had been no direct traffic or mail communication cross the Straits. In the Cold War era, the iron curtain blocked all ties between the two sides. Many of those who moved to Taiwan with the KMT and still had families on the Mainland became the most immediate victims of the ideological battle.
I remember the intense trepidation and excitement I felt when I made a stop-over in Taipei airport a few years ago. I had no family in Taiwan, but the experience still hit me at a very personal level. Collective memory and narrative make a two-hour flight a compelling emotional journey.
3 Responses to “4th of July: New Meaning in China”
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About this blog
Hi, I am Jenny Zhu from ChinesePod.com. I bring you a slice of the Chinese language and culture in the daily podcast. But there is so much more than what a podcast has time for, so jennyzhu.com is a space of observation and reflection on the big, small and everything in between about China.
art
July 6th, 2008 at 8:35 am
The name of the plane， 复兴航 ，caught my attention immediately. My limited Chinese vocabulary made me think that it’s the flight that returns happiness. And why not? I’m sure many people over there are happy over this development. But after consulting the dictionary,I learned 复兴 means to revive, or renaissance. The Chinese are really into symbolism.
I thought of a movie I saw in the early 80s while reading your blog. I can’t remember the title but it was part of a double feature, the first being 牧马人, a wonderful movie.
Anyway the second movie was about the opening of China to the world and a love story between an ABC visiting China for the first time and a local. The two met when the female overheard the male practicing his English out loud in a park. He had trouble pronouncing “I love my motherland. I love the morning of my motherland.” The female hid herself and belted out in Mandarin: “我爱我的母国。我爱我母国的早晨。“ Eventually they met, fell in love and ran into one major complication: His father and her father turned out to be officers and friends in the Chinese military during the civil war. His father decided to join Mao and while her father decided to join Jiang.
The movie had a “happy ending” when the guy’s father went to see the ABC and told her that opening of China means everyone is welcomed back home, including her parents.
That was too much propaganda for me back then. I still think the same way today. But I think it took economic ties, 华侨 investments and indirect flights to and from Taiwan, instead of overt political maneuverings, to accomplish this historic direct flight between the Mainland and Taiwan.
ewong
July 7th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
thanks for sharing this Jenny.
I was reading about it in the papers and this day finally came…this just proves that nothing is impossible…indeed a major breakthrough in both Taiwan and China history
this is one thing that would put a smile of the faces of all Chinese everywhere
Jenny Zhu
July 8th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
ewong,
It’s indeed heart warming and sentimental. My 85-year-old grandma is determined to visit Taiwan this year since it’s a place that she didn’t think she’d ever get a chance to see.