another lesson I've learned

So I'm sitting in my Hong Kong Studies module (the word they use for 'course' here) the other day. This is, first of all, notable, because although we're all signed up for the course, we're not actually being assessed at all, so absenteeism runs rampant. The other students in the class are all on semester- or year-long exchanges from various countries, and they don't seem to really pay much attention, though they do attend more regularly. It's a generally not-engaging environment, basically, at 9:30 on friday mornings. So, hopefully that sets the stage. We're discussing, this week, the political climate in Hong Kong, and the idea of Chinese identity (as a cultural and political construct) among HK people. We're now discussing post-1997 (post-handoff) conditions. This happened during the lecture, with my thoughts in italics.

"Now, a lot of Hong Kong celebrities held a conference for students. Andy Lau was there."

Oooooh, Andy Lau is a big deal... What's he been in, again? Um, I know I've seen him in something... (note: according to Wikipedia, he's been in 108 movies 20 years, with the highest cumulative gross of any HK actor)

"Andy Lau stands up in front of an auditorium of students, and says, 'OK, trivia time! The question is: which Chinese province has the most earthquakes?' "

I love trivia! Um, oooh, that's a good question. Earthquakes... probably... well, there are some up by Korea, but not that many in Manchuria, right? Maybe... Xinjiang and Tibet are biggest... but I'll bet... the Himalayas must make some earthquakes, so... Yunnan? Tibet? Wow, what a great question.

"So a student raises his hand, and gets called on. His guess is Yunnan."

Oh snap! I got this one! Oh, geography.

"And Andy Lau says, 'Wrong! The answer is Taiwan!' "

I started laughing at this point, and I couldn't stop for a minute or so. Even though nobody else particularly laughed. Maybe they just weren't paying attention, or maybe the students from mainland China knew all along that the "right" answer was Taiwan. I'm not sure.

Anyway, the lesson learned is this: even though I tease pro-Taiwan friends about their push for independence, I clearly think of Taiwan as something distinct from China. So Steph, sorry for saying "Rogue province!" all the time. I didn't really mean it. I think the thing that really convinced me (subconsciously) was when I actually saw simplified characters. The traditional/simplified gulf seems so vast to me that if Taiwan wants to be different soooo badly that they stick to fantizi, they deserve their own government and stuff. They've done everything they can to prove that they don't want to be part of the PRC, so I think the least they deserve is maintenance of the status quo until the PRC changes dramatically (or collapses). I still think all their military parades and stuff are kind of cute, though. And the protest where they formed a chain of people across the entire width of the island was just precious. So I guess, while I don't think, deep down, that Taiwan is part of China, all the things they do to provoke the PRC seem sort of unnecessary, I guess, for lack of a better word. I should probably visit Taipei and stuff before passing such sweeping judgments, I realize, and this is certainly the year to do it. But I figure a good first step was falling for the same trap that that anonymous Hong Kong student did, in order for Andy Lau to demonstrate his patriotism.