Fortune # 2: Do not pee on head and say, "rain!"

....and like Mr. Bush, President Hu emitted his absurd mantra made all the more vile whilst accompanied by the pomp and ceremony of Thursday's state reception. Taiwan (the independant island nation pictured at left), he said will never be independant from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Despite its standing army of over 200,000,000 (the world's largest ever), not one pair of PRC boots have ever defiled Taiwan with its different currency, flag, and recognition by the USA and nearly all of of the civilized world. As Sadam characterized Kuwait in 1990, Hu calls it a renegade province (separated by 120 miles of ocean). The following stark differences are from the
CIA world factbook: Ever since the communist takeover of the mainland in 1949 when 2 million nationalists fled to Taiwan it has, "gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure." The president is directly elected by universal sufferage, as is the national legislature with its 16 political parties. Infant mortality = 6.2/1000 (slightly better than in the US) or (compared to China's 26/1000). Taiwan's literacy rate and life expectancy are 15% higher than in the PRC. Per capita GDP is $26,000 in Taiwan (compared to $6,300 in the PRC) despite negligible natural resources, the Island nation ranks among the "Asian Tigers" in manufacturing, technology, and trade export. President Chen has also announced a pending law to
abolish the death penalty.