The -foot ( m) diameter granite CIA seal in the lobby of the original headquarters building. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OPINION—While I’m sure some of our friends at CIA would be insulted if I said that they weren’t involved in everything that happens in the world, I suspect that Intelligence participation in the Taipei protests are minimal at most. This comes from a basic understanding of exactly how much Ma, Taiwan‘s President, has isolated himself and exactly how much support the island has for the student demonstrators.

30,000 people have camped out in Taiwan’s capital square and their friends of friends encompass nearly everyone on the island. The movement is indisputably student-led. Massive support for the students is beyond manipulation.

One bureaucrat at the Executive Yuan complained that occupying students ate his sunflower and pineapple cakes—which really are delicious. In a nose-thumbing response, several bakeries swarmed his home with cases upon cases of sunflower and pineapple cakes. It is doubtful that CIA had to do much convincing in order for Asians to seize the opportunity to insult a government official by “feeding their enemies”.

While the Taipei City police department requested reinforcements from other cities on the island, southern metropolises Tainan and Kaohsiung, would not send police. Kooks may suspect their refusal as being part of a CIA conspiracy, but that would demonstrate ignorance of two factors: First, basic police and security strategy teaches us that it would be a bad idea to leave the south of the island undefended. The fact that Taipei asked for police from the south, if anything, indicates that the Taipei City government may be conspiring with Mainland China—but that’s another topic altogether. Second, these two cities are in the south, which is highly sympathetic to anyone who would protest the capital district. Asking Kaohsiung to send police to help Taipei may surmount to asking Texas to send police to help rein-in protests in New York—the Texans would likely say, “New York? Let it burn.”

University Presidents around the island have dismissed classes to allow students to join the demonstration. Since many universities receive government money, CIA involvement may be suspected as an explanation. However, there are two issues that make their decision seem real and understandable: First, cutting funds or removing those Univ. Presidents would require an act of the legislature that is currently occupied. The Executive Yuan could try to discipline those Univ. Presidents, but they have their hands full at the moment. Even if classes resumed, Universities may face more pressure for wasting government money on having resumed classes that no one was attending. Second, Univ. Presidents are highly educated and, therefore, understand that the specific CSSTA trade-service pact being protested would cause Taiwan’s economic path to mimic Hong Kong’s last two decades—average income would sink, real estate would go through the roof, and the Univ. Presidents wouldn’t be able to afford nice homes on the beach in which to retire.

Donations from companies around the island swarm to supply the students with their every need. Port-a-potties were brought in. Doctors bring their own medical supplies. A stage sits on the street. Were these donors and volunteers part of some secret brotherhood controlled by CIA? Possibly. Businessmen like to join “old-man frats”. But, their decisions to donate make perfect sense. First, these students are incredibly popular. Donating branded items may prove more bang for the buck to those companies than advertising costs. Second, those companies’ executives fear the Chinese economy‘s ability to put them out of business if CSSTA becomes law. Companies having donated supplies to the students required as much coercion as asking a fly to eat poop.

Famous musicians take turns singing songs in protest. Doctors, lawyers, economists, and professors have time limited microphone time because everyone wants to explain why the students are right on the money. Any CIA involvement in this protest would have required 60 years of infiltrating their educational system to convince these experts to agree with these students and to plan to have Taiwan’s President make the public so angry that revolution was unavoidable. That’s not to demean CIA by claiming it isn’t capable of 60-year strategies, but CIA probably wouldn’t take the time for such a small country as Taiwan.

Is CIA involved? A better question is: Where is CIA not involved in anything? Rephrased, is it likely that CIA is especially involved in contributing to this particular turn of events in Taiwan? Probably not. The movement makes too much sense. It’s another organic, grass-roots phenomenon of history. If anything, analysts throughout the America government, political consultants and pollsters especially, all agree: The current Taiwan government’s politicians are so unpopular, not even John McCain would want to speak in their favor.

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Categories: Politics & Law

Tags: China, cia, Executive Yuan, Hong Kong, John McCain, Ma Ying-jeou, Taipei, Taipei City, Taiwan