I provide sources for what I say all the time when I say something that's not necessarily obvious. In this particular case, I'm stating a well documented fact that anybody can google. The troll move here is to claim that I said something controversial, demand evidence, and then to make personal smear attacks against me. Which is what you and your buddy are doing.

That said, here are some materials that you will never bother reading, but might help other people reading the thread understand who the actual troll here is.

US Political Capture of Taiwan

US National Endowment for Democracy - REMARKS PREPARED BY NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY PRESIDENT CARL GERSHMAN AND READ BY ANDREW NATHAN AT TECRO DINNER WITH TAIWAN PRESIDENT TSAI ING-WEN (2019): https://www.ned.org/remarks-prepared-by-national-endowment-for-democracy-president-carl-gershman-and-read-by-andrew-nathan-at-tecro-dinner-with-taiwan-president-tsai-ing-wen/
US National Endowment for Democracy - TAIWAN PRESIDENT TSAI ING-WEN HONORS PRESIDENT OF NED CARL GERSHMAN ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (2019): https://www.ned.org/taiwan-president-tsai-ing-wen-honors-ned-human-rights-day/
US National Endowment for Democracy - REMARKS BY CARL GERSHMAN UPON RECEIVING THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL IN TAIWAN: https://www.ned.org/taiwans-destiny/

Sunflower Movement Leader Lin Fei-fan’s Associations with the US NED

Taipei Times - Beijing using free market to influence Taiwanese media, US symposium told (2013): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/03/02/2003556088
The Diplomat - Sunflowers End Occupation of Taiwan’s Legislature (archived, 2014): http://web.archive.org/web/20140411235449/https://thediplomat.com/2014/04/sunflowers-end-occupation-of-taiwans-legislature/
Taiwan News - Former Sunflower Movement activists join DPP, Lin Fei-fan pledges to help DPP win election, prevent pro-Beijing forces from taking power (2019): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3744833

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s regular Reporting to AIT

Wikileaks - TSAI ING-WEN COMMENTS ON DPP TURMOIL (2005): https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/05TAIPEI4870_a.html
Wikileaks - DPP CHAIRPERSON TSAI ING-WEN ON CHALLENGES FACING PARTY AND U.S. ARMS SALES (2008): https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08TAIPEI892_a.html
Wikileaks - DIRECTOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON DPP CHAIR TSAI ING-WEN (2009): https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09TAIPEI754_a.html

US interference in Taiwan politics and media is very well documented. US has poured countless millions into shaping the opinions of the people in Taiwan through orgs like NED, it directly grooms US politicians such as Tsai Ing-Wen, and that's literally what colonialism and cultural hegemony are.

[–] APassenger@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

These links (clicked and read) are not all that salacious.

Where there are like-minded people, we like to help. If we can get more like-minded people, that's better.

If it was for free market capitalism, I'd have an issue with our contribution. A lot of this is about the spread of democracy. I don't take issue with that.

Self-determination (including the rejection of democracy) seems fundamental to me. Overall, however, I think socialist democracies make the most sense. Beneficent dictatorships seem like a they're one step away from not being beneficial. Slippery slope thing.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

That is such an absurd statement to make. To understand how absurd what you're saying is replace Taiwan with Texas or Hawaii and replace US with Russia or China. Then tell me with a straight face that US would allow this level of interference in a US state where Russia or China would groom politicians, sponsor movements via their state orgs, and send weapons there. Last I checked US liberals are still losing their minds over the fact that a Russian oligarch bought a few 100k worth of Fb ads during an election campaign. What these links show is political interference on an incredible scale, and the kind US would never tolerate in a million years.

And don't pretend that this is about spreading democracy, it's about spreading US hegemony. US doesn't even have democracy at home, how can it possibly spread it anywhere else:

What do our findings say about democracy in America? They certainly constitute troubling news for advocates of “populistic” democracy, who want governments to respond primarily or exclusively to the policy preferences of their citizens. In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule—at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.

Having a foreign power take over and run your government isn't what self determination is. Self determination fundamentally starts with having sovereignty, and having a foreign power drive your political system is literally the opposite of that.

[–] APassenger@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have no disagreement with calling our system an oligarchy. It's part of why I'm pro-socialism.

Money isn't the only thing driving the oligarchy, but it's way up there on my list.

Profound, immeasurable wealth is a blight and a hallmark of poor mental health.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 year ago

Well that's something we can agree on. Politics of any society that allows mass wealth inequality will end up being captured by those who have the wealth. The only way to have a just society is by limiting inequality. And in my view, Americans should not run around the world and interfere in other countries pretending to do it for some grand standing purposes like spreading democracy while their own society is profoundly sick. Fix yourselves and stop playing world police. Let other countries deal with their own problems, and we'll all be in a better place.