Self-Determination

Now here I was thinking to myself that there's really just no way you could turn a discussion of Taiwan-PRC relations into a pretext for talking about the perfidy of the Palestinians. Obviously, I hadn't taken Peretz-power into consideration. He's talking about Taiwan's quest for UN membership:

I have a suggestion--giving up the fight is not my way--and here it is: Without giving up its ultimate ambitions for U.N. membership, it should apply for observer status in the world organization. Like the Palestine Liberation Organization which, unlike Taiwan, rules no territory, commands no popular consensus, represents no coherent principles, has no economy, but struts around the world with embassies and ambassadors and plenipotentiaries and the usual bull-shit of diplomacy. Moreover, it actually speaks before the General Assembly and the Security Council and is represented here, there and everywhere in international organizations.

It is actually a lie that the P.L.O. has all these rights, none of which is passed onto the dazed people it purports to represent.

At any rate, it's fortunate for Peretz that he was able to make this pivot, because the consideration of the issue earlier in the post ("What this movement wants is recognition that 23 million people cannot be represented by a government which is historically alien and politically hostile") was veering dangerously close to endorsing a principle of self-determination that might have applicability to a certain stateless people somewhere.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2007/09/self-determination/46320/