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The View from Taiwan

Commentary from Taichung - Taiwan

Entries for May, 2006

Taipei Mayor Fun-n-games

The KMT machine continues to grind smoothly on, while the DPP appears to be unable to find its collective excretory orifice with a map and a flashlight. The Taipei Times reported yesterday that the DPP is still discussing who it might run for Taipei mayor in the upcoming election.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun [...]

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Typhoon over Taichung

I grabbed some shots of the typhoon that blew across us last month. Here’s a good pic of the way the clean air driven by the typhoon leaves a clear view of the permanent haze of pollution over the city.

Just before it rains, the air is clean and still.

Rain on rooftops.

A wall of rain moves [...]

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Annexation/Status Quo/Independence Polling Data over Time

ESWN has a pointer to this graph showing different polls on independence and annexation. The graph is not shown in its entirety on the page, so you have to download it or display in a separate window to see it all.
[Taiwan] [China] [Taiwan Independence]
Related PostsESWN on Taiwan in the Chinese Press.ESWN, a blog of [...]

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Electricity Rates to go up in July

Taiwan’s electricity rates are headed up this summer…
Taiwan’s electricity tariffs will likely rise by 5.8% on average starting July 1, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Vice Minister Hou Ho- shong said Monday.
The electricity and natural gas pricing committee under the ministry has agreed to adopt one of Taiwan Power Co.’s two proposals on [...]

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Taiwan Wine

My sister in law was so grateful for the emergency repairs I did on her computer this weekend that she sent me home with a bottle of red wine named Mollac. I looked it over and wondered that the country of origin was not proudly displayed on the label. Why? I suspect it’s because the [...]

Comments (1)

Arms Purchase: background info

This excellent essay on the arms purchase and Taiwan’s defense was posted to the Taiwan Forum discussion group. Very informative…
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There are many, many reasons why I avoid casting blame for the special budget. If one did feel inclined, there’s enough to go around. Here’s a few things to consider:
– The Bush Administration released around [...]

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Partying in Hsinchu

Ran up to Hsinchu this weekend to hang out with the in-laws and visit my friend Michael Klein (Michael’s version of the visit is here).
Michael lives in an industrial area near Hsinchu, and like many such areas of Taiwan, there are large numbers of foreign workers from Thailand and the Philippines. Consequently a whole infrastructure [...]

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Great New Blog: the Bala Daily

The Bala Daily. Looks very promising. Here is their write-up of the recent Hankuang simulation of a PRC invasion of Taiwan:
The military has been holding the Han Kuang 22 (漢光 22, HK 22) exercises for the last week or so simulating a full scale PRC attack in 2012. For a long time, military exercises were [...]

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Nelson Report: Chen Screws up Again

The Nelson Report says that President Chen sent a five page letter to President Bush…
While officials directly involved refused comment on the letter, other sources confirm that it contained Chen’s personal explanation of the New Years Day speech which caused a furor over his proposed abolition of the National Unification Council. Poignantly, Chen is said [...]

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Excellent IPO

WANTED: Investment partner(s) for long-term growth project.WORKING TITLE: Incredible Parental Obligation (IPO) for Daughter’s BracesDESCRIPTION:Attractive investment in high-precision metalware with excellent long-term growth prospects. Some unruliness expected in short-term. No known enviromental issues despite regular emissions of effluents and some noise pollution. Primary investor is willing to share administrative authority, especially in short-term. Investors interested [...]

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June Swenson’s Meetup

Jerome Keating sends around the following:
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To all,We will have our June meeting for breakfast as Swensen’s again–same venue as the last couple of times [MT: ADDRESS 9:30 am at the same place as last month; Swensen's #81 Keelung Rd. Sec. 2, Taipei.]. Saturday June 3rd. 9:30 amOur speaker will be Avron A. Boretz
Assistant Professor, Department [...]

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Exiting Blogging

I’ve decided that the Net has taken over my life, and I need to regain control. So expect a drastic drop in posting.
Michael
Related PostsBlogging ReturnWell, I can’t stop — enjoy it too much, and been sitting around the computer A LOT lately doing edi…Blogging DepressionFor those you who are total blog addicts, The Nonist offers [...]

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Round up

No round up, too busy.
Michael
Related PostsTaiwan Blog Round Ups: Permanent PageBlog Round UpsI used to round up the blogs each week, but I ran out of time.Sunday April 30, 2006Sun…Round-UpCanceled. Sorry, just don’t have the time tonight. I’ll get to it tomorrow, I hope.MichaelTaiwan Blog Feed Up!I used to do a Taiwan blog round up [...]

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WaPo on new Taiwan Security Strategy

The Washington Post has a good summary of the newly-released Taiwan security strategy.
In describing Taiwan’s security environment, Chen’s government compared the Chinese military to the Nazi war machine in World War II and asserted that China is bent on long-term military expansion that requires it to control Taiwan and the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. In a [...]

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Ma and KMT corruption

If Ma Ying-jeou, the Chairman of the KMT, mayor of Taipei, and KMT fair-haired boy, has a weakness, it is the fact that the KMT’s longstanding links to local faction machines force him to endorse again and again individuals who appear to be slimy. Today’s Taipei Times has criticisms of Ma from the TSu for [...]

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    Photos on this blog are hosted by the wonderful photo services at Flickr. My photos at Flickr.
  • Taiwan Blogs: Main Blogs



    TAIWAN BLOG FEED
    Blog Aggregator

    35togo
    Photos and commentary on Taiwan

    The Bala Daily
    Pics & Commentary on Taiwan

    Battlepanda
    Politics and Life from local reporter

    Becoming Taiwanese
    An American-Taiwanese in Taiwan

    Belligeretron
    Life and All from Taipei

    Bent
    News from Taiwan and China

    Big Ell's Blog
    Wit and Wisdom from Canada in Taichung

    Black American Lawyer in China
    Brash, black, legal insight on Taiwan and China

    Bloggers in Taiwan
    Taiwan English Blog List

    Bourdieu Boy
    Learned insight into Taiwan

    Chewin' on the Chung
    Karl's insightful blog on what life is really like in Central Taiwan

    Conductor's Notebook
    Pieces, Themes, and Variations

    Craig Ferguson Images
    Stunning images, photography news & views

    Cross-Strait Economics Blog
    A balanced view of an unbalanced Strait

    The Daily Bubble Tea
    Travels, pics, life

    David on Formosa
    Popular and informative Taiwan Blog

    Doubting to shuo?
    Teaching on the Beautiful Island

    Far-Eastern Sweet Potato
    Writer based in Taipei

    FideCogitActio
    Life and Catholicism in Taiwan

    filination
    Taiwan, from Israel

    following an unknown path
    a widely-linked missionary blog

    The Foreigner in Formosa
    Cthulhu meets Taiwan

    Gary EFL Taiwan
    Taiwan EFL blog

    The Gentle Rant
    Observations on a world quickly going insane

    Getting a Leg Up
    Podcasting and Blogging from Taichung

    Hanjie's Blog
    Things and scenes in Taiwan

    Highway 11
    Blog and site of East Coasts' leading expat mag

    Ilha Formosa - Keeping up with the War God
    Taiwan: Life, love and laughs in paradise.

    Investorblogger
    Investing, Blogging in Taiwan

    IslaFormosa
    Rants and Raves about Taiwan

    It's Not Democracy,It's A Conspiracy!
    Maddog Dissects Taiwan's News and Politics

    Jeff's Taiwan
    Longtime expat and local history buff

    Jerome F. Keating's writings
    Historian and writer on things Taiwan

    Kelake
    Design and Life on The Beautiful Isle

    Keywords
    P. Kerim Friedman's wide ranging and insightful blog

    Laowiseass
    Wire service reporter in Taiwan

    the leaky pen
    Life in Taiwan and in the University system

    Letters from Taiwan
    Pics and Commentary on Taiwan

    Lief in Taiwan
    Sumptuous Pics, Learned Commentary

    The Life of Brian
    Commentary from Prof and Hypnotist

    The Mandate of Heaven
    Wulingren on Taiwan

    media diary
    Cinema in Taiwan

    memoirs on a rainy day
    Beautiful pics, great commentary

    Misadventures in Taiwan
    Podcasts and video from Tainan

    Mixed Eggs I have Met
    Pix, commentary on life in Taiwan

    MoShang
    Podcasting and Musical Performance in Taiwan

    My Several Worlds
    A Global Mind in Asia

    Naruwan Formosa
    Politics and Life on the Beautiful Island

    The Nebulon Fry
    ESL teaching, musings on life & stuff

    The New Hampshire Bushman in Taiwan and The World
    Tea, GPS, and good times in Taiwan

    New Writing
    Living in Taipei.

    Ni Howdy
    The Ba-Gua Shan of Taichung Blogs

    Notes from a Small Island
    27, British, and in Taipei

    Notes of a former native speaker
    Jonathon Benda's excellent Taiwan blog

    The Only Redhead in Taiwan
    Redheaded contemplation of Taiwan

    Pashan
    Hiking in Taiwan, great pics

    Patrick Cowsill
    From Wanhua, Taiwan

    Pinyin News
    News and Commentary on Chinese Language in Taiwan

    Poagao's Journal
    Bands, Movies, Life in Taipei

    Portnoy in Between
    A window into the local blogosphere

    Prince Roy
    Blog of US consular official in Taiwan

    Rank
    Notes from the overpass, a day-to-day look at life in Taiwan

    The Real Taiwan
    Commentary on Life in Taiwan

    Red A -- the Blog
    Powered by alcohol, the clean fuel

    The Regulatory
    The Sound and the Fury

    R.O.C. the Boat
    Blogging Taiwan's UN membership drive

    SanBeiJi
    Pics and Travels in Taiwan

    Scott Sommers' Taiwan Blog
    Internationally popular blog on Taiwan and education

    The Shorty Method
    A personal approach to living.

    Sofa in the Sky
    Prose Poetry on Taiwan

    Sponge Bear
    Pix, commentary on central Taiwan

    Stinky Tofu
    Strange tales of Taiwan from a Lonely Planet writer.

    Steven Crook
    Local reporter and writer on Taiwan.

    Stranger in an even Stranger Land
    Teaching English in Kaohsiung

    The Tainan Don
    Observations from the South

    The Taipei Kid
    One of the most widely read Taiwan blogs

    Taipei Trash
    Pics and Commentary from Taipei

    Taiwan Airpower Blog
    Blog Devoted to the Taiwan Air Force

    The Taiwan Chronicles
    Living and working in Taiwan

    Taiwan Composite
    Business and culture on the Beautiful Isle.

    The Taiwandesk
    Things Taiwan

    Taiwanese Heart, Global Perspectives
    Group blog on Taiwan Politics

    Taiwanindependence
    Blog on TI

    Taiwan Matters!
    Politics from veteran Taiwan Bloggers

    Taiwanonymous
    Musings About Life in Taiwan

    Taiwan Pundit
    News from Taiwan

    Taiwan Tourism Bureau Blog
    Taiwan Tourism Bureau's information filled blog

    Talking Taiwanese
    Language education in Taiwan

    Taoyuan Nights
    From Taoyuan, Taiwan

    That's Impossible: Politics from Taiwan
    Taiwan Politics

    Thirsty Ghosts
    A group blog from local foreign media reps

    Tumbling in Taiwan
    An Indian in Hsinchu

    Wandering to Tamshui
    Politics and Daily Happenings on Taiwan

    The Wild East
    The One-Stop Blogspot of the Radio Banciao collective

    Wild at Heart
    Blog of Taiwan environmental group

    Winkler Partners
    Law Firm's Blog with many useful resources

    Writer's Block
    Taiwan Woman's Life Here and Abroad

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