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The View from Taiwan

Commentary from Taichung - Taiwan

Entries for June, 2008

Wang Jin-pyng Interviewed in the Liberty Times.

Another lovely day of sun and rain here, so I took the afternoon off to go biking and blog. Using Google’s translation tool, I translated this long interview in the Liberty Times with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng. Wang is Taiwanese, powerful, a political rival of President Ma, and the unofficial head of the southern legislators [...]

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Cargo Cultists: the gods must be crazy

The waiting is the hardest part Every day you see one more cardYou take it on faith, you take it to the heart The waiting is the hardest part
What do the cargo cultists do when the gods don’t deliver? Most of the cargo cults have disappeared over the years, but my personal favorite, the John [...]

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Aboriginal Education in Taiwan and Canada

A friend pointed me to this long and informative article on aboriginal higher education in Taiwan and Canada:
This study is an attempt to assess directions, goals, and achievements in higher education for Aboriginal people in Taiwan, with comparisons to Indian higher education in Canada. This study will highlight developing relationships between the College of Indigenous [...]

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Sweeping Falun Gong Under the Carpet

Lawrence Chung at the South China Morning Post reports that local governments are suppressing Falun Gong protesters, a common sight at tourist spots all over Taiwan, ahead of visitors from China…[no link, behind paywall]
…He vowed supporters would continue promoting Falun Gong, which they say is a spiritual movement but which is banned on the mainland [...]

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And from Japan….

Japan Focus has some interesting articles this week. First is an insightful piece on North Korea as the canary in the coal mine for the coming food crisis….
….At the time, of course, all the knowing analysts and pundits dismissed what was happening in that country as the inevitable breakdown of an archaic economic system presided [...]

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Tsai Ing-wen on the DPP’s Path to the Future

I have been greatly cheered by what I’ve so far from new DPP Chairman Tsai Ing-wen, whom I always thought would make a great chairman. Today the Taipei Times reported on her talk at the foreign correspondents club….
Tsai — talking to members of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club in Taipei — reiterated the message she [...]

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1953: Renmin Ribao says Senkakus part of Japan

A kind friend forwarded me some images from the past: Chinese newspapers from 1953. I have assembled them into the image above…. Yesterday I blogged on John Tkacik’s piece in the Taipei Times that included a tidbit on China’s pre-1969 attitude toward the Diaoyutai Islands. Tkacik wrote:
A People’s Daily commentary of June 1953, which called [...]

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Further notes on Taiwan’s Status

More on the US position toward Taiwan’s sovereignty, from Bill Geertz at the Washington Times…
Inside the RingBill GertzThursday, June 26, 2008WASHINGTON TIMES
Questioning one China
The Bush administration has backed away from China’s position on Taiwan by declaring in a diplomatic note to the United Nations that the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty remains unsettled and effectively stating [...]

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Musings for Friday

Busy week for me. Only time for a few short hits for today.
John Tkacik has a nifty piece in the Taipei Times that points out that the Chinese construction of the Senkakus as sacred national territory is of very recent vintage:
Japan first claimed the Senkakus in January 1895 after decades of shipwrecks and near disasters [...]

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Armed Services Committee Testimony Did Not Say….

Some of you sent me the testimony of Jim Shinn in front of the Armed Services Committee….
MR. SHINN: You’ll pardon me if I consult my notes very carefully, since anything regarding Taiwan, it gets parsed very carefully, not just here but abroad.
It is true that for a couple years Taiwanese defense expenditures actually decreased in [...]

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Nelson Report on Upcoming Taiwan Problems

Chris Nelson’s latest missive straight from the Beijing-dominated heart of the Washington Establishment (my comments in brackets):
+++++++++++
TAIWAN…we’ve noted in many Reports that while the US has tried for years to encourage a more productive Cross-Strait dialogue, in hopes of reducing tensions between China and Taiwan, there is a built-in potential contradiction.
That is, as much as [...]

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An Island Divided.

The Age out of Australia has an excellent piece on our divided island that refracts the island’s identity politics and democratic transition through the life of Peter Huang, the would-be assassin of Chiang Ching-kuo who now heads Amnesty Taiwan. Huang would have made a second attempt at a nuclear power plant in Nevada, Linda Arrigo [...]

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Tuesday Quickies

As the typhoon howls outside our windows on its way to wreak havoc in south China, a friend reports that finally, the Taiwan High Speed Rail was placed the word “Taiwan” on their tickets. In ordinary print. On the back. *sigh*
Taiwan News pointed out a little ray of light in an editorial today:
In their status [...]

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Prices announced for Cross-Strait Flights

Xinhua reports on the announcement of prices by China Eastern:
China Eastern Airlines announced on Friday flight fares for weekend charter flights from Shanghai to Taipei and immediately started selling tickets.
The carrier is charging 3,700 yuan (US$ 528.6) for a round trip of economy-class flight, while business class costs 5,500 yuan, both including taxes.
Group tickets, for [...]

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Media Changes

The China Post yesterday reported that the China Times, the Chinese language paper that was once the Xinhua of Taiwan and remains ardently pro-Blue, will reconstitute itself in tabloid format in a couple of months:
No date has been fixed for the downsizing, which the paper said is necessary after the rise in the cost of [...]

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    TAIWAN BLOG FEED
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    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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