Typhoon Fung wong is closing in, and here in Taichung, a steady rain is falling as of eight this morning, Taichung time. No wind at all yet. Schools and offices across the island have shut down in anticipation of a major load of rain.
Yesterday the email lists were abuzz with the claim of Rupert Hammond-Chambers, [...]
Lots of stuff out there today on Taiwan’s economy. Reuters is reporting that Taiwan plans to open five sectors of its economy to Chinese investment:
Taiwan is aiming to open five sectors of its economy to mainland Chinese by the end of the year, as part of a campaign by a new China-friendly administration to boost [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The South China Morning Post, writing from an alternate reality, observes:
In an economic climate haunted by the US recession, soaring oil prices and soaring inflation, Taiwan seems to be sticking out in the crowd. As stock markets dip round the world, Taiwan’s Taiex index appears to have an exceptional power to defy gravity. Since his [...]
A friend of mine flipped me this photo above of a Little Blue Truck taking on gas at a gas station. Except that the gas isn’t going into a truck, but into this gigantic plastic tank. No safety issues here with our gigantic Molotov cocktail!
Speaking of gasoline, Maddog at Taiwan Matters! picked up this fantastic [...]
The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei has just released its annual White Paper full of advice for the government (White Paper). Their press release notes:
In the Overview section, entitled “Getting Down to Business,” the Chamber notes that the new administration is starting its term amid high hopes and expectations, but that it now faces [...]
A leading researcher on real estate in Taiwan has warned that the housing market is looking a lot like a bubble…
After two and half a years of brisk business, the Taiwan housing market, especially that of Taipei, appears to have inflated a major bubble, warned Chin-o Chang, professor of land management science at the National [...]
My friend Jim passed me this article from an online Japanese paper on Taiwanese and Chinese firms registering Japanese names as trademarks.
Chinese and Taiwanese firms also have submitted applications to Chinese authorities to use Japanese regional brands including Matsusaka-ushi beef and Naruto Kintoki sweet potato as trademarks, a JETRO official said.
The Japanese local specialties have [...]
Mislabeled product #4501: reads “baking powder” in English, and “American Rising Powder” in Chinese, but it is actually yeast. If you can’t find yeast, shake the baking powder and listen for the kitsch-kitsch of yeast.How’s our economy? Listening to the Blues, you’d think we were in economic free fall. Asia Media hosts an article from [...]
Forbes came out with a couple of articles that highlight how close the DPP and KMT policies are on China investments. First, there was a very short article on Frank Hsieh, now Chairman of the DPP, who said:
The government should ease regulations on China investments as soon as possible, subject to national security considerations, the [...]
AmCham has a couple of good articles in their latest Topics magazine, including an important article on income inequality by well-known commentator Ting-yi Tsai:
Economists attribute the rise [in income inequality] to three main factors: soaring real estate prices beginning in 1986 that created a new upper class overnight; the breakdown of larger households into groups [...]
Income continues to stagnate, says the DGBAS:
Taiwan’s average basic pay and substantive regular monthly pay witnessed an annual growth of 2.17% and 1.78%, respectively, in the first 10 months of this year, both were the highest of their kinds in seven years and, according to the statistics released by the Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, [...]
I’ve stressed often in this blog that one important driver of identity politics in Taiwan is structural: on a range of important issues, the two parties have very similiar views. The one reliable difference between them is the pro-Taiwan stance of the DPP and the pro-China stance of the KMT. Hence, at the national level, [...]
Now that we have chimps outsmarting college students — a finding that will come as no surprise to college professors everywhere — it’s not surprising that the numbers out of China have serious problems….
Blinded by China’s false statistics —Jonathan Power
Beware of extrapolation, a British Chancellor of the Exchequer once remarked: it can make you go [...]
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