Friday, December 19, 2008

Daily Links, Dec 19, 2008


What's meaty on the blogs today?
  • Pashan goes to Huang Di Dian in Taipei. And great pics from a previous hike of his from A Fool's Paradise.

  • Disguised student caught stealing at Strawberries protest site

  • Cross-national marriages and their impact on education in Taiwan

  • Taiwan660, another voice for Taiwan in the blogosphere, is open for business. A post on the historic sailing vessel soon to be lost.

  • A physicist visits Taipei and comments on the experience.

  • Save the Dolphins on the case of the Yunlin politician who assaulted lawyer and environmentalist Robin Winkler.

  • Mark Harrison with a wonderful piece on Cape No. 7 and Taiwan/China. What a truly excellent and enjoyable movie! Taiwanese Identity talks about some of the many Taiwanese quotes in there.

  • Fixed Gear on Taiwan's first alley cat

  • Global Voices on the Wild Strawberries being kicked out of Liberty Square

  • Taiwan AF visits US AF to study how to implement all-volunteer force.

  • A-gu on reports of Bird Flu and coverup in Taiwan.

  • Taiwanese aborigine comfort woman to speak in Tokyo today.

  • Phantom regs for US servicepeople married to locals in the 1960s.

  • Chunghua Telecom offers a game in which a Japanese woman strips.

  • Poagao goes down to Kaohsiung.

  • Taiwanonymous on the absurd copyright situation of the excellent gov't Mandarin dictionary

  • The Foreigner on the Process of Law in Taiwan

  • Bread at Ni Howdy really does a nice job of pointing out why the Obama cabinet sucks so hard. Vilsack? Clinton?

  • Podcasting: Talk of Asian Marketing's latest on Weddings here.

  • MEDIA: Do we have bird flu here? There were allegations of a cover-up. Now Japan has suspended poultry imports from Taiwan. The US-Taiwan Business Council backs Taiwan DRAM maker bailout. China flights aren't the only thing increasing: Philippines added new RP-ROC flights too. Speaking of the Philippines, Taiwan Filipino workers face massive lay offs. Tonga levys $2.5 million fine on Taiwan fishing boat. Japanese UN human rights official says Taiwan must fight to keep democracy. It's hilarious that, with Beijing's insistence on suppressing Taiwan's identity and independence at every turn, commentators still write that Beijing is "willing to sidestep the issue". Chipmakers here may get bailout, says Businessweek. AP, still writing the asinine "split amid civil war in 1949" (I must have missed that civil war between Taiwan and China in 1949) -- notes that the pandas arrive on the 23rd. Chang Hsueh-liang's house formally opened this week.

    EVENTS: Dems Abroad Organizational Meeting, Jan 17. See sidebar for details. Brian offers course in erotic hypnosis.

    RIGHTS WATCH: ETaiwannews comments on the apparent targeting of defense lawyers by the Ministy of Justice. Also of note, an official of New Taiwan Weekly, which recently closed up due to funding issues, had his home raided by 4 men apparently from the prosecutors office who said they were looking for evidence of "corruption" but asked him about his links to FAPA in the US. He is related to a prominent pro-Taiwan individual in the US. May be an isolated event. UPDATE: The Taiwan bookstore near NTU was vandalized this week.

    LMAO: Recent People's Daily headline: "Highlights of President Hu's speech at reform eulogy meeting". I hope all the listeners enjoyed the eulogy for the death of reform....

    7 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    "Also of note, an official of New Taiwan Weekly, which recently closed up due to funding issues, had his home raided by 4 men apparently from the prosecutors office who said they were looking for evidence of "corruption" but asked him about his links to FAPA in the US. He is related to a prominent pro-Taiwan individual in the US."


    Combine this with the vandalism to the Taiwan Bookstore near NTU... Brrrrrr chilly.

    I wonder who is providing the thugs with intelligence? In the past the MOJ, CIB and NSB worked closely with gangsters to conduct unofficial harassment where the official channels otherwise might attract foreign scrutiny.

    Anonymous said...

    Add a couple more link:

    China launches major crackdown on dissidents

    With Strikes, China's New Middle Class Vents Anger

    Our savior, the PRC!

    I expect mass turmoil in 2009/10 and a RMB devaluation.

    Taiwan Echo said...

    More reports about the police threats here today:

    警關切民眾集遊 綠委批恫嚇

    Not only those who constantly voice for Taiwan were "visited" by the state power, those civilians who participated or intend to participate a protest got calls from the police.

    According to the report, this has never happened before.

    Anonymous said...

    "I wonder who is providing the thugs with intelligence? In the past the MOJ, CIB and NSB worked closely with gangsters to conduct unofficial harassment where the official channels otherwise might attract foreign scrutiny."

    Wrong. Gangsters rarely worked with Taiwan's official legal system. The Taiwan government only turned to gangsters for assistance as a last resort when the offical Taiwanese legal system could or would not deliver justice. In case you were unaware, the DPP also has cordial relations with all the big Taiwanese gangster bosses.

    Asking about connections to a foreign organization dedicated to the overthrow of your government is a legitimate question for any government to ask. The US does so all the time.

    Anonymous said...

    "Wrong. Gangsters rarely worked with Taiwan's official legal system. The Taiwan government only turned to gangsters for assistance as a last resort when the offical Taiwanese legal system could or would not deliver justice. In case you were unaware, the DPP also has cordial relations with all the big Taiwanese gangster bosses."


    LMFAO!!!!

    Gangsters are a part of the fucking legal system! They are some of the ones who occasionally make the fucking laws!!! The KMT is full of them. The DPP has relations with the gangs because the gangs help run the show and make politics possible. The Bamboo Union Gang is KMT, founded by children of "mainlanders". the Four Seas Gang...(KMT) the old Green Gang (KMT), the Celestial Alliance Lee Teng hui KMTers,but not always. Lo Fu Chu created this gang while serving time where he could make connections with other small time local hoods in an effort to compete with the big "mainlander" gangs.

    When elements of organized crime are not buying/rigging/manipulating themselves into office, they are acting as attack dogs for the KMT. They were mobilized as much of the radicalized element of the red Army, they were called up in 2004 after the KMT losses, they were used to carry out assassinations on Taiwanese and US soil. They were used to destroy the Apple Daily's offices.

    They get their intel from someone who needs extra muscle. If you are going to create a chilling effect, you need the threat of violence.

    Open you fucking eyes!

    Anonymous said...

    "Taiwanese legal system could or would not deliver justice."



    You mean the requested outcome.

    Heavens! We'd hate to have the rule of law around here where not everything goes our way. Dissent? Never! An independent judiciary? Impossible!

    The KMT defining "justice"? Get used to it.

    Anonymous said...

    "
    Combine this with the vandalism to the Taiwan Bookstore near NTU... Brrrrrr chilly."

    I haven't heard about that! What happened?