tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post7848404693578594247..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: There is no dealing with BeijingMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-46333784274551916732014-06-16T21:23:03.016+08:002014-06-16T21:23:03.016+08:00@Tommy - "Socialism" in CCP-speak just m...@Tommy - "Socialism" in CCP-speak just means "whatever the hell we say our government is" - it isn't really used in any meaningful sense. <br /><br />In reality many countries, including market economies, are socialist to some extent. In the UK health care is free at the point of delivery, the dole is paid to the unemployed, benefits are paid to support parents, pensions are paid out by the state etc. etc.Gilman Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06607416440240634159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-13886694899106251032014-06-15T12:40:50.187+08:002014-06-15T12:40:50.187+08:00If we're going to spend money on the effects o...If we're going to spend money on the effects of global warming on crops, we should at least spend the money on American crops.Readinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-25850844604714486972014-06-15T12:39:07.580+08:002014-06-15T12:39:07.580+08:00"Tea party congressmen block important study ..."Tea party congressmen block important study of warming climate on Chinese tea production. "<br /><br />I'm not sure why such a study is important. If global warming is occurring then surely we should be focusing on the more serious effects rather than on how much tea will be available. <br /><br />And the tea is in China! If anyone is going to pay for such a study it should be the Chinese!<br /><br />I say bravo for this American congressman who blocked this wasteful spending. America already can't afford things we need, we certainly can't afford studies like this.<br /><br />Blowing money like we have an unlimited supply is like blowing carbon dioxide like we have an unlimited supply of atmosphere.Readinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-5937383333728115112014-06-12T20:08:21.769+08:002014-06-12T20:08:21.769+08:00The problem with "one country two systems&quo...The problem with "one country two systems" is while one country might be able to accommodate two economic systems at least for a while (e.g. China's socialism or "capitalism with Chinese characteristics" versus Hong Kong's free market capitalism), it is difficult for one country to operate with two political systems: authoritarian (China) and democratic (Hong Kong). You run into problems like what recently happened with HSBC in HK -- it launched a HK$28 million ad campaign via the Apple Daily but then had to cancel just because the CCP didn't like the newspaper's independent bent. Foreign investors are getting worried about the unpredictable nature of doing business in Hong Kong.Whirled Peasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-67392055202624326702014-06-11T21:04:09.300+08:002014-06-11T21:04:09.300+08:00A mention on your blog? I am honored. By the way, ...A mention on your blog? I am honored. By the way, one more thing struck me in the white paper. You have noted the claim that the "two systems" does not refer to two political systems but to the difference between socialism, which is the system that most of the country lives under and capitalism, which is the system that HK lives under. What struck me about this is that nobody except the Chinese government in its official documents claims that China has a socialist system anymore. And China has been trying to get the US to declare that it has a market economy for years. So if China is actually capitalist, what does that do for One Country, Two Systems? Naturally, the CCP is not going to declare China capitalist, but it does complicate One Country, Two Systems. It is funny that I had always thought of the two systems simply as two political systems, regardless of the ideology behind them. Therefore, Beijing's clarification is actually a complication. Tommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13552370490869601403noreply@blogger.com