tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post8720276921500853520..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Beef BullMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-49762752685249891872012-02-24T14:27:10.773+08:002012-02-24T14:27:10.773+08:00Michael, you're right, I shouldn't have cr...Michael, you're right, I shouldn't have criticized you in the previous post.<br />Actually it's media articles like that very Commonwealth one that have a very biased view toward rising Chinese wages, almost as if somehow it's a tragedy that ordinary Chinese workers can earn a little more than before.<br /><br />For examples, just look at some of these phrases:<br /><br />"with the long-established Taiwanese companies left no alternative but to retreat to the sidelines, reduced to the role of rent collectors. As this scenario plays out, it's almost enough to make a guy like Tsai Cheng-fu weep."<br /><br />"Rapidly rising wages in China have been squeezing the life out of Taiwanese companies there, a dilemma that profoundly touches Tsai..."<br /><br />This isn't the first time I've seen shady anti-China writing in Commonwealth, which is a shame because it's usually a good magazine. <br /><br />CPAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-10252152270414403762012-02-23T17:00:02.628+08:002012-02-23T17:00:02.628+08:00So somehow the fact that Chinese workers are deman...<b>So somehow the fact that Chinese workers are demanding and earning higher wages is a crime? Right, because the profits of Taiwan business-owners trump the welfare of ordinary Chinese</b><br /><br />I only linked to the article and my comments take no position on it. It discusses an issue I've commented on before and I'd like to come back to later as the situation develops -- Taiwanese firms moved to China so that they could preserve their boss-centric, worker exploitative operating style. Now that edge is eroding as wages rise and workers get more power. I'm point to a fact, not making a judgment about it.<br /><br />But lets not blame Taiwanese firms entirely. Foreign firms exploit chinese workers because the government permits it and encourages it as part of its development strategy. <br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-52093625988734051292012-02-23T16:31:34.509+08:002012-02-23T16:31:34.509+08:00I'm a little disappointed in the Commonwealth ...I'm a little disappointed in the Commonwealth article as well as your highlighting of it. So somehow the fact that Chinese workers are demanding and earning higher wages is a crime? Right, because the profits of Taiwan business-owners trump the welfare of ordinary Chinese. <br />Please focus on passages such as the one below from that article.<br /><br />As Liu describes it, "early on, Taiwanese companies only made money off China's 'social capital,'" with the whole of Chinese society undertaking the social costs of the tax avoidance, environmental pollution and underpayment of social welfare contributions that allowed Taiwanese businesses to operate.<br />CPAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-29812951094812120382012-02-20T11:20:07.526+08:002012-02-20T11:20:07.526+08:00This is ridiculous that the agricultural lobby in ...This is ridiculous that the agricultural lobby in the US is being allowed to drive US-Taiwan policy. While Obama and the US Navy get a bit of a win with a new permanent base in Darwin, Australia, and amid all the grand talk of refocusing the military on China, the career diplomats of the State Department believe it is their utmost mission to sell Taiwanese American beef raised with pharmaceuticals. This is utterly Linsane.Griffinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-55209030559810991132012-02-18T22:34:27.973+08:002012-02-18T22:34:27.973+08:00I remember they allowed US chicken / turkey produc...I remember they allowed US chicken / turkey products in back in the late 80s caused a huge uproar amongst chicken farmers in Taiwan back then. Vincent Siew (then head of foreign trade bureau) got an egg on his face in one of these protests. Yet chicken farming continued to thrive in Taiwan until this day. Consumers aren't stupid - whats wrong with letting the free market sort things out by itself? Its sad that Taiwanese consumers can't enjoy USDA prime dry aged steak like Americans - its some of the best tasting meat in the world!!!Willyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13256518922623200686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-74215938890670610512012-02-18T19:30:59.526+08:002012-02-18T19:30:59.526+08:00Off-topic, but I wrote for Manga Bookshelf a piece...Off-topic, but I wrote for Manga Bookshelf a piece called "The Geeky Heart of Taipei" - http://mangabookshelf.com/blog/2012/02/17/guest-feature-the-geeky-heart-of-taipei/<br /><br />-Sara K.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-56541189865482367272012-02-18T15:28:11.702+08:002012-02-18T15:28:11.702+08:00I saw a page in Google+ just the other days. A res...I saw a page in Google+ just the other days. A research compared the subsidy each food category (in the pyramid chart) get from US government with the amount recommended for daily meal. Beef and meat industry get the most from US government but meaf is not so much favore for daily meals.Lorenzonoreply@blogger.com