Group Political Blog Up and Running: Have a Look!

Last month I wondered aloud whether we could start a blog on Taiwan politics with a group of veteran writers, since following the crazed politics of Taiwan is a task too big for any one blogger. I'm happy and proud to announce that the new blog Taiwan Matters! is up and running. The three admins are myself, longtime Taiwan politics bloggers, Tim at INDIAC, and Jason from Wandering to Tamshui. Taiwan Matters! hopes to have a regular supply of great commentary and information on local politics, including translations and links. Check us out!

.....Jason says "Taiwan Matters!" is go!:

After a week of insanity at work and home, I emerge today from my Cave of Questionably Productive Solitude to announce the launch of TAIWAN MATTERS!, a group blog on Taiwanese politics written by the P-Funk Taiwan Blogging All-Stars, including:

Michael Turton from The View From Taiwan
Tim Maddog from INDIAC
Feiren from Rank
Wulingren from The Mandate of Heaven
Taiwan Echo from Echo Taiwan
The mysteriously named “Friend across the strait”
Yours truly from That Jackass Who Objectifies Jolin Tsai’s Breasts

Our goal with TM! is to provide an accurate, entertaining, and (mostly) breast-free forum on that most misunderstood, mis-reported and misrepresented of God’s creatures, Taiwanese politics. Each of us will be bringing his/her own views to the table in the form of informed commentary, translations (both English AND Chinese, I hear), media criticism, pro-independence sudoku puzzles, and the occasional cloying picture of the Handsome Ma Ying-jeou.

So sit back and enjoy the ride, and if you hate what you read, blame Turton. It was all his idea.

...while Maddog proclaims:

歡迎光臨, Taiwan Matters!

While it's already day 17 of posting at the new group political blog, Taiwan Matters!, it seems to be time for an "official" commencement, so here it is:

EVERYBODY LOOK!
TAIWAN MATTERS!

Please visit our blog, re-visit it, bookmark it, submit your comments, add it to your RSS feeds, and tell everyone about it.

What?
What's there to tell? Well, in addition to what you can see there with your own eyes, we hope in the future to be bringing you some of the best commentary on Taiwan available. We also hope to have some Chinese-language posts and translations. I've already tackled one small translation job along the way. Perhaps we can get a bit more of exchange happening between Taiwan bloggers on either side of the language divide.

Why?
Michael Turton of The View from Taiwan made the push that got the ball rolling last month with a call to Taiwan bloggers to join the pro-Taiwan, pro-democracy project.

The name grew out of discussions between me, Michael, and Jason about the need for something like Media Matters to correct the very wrong impression of Taiwan that the world gets from English-language media. While China has around 800 missiles targetting Taiwan, is constantly making military threats, has blocked WHO assistance from reaching Taiwan during the SARS crisis, and exercises economic terrorism via its "one China" policy, Taiwan is still the one that takes a beating in the long run while China runs amok.

Two days after Michael made the call to collaborate, he posted the text of a talk given by Dr. David Plott (University of Hong Kong) in which the self-described "outsider" asked, "Does Taiwan matter?"

The answer came naturally. While we may not have the resources that Media Matters does, we're not gonna let that get in the way, because Taiwan matters a lot to us!

Who?
On board so far are the following bloggers:

* Tim Maddog (that's me)
* Feiren from Rank
* Jason from Wandering to Tamshui
* Taiwan Echo from Echo Taiwan
* Wulingren from The Mandate of Heaven
* Taiwan Matters (that's Michael)
* Friend across the strait

Michael put up a template, made some adjustments, and he, Jason, and myself tweaked it further still. So far, there are at least 34 posts from 5 of the above bloggers, and the blog has already had more than 900 visits from around the globe.

We want to do our part to straighten out many of these misrepresentations by showing you facts, connecting the dots, and promoting democracy in order to help Taiwan be recognized for what it is -- a democratic nation that doesn't belong to China, the KMT, or anyone other than the people who live here and identify with Taiwan.

Say it loud, and say it proud: Taiwan Matters!

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