Daily Links, August 18, 2007, Typhoon Sepat Day

The typhoon has slowed and slipped to a medium typhoon, thankfully, according to the latest info from the weather service here. We've got a steady light rain falling now, at 10:00 local time. Though there are lots of posts about the typhoon, plenty of stuff is blowing across the blogs.....

J. Michael Coles's experience with a customs officer who thinks Taiwan is part of China inspires this excellent editorial in the Taipei Times. Taiwanese everywhere need to change minds about their country -- a problem in a culture where expressions of opinion and confrontation are frowned on.

Fili doesn't understand menus here yet. Help him out.

David reports on the new UN bid video.

The Cogitator says Asians squint more.

ROC the Boat puts up an editorial running down some of the legal issues on Taiwan's statehood bid.

Steph blogs on how an Indian filmaker came to Taiwan to film tea stuff. Blogs are great at this kind of thing.

Wild at Heart blogs on more thefts of Taiwan's National Bird.

ESWN blogs on the flap over Education Minister Tu's behavior toward's Taiwan Golden Retriever Media. Roland, Chen Chu is not the mayor of Tainan.

MEDIA: China's pollution poisoning Taiwan. American's uber fucked up health care system is one reason more Taiwanese there than ever want to come back here. Time for a national health plan like every other civilized country. The Liberty Times (Chinese) reports on the swirling complications of relationships between KMT heavyweights and the prosecutor in the Ma case, Hou Kuan-jen. More on that in a moment. And this local paper has an article on a statue to SYS in the local Hawaii Chinatown.

From the rolls of the truly sick: Missionary Amanda enthusiastically supports a group of missionaries bullying new Christian converts into keeping a baby that is "deformed" and will have many health issues. And updates it again and again. If the kid is born with serious, debilitating problems, think any one of these sickos will be around in forty years to help take care of it? Never mind that it is the family's personal decision. The callousness and need for control this behavior exhibits is frightening. I feel sorry for that poor couple to have to face this crap at such a difficult time.

[Taiwan]