A friend sent me this pic from the days of WWII, depicting the Five Allies: France, China, USSR, USA, and the UK.I lost another slew of comments, some already posted. My apologies. Meanwhile, who is gathering on the blogs today?
EVENTS: Protest at Chinese embassy in Washington DC today on China's human rights record. Starts at 2, runs til 5.Wild at Heart has two comments on recent news items from longtime activist and lawyer Robin Winkler. Pinyin News compares the much-despised Tongyong Pinyin and Hanyu Pinyin in Taiwan. A-gu on declassifying Chen's state affairs documents. Laowiseass says its an Island in a box. Carrie Marshall's tale of her harrowing brush with deafness. Mad Minerva blogs on Taiwan the canary, Beijing, and the KMT. Jerome on the Taitung County Magistrate: she did it all for love. Great tale of corruption on the Beautiful Isle. After the mess last year in which she and her husband gamed the system with the support of Ma Ying-jeou, the KMT suspended her. Bit late for that, eh? Taoyuan Nights notes inflation is now at 14 year high. Ma save us! Taoyuan Nights always has great economic coverage. Todd and Cathy's wedding photos. Partaking of a great Taiwan tradition....NOTE: Cute warning: not for the faint of heart. Stocks and Politics has the July DPP newsletter in English. The Real Taiwan has a scooter accident. Hasn't everyone? Patrick Cowsill has great photos and some history of Bali, Taiwan. Steve Crook on the historical site, the Shanshang Watercourse. France moves to close the Lafayette case. Without a trial. (more). ViolenceNepal looks at a Taiwan-China-US conflict.
MEDIA: A local paper company is making paper from rocks. This is going to ruin the game "rock, scissors, paper".... WSJ reports that taxis in Beijing are bugged. In fact major media organs have carried a number of security warnings, saying that if your laptop is taken at the border it will be bugged, and to watch yourself with passwords, etc, in hotels and especially in internet cafes. Luckily China is a trustworthy partner, eager to integrate itself into the US-dominated international system.... Max Hirsch has a great article on how Japan breeds guide dogs for Taiwan. Taiwan Journal of Sociology of Education, latest issues. Taiwan: the undiscovered eco-tourism island. Taiwan hopes to attract Muslim tourists. Probably have to do something about the pork fat in everything.... Despite its failing Pacific diplomacy, Taiwan intends to accelerate its FTA with the Dominican Republic. Wang Li-hom says an Indian film stole his music. Workers strike at Taiwan plants in Vietnam due to 27% inflation rate. Let's make the sacrifice, and send them Ma Ying-jeou right away... Great interview with former representative to the US Joseph Wu. Not comedy: Bush set to prod China on human rights. It is amazing what King George can do with a straight face. The Jamestown China Brief has a short piece on Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's remarks about the legislature overseeing cross-strait negotiations. Sure, Wang, we believe it. Bruce Gilley argues in WSJ that
GAG ME WITH A SPOON: Saw this in the GoogleAds today: out there investment websites are still pushing Taiwan with crap (same old articles!) that two minutes of research could dispel:
This has been a popular opinion for a while, but the election of Ma Ying-jeou makes Taiwan an even safer pick for investors.
Its GDP increased 5.5% in 2007 and is expected to grow around 7% in 2008. Meanwhile, Taiwan's inflation is a very safe 1.8%.
Ironically, recent news reports said that Taiwan's projected 2008 growth has been downgraded to around 4.3% by the major economic analysis institutes. Of course, the inflation figure given is laughable, whatever the government may say. Tom Plate has another awful piece at AsiaMedia that appears to have been ghostwritten in Beijing:
You don't have to read the whole thing, studded with errors and misreadings, It's enough when you see the reference to "cross-strait Chinese family", one of those terms, like lebensraum or manifest destiny, that when uttered, signals the intelligent hearer that an entire people is getting the shaft.
But for the moment at least, the greatest destabilizing forces over the Taiwan Strait are churning not from within but are coming from the outside -- from those who might profit from a cross-strait conflict. Within the larger, cross-strait Chinese family, there is suddenly a little morning calm, as it were. One has the sense that in the course of time the Chinese family will sort this matter out for good, as they have been tackling such tough questions for thousands of years. For the time being at least, try to forget about all that blather regarding the "Clash of Civilizations." The big story now appears to be the growing compromise within complex and mammoth Chinese civilization itself.
[Taiwan]
8 comments:
"as they have been tackling such tough questions for thousands of years."
The historical Chinese pattern is not one of trouble => learning => progression but of prosperity => corruption => collapse => reestablishment => prosperity => ... It is a cultural line that has been moving around and around on a wheel for 2,000 years. But who knows. The wise, just, and oh so lovable CCP may have gotten it right this time...
Tom Plate is almost as big of an idiot as Bob Scheer. What's with American progressives?
Forget progressives. Taiwan’s only true friends in America are the neoconservatives.
"Taiwan’s only true friends in America are the neoconservatives."
If that is true then perhaps people should stop calling Bush a "neoconservative".
That link to that investment strategy page on investing in Taiwan is such a scam. I'm personally invested in the ETF fund for Taiwan, EWT, and as far as I'm concerned, being down 20% is not working.
Here's the real strategy that would have worked: short Taiwan stocks the day Ma comes into office.
Hu Jintao voices good wishes for Taiwan Olympians
Hu said that people from all circles in Taiwan have participated in the preparation for the Games in various ways in recent years.
"I believe we are surely able to present a unique and high-level international sporting gala, with the great support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the international Olympic communities as well with the mutual endeavors made by all Chinese both at home and from overseas, including Taiwan compatriots," Hu said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/08/content_9053304.htm
Why does Tiawan dont send chinese compatriots back home? WHY?
The incident is one of many episodes illustrating just how volatile the relationship between the neighboring countries can be.
And that's not the end of it. This week, when all China's attention is supposed to be focused on the opening of the Beijing Summer Olympics, the Chinese Internet has been flooded with rage against Koreans. In this instance a website had been posting claims that Koreans believe that certain Chinese historical figures, such as Confucius, were actually Koreans.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JH09Ad02.html
Taiwan to allow China investment in local banks in 2009
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/08/07/afx5302743.html
Don't fall into the trap of myopic investing. Taiwanese stocks are a screaming buy right now.
Real estate may be absurdly over valued, but Taiwanese stocks are a steal. They've pretty much been ignored in the rush for BRIC equities. That said, Money Morning isn't the first place I'd go for investment advice.
(disclosure: I'm long in GIGM and SIMO)
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