MEDIA: Taichung county and Taichung city merger comes ever closer. Once they are merged, Jason Hu can run for eight more years as mayor of the monster Taichung That Ate Central Taiwan (tm). Aogu wetlands to get wildlife reserve. Another KMT legislative official with US citizenship. Who would have thought it? US Congress rallies in support of Taiwan. Chinese antarctic expedition arrives in Kaohsiung, seriously off course. Taiwan stocks hit six month high. For some reason this tale of a Taiwan man who has pet wild pigs was international news. Taiwan encourages foreign participation in the new free trade zone around Taoyuan Airport. Asia Times on the probable direction of the stock market. Acupuncture works on dogs and cats. Taiwan government to invest US$37 million in revitalizing baseball. In the category of "best punning headline", the NIA 'busts' a ring bringing special prostitutes with big breasts and baby faces from China into Taiwan. Taiwan Journal on the exaggerated benefits of gambling in the Penghu. A very refreshing article.Mainland tourists leave their graffiti on a rock in Taiwan. Must be pro-independence plot! Talk Taiwan asks what's missing from the TRA? Kuo Kuan-ying being protected by pro-Blue mobsters as he re-entered Taiwan was blogged on by many, including my man Jackson Broder, and a-gu. Far Eastern Sweet Potato reports on Leg. Speaker Wang's meeting with the TFCC on the ECFA agreement with China. China Shipbuilding sues Israeli shipping firm -- has orders through 2012. Good for them. Whatever you may say about Taiwan's foreign policy, it's stories like this that make me squirm and want to apologize to someone. Pennsylvania firm wins contract for first phase of new AIT facilities in Taipei. Globalist cheerleader Tom Barnett, who never lets me comment on his blog (no hard feelings Tom, I'll still link to ya), has a piece up on the latest Chinese weapon to designed to kill US carriers and Taiwan. Will the US-China war "over Taiwan" really be about Taiwan? Don't think so.... Taiwan baseball players in Japan The China Beat with an excellent round-up of Tibet stuff. In the category of Decline of Civilization, Green Tea Flavored Toothpaste David covers Monocle covering Rock in Taiwan Fili on Keanu Reeves speaking Chinese in the remake of the Day the Earth Stood Still. That is NOT a movie that needed remaking. Snarky Tofu on the Taipei Times' global hit panda hoax The Gentle Rant on China's Death Vans
Fun with Faleomavaega: Eni Faleomavaega, the Chair of the Asia/Pacific Subcommittee whose pro-Beijing emendations of House Resolutions have made him infamous among Taiwan supporters, is superbly roasted on this anti-Eni blog, ABCDEF group (h/t to everyone who sent a link). I was going to blog on it, but they did a much better job than I ever could. Joining them is the hilariously awesome Foreigner in Formosa, and maddog. Faleomavaega's ignorance is not merely a national embarrassment, but could cause serious trouble between the US and Taiwan, or between Taiwan and China. Last year I blogged on his removal of language about Beijing in a House Resolution on the March 2008 presidential election, and in 2007, on his bizarre letter on HR 676 on the F-16 sale. The Taipei Times had a big go-round with him recently, just type his name in the search function.
AQUATIC JOBS: A friend writes: The Am-Vets Pool in Taichung is looking for someone to teach swimming lessons in English. One session will be five weeks long and be composed of ten lessons of 70 minutes each. The teacher will be free to set up the schedule on weeknights or weekends as it fits into their schedule. The pay will be NT$6000 + free access to the facilities (indoor/outdoor pools/sauna/steam/hottubs/spa) for the duration. I imagine that if it is successful it may lead to further sessions. The pool is located at Wu Chuan West Road, Section 1, #224. The contact's name is Jerry and his cellphone number is 0912 383 721.
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9 comments:
Re: your photo... I always thought it was interesting that Mitsubishi had such a large presence in Taiwan. It's like they're one of the big 3 there along with Toyota and Nissan. The latter two make sense, they've historically been Japan's largest automakers, but Mitsubishi isn't that successful in most of the world. Conversely, Honda's huge in the US but not that significant in Taiwan.
dude, you have the longest sidebars i have ever seen!
Tom Barnett's webmaster here. i'm willing to publish your comments, but you might check the comment policy. when in doubt, these days, i don't publish.
best,
Sean
Carlos:
Can Mitsubishi vehicles be sold in the US? My van has no safety stuff. Probably couldn't get in....
Sean, thanks, but you guys have made it clear you don't want me posting there. Nice that you dropped in, though.
Michael
It is not surprising that Eni Faleomavaega would come out so strongly against FAPA and Taiwan independence. Can you imagine if the people on Samoa decided they were fed up with American hegemony and wished to be their own independent country rather than an American protectorate?
Faleomavaega would be out of work and cut off from the source of his power which he deploys for personal gain.
Sean: The only policy I see is a policy to exclude comments that might point out a serious flaw in your boss's analysis. I'm sure you get a lot of garbage. You seem to be (probably very consciously) throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Mitsubishi has a different lineup in the US... like most automakers, it consists of sedans and SUVs (and a coupe). No vans. But even when the cars are the same ones as in the ASEAN market, the US cars have more standard safety equipment per regulations.
When I was living with family in Kaohsiung, I got a lot of comments for always wearing my seat belt. Freeway driving isn't all that different here from there, so I was taken aback by the difference in attitude towards safety.
Hi Michael,
A couple new updates on Faleomavaega:
http://foreignerinformosa.typepad.com/the_foreigner_in_formosa/2009/03/faleomavaega-dustup.html
"Can you imagine if the people on Samoa decided they were fed up with American hegemony and wished to be their own independent country rather than an American protectorate?"
Yes, but he can feel secure. The American Pacific territories are not going to be independent anytime soon. A Guamanian I once knew put it this way: Sure there are people on Guam who want independence. But Guam is so small and so far away that there is not much to sustain the economy.
Faleomavaega and his island brothers have it very good. They have the benefits of US citizenship combined with certain tax breaks and a degree of shelter from the economic rollercoaster rides small economies with few resources can go through.
Great gambling industry story. I believe the writer was quite clever in subtly pointing out that AMZ received the greenlight to build a casino before parliament even passed legislation legalising gambling in Taiwan. Is it just me or does this whole casino deal reek of corruption?
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