Upcoming Events: Meet Up, Bike Show.....

Plenty of stuff going on now. ...

If you are filling out the US census and you are Taiwanese-American, be sure to put that down on the form!

The Bike Show is next week in Taipei. I'm looking for low prices on shifters and wheels. How about you?

Advance notice: Breakfast Club Meet Up is MARCH 20. Speaker is Pavel Suian Ph.D. Professor at Bogdan Voda University, Romania.

The latest issue of Taiwan Communique is out:

We are pleased to let you know that the new issue of Taiwan Communiqué is just off the press (attached). This issue starts with an overview of the debate on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China, which is heating up in Taiwan. Many in Taiwan have major hesitations, as it not only ties Taiwan too closely to China, but it infringes on Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy.

We then present the results of a series of local by-elections in which the DPP did very well, bringing back some balance to the political landscape in Taiwan. What are the implications for the “Big Five” elections at the end of this year, and the Presidential elections in 2012?

Then we briefly touch on the January 2010 decision by the Obama administration to sell arms to Taiwan, and how this can be seen as part of an overall reassessment of how China is viewed internationally following the Chinese obstruction of a meaningful accord at Copenhagen, the Google affair, and other situations where the Chinese authorities have run roughshod over concerns about human rights and democracy.

We then focus on several developments inside Taiwan, where the erosion of justice and democracy is continuing, not only in relation to the appeal trial of former President Chen, but also the indictment of the prosecutor-general, and the passage of amendments of the Local Government Act, which inhibit good governance and democratic principles. This is followed by a brief overview of this year’s February 28th commemorations, and a criticism of a 2009 inquiry into political murders of the 1980s, which amount to a whitewash.

The Report from Washington gives a brief summary of the DIA report on Taiwan’s air power, and touches on the beef issue between The US and the Ma administration. This is followed by an In Memoriam on Jim Lilley, the former US diplomat who passed away in November 2009.

We close this issue of the Communiqué with a book review of The Spanish Experience in Taiwan, 1626-1642, an exciting new work on the Spanish colonial experiment in Northern Taiwan in the beginning of the 17th century.

____________
Daily Links

• Clyde Warden has new shows up on Chinese Consumer Connection, including Lunar New Year in Singapore, Wedding Rituals in Taiwan, and a Silk Market in Shanghai.
• The Danshui history blog has new posts up on the first bombing raid on Taiwan, and the Koxinga troops sent by the Qing to fight the Russkies in Siberia. Way cool.
  
• Justice minister comes out against the death penalty.
  
• Just for fun: The Impotence of Proofreading

_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!