BLOGS:
- Drew rolls 183 kms through the mountains.
- Brian Dunn points out that India did not reiterate support for the One China policy at its most recent meeting with Beijing's minions. China's claim to a whole Indian state has now made that impossible.
- Lao Ren cha with great musings on being a Tai Tai and changing one's name (and go kielbasa!)
- Save the Dolphins on the recent hearing on the Kuokuang petrochemical complex
- Patrick fights back against mei ban fa.
- Videos from the American Footsteps in Taiwan exhibition.
- Wang Dan: five lessons for Chinese democrats and also a piece by an official of China's Taiwan affairs office on President Ma's China policies.
- All that awesome foreign investment in Taiwan to take advantage of ECFA? Oh yeah, still playing wait-and-see. Another great victory for the China Cargo Cult.
- Koxinga's Birthplace from the Danshui history blog
- This Chatham House report on Taiwan and ECFA etc is a bit fantastic but cites one of the best observers of local political life, the redoubtable Michael Fahey.
- The Diplomat's Jason Miks argues that F-16s should be sold to Taiwan, and implicitly, F-35s to Japan. Time for the US to get serious about China, in other words.
- Video: Delivering flowers to the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands for Liu's Nobel. And more video: protesting Chen Yunlin's most recent visit to Taiwan. Amazing, the power of the Nobel + Chinese intransigence to make Liu into an international symbol.
- Chinese fishing boat rams S Korean Coast Guard vessel.
- Link behind wall, but the latest EU Blueprint favors dropping embargo to sell weapons to China. Do Europeans really think that if they sell weapons to China, they can keep their grip on their weapons technology? Read Jason Miks' piece above on the Russians, and rethink this.
- Liu Shih-chung with great piece on dealing with a resurgent DPP. Will the US view the DPP as an opportunity and not a problem?
- Taiwan and Japan hold forum on the Senkakus.
- DPP says that ECFA provides no protection for Taiwanese citizens or investors and many of its agreements are empty.
- Legislature to revise rules on local farm associations to make it easier for individuals of ill repute to stand for election and take positions.
- Taiwanese art on exhibit in Budapest.
- Indigenous people call for autonomy for five townships in the soon to be created municipalities.
- S Korean FTA with the US leapfrogs "advantages" of ECFA signing for Taiwan. But we all know the answer to Taiwan's economic problems: more China!
- Ken Anderson over at Volokh ponders what hegemony means in the rising China context.
- NT dollar reaches 13 year high.
- China to build aircraft carrier, reports FT.
- Taiwan's navy searches for subs....from Russia? Interesting article on Taiwan's search for weapons.
- Don't miss: Commonwealth English: ten families own a quarter of the Taiex: "The latest CommonWealth Magazine statistics show that Taiwan's top ten business families control 13 of the island's financial groups and business conglomerates. The 77 companies – listed or traded over the counter (OTC) – under these business groups account for only 5 percent of the total number of listed and OTC companies, yet their combined market value exceeds NT$6 trillion, accounting for 25.7 percent of the stock market's total market value."
COMING WAR WATCH:
- China to deploy permanent patrol vessels in the Senkakus "The official with the Ministry of Agriculture's Bureau of Fisheries took the unusual step of granting an interview concerning the Senkaku issue to a foreign media outlet on Saturday, saying that China was planning measures to challenge Japan's control of the islands off Okinawa Prefecture." I'm feeling like the Emperor in B5's The Coming of Shadows, asking the Vorlon: "How will this end?" Anyone remember the Vorlon's answer?
- Japan re-orients defense posture on China, but only modest changes in capabilities, says the CFR.
- Ricky Gervais on why he is an atheist. In the WSJ too -- great job guys! Ted Cox on why he gave up Mormonism for atheism.
- Hubble Telescope: lovely animation on its recent discovery of galaxies. Brilliant work!
[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! Delenda est, baby.
Regarding F-35s for Japan, there's no opposition to that from Washington. In fact they're trying to ram them down Tokyo's throat.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason Japan hasn't placed a large order for them yet is that the Typhoon is actually regarded as the ideal solution for replacing the F-4J. But because it's not American there's concern an order for it will affect relations with America. So there's much arguing over whether politics should trump defence needs.
Japan will order F-35s at some point, it's just a matter of how many and what aircraft they're slated to replace.
if the kokuang petro cplex push through then all of us bikers will be smelling black irritating,acid smelling toxic fumes starting from changhua, yuanlin, rende to kaoshiung. taiwan will be seen as a smoke bellowing volcano from the space station. esp. at night since these facilities coyly release their toxic fumes when it is dark!
ReplyDeletewhy is changhua kmt mayor following footsteps of dpp in yuanlin, tainan and kaoshiung?
mad biker