Daily Links, Jan 3, 2011

Before we get into the Daily Links, I'd like to post my favorites from 2010, as is my New Year wont. Not in order, here are my ten favorite, starting with the pic above of Drew Kerslake's wife Joyce climbing along the sea-cliffs in Kenting.

I love everything about this pic, the clouds, the horses, the romantic interplay of light, dark, and shadow. Taken in Kenting in August.

It's not much of a picture, and it's only a dung beetle. But this photograph touched my secret heart, which misses Africa passionately, where I first saw dung beetles in action. Finding it by the roadside above Taroko was like stumbling across an old friend.

I waited for a few minutes trying to get the waves crashing against the breakwater as if trying to grab this fisherman fishing unconcernedly next to them. This wonderful shot was the reward.

Took this one on 169 not far from Fenchihu above the tea farms near Alishan. Lovely.

I love this picture because of the way it suggests the endless, open road, pregnant with possibility. That's my friend Karl on the bike. Taken on the east coast in January.

On that same ride as the shot above, near Hualien harbor, I shot these men hanging around on the giant concrete jacks that protect both the harbor and concrete companies' bottom lines.

I usually ride past the lovely Liyu Reservoir in Miaoli two or three times a month on my way to points north. This is probably my favorite photo of it.

The light broke, illuminating the road and all the infinite beauty of riding in that area. Taken from Rte 9 between Hsintien and Pinglin.

This photo was taken on 159A, one of the loveliest roads on the island, on our ride to Alishan last month. Make sure you put a ride on it on your own schedule.

Meanwhile, what's on the blogs this week?

Before you read anything else, first see this awesome piece from Paul Monk in Quadrant Online. Monk disputes that the rise of China will inevitably lead to war. In that I disagree with him; I think we are on course for a couple rounds of hegemonic warfare and there is little that can be done about it. But it is a far ranging, erudite, and historically informed response.

The corollary of this is that it is not the rational self-interest of states which drives them to engage in intense security competitions and fight wars, but often deeply flawed, ideologically coloured and seriously information-poor calculations of costs and benefits by a shifting combination of competing national elites and ignorant popular opinion. This is what Thucydides showed in his classic history of the Peloponnesian War. It is what history after history has shown regarding the First World War. It is what Winston Churchill demonstrated with regard to the origins of the Second World War. It is what we must bear in mind with regard to China, if we are to avoid a war with that great and complex empire as its wealth and power increase.

Yup. And because of that fundamental lack of rationality that colors states-as-actors, China is currently pursuing a path that will bring it into conflict with all its neighbors, when it need not. Nobody threatens China.

On to today's links:

BLOGS:

• Drew climbs Da Hsueh Shan (a lovely ride and a good workout). Alas, his trusty orange steed has developed a hairline crack in the head tube and must be retired. That bike has been with me on so many rides, it is like losing an old friend. Can't wait to see his next buy, though.
• Local Publishers, foreign tongues from Steven Crook.
• Todd on his favorite posts of the year.
  
• Stephane at Tea Masters with that blog's best pics of 2010.
• Wandering Taiwan, an absolutely wonderful blog, goes to Yi Gu Zhai teahouse in Lugang.
• Mark Stokes on China's Next Generation Precision Strike Systems.
• Yangmingshan's Pingdeng canal trail
• Barking Deer with notes on climbing conditions on Yushan. And on the Southern Cross as well.
• ETRC argues that investments in China should be opened or else Chinese authorities will block them in the future as their own industries mature.
• The changing face of Angling in Taiwan.
• Shu Flies points out that if the "child protection" laws restricting the media are passed, then her own blog might be affected.
• A Hungry Girl looks at MACHO TACOS.
  
• Fili tracks his Taiwan blogs of 2010.
• David reviews Taiwan cinema of 2010.
• Nomadic Republic: Aboriginal Taiwan.
• Taiwonderful interviews Jan of Free Taiwan, the pro-KMT blog.
  

MEDIA:

• The Most Dangerous Man in Korea is the ROK President
• Taiwan-US trade talks scheduled for January
• KMT expels 10 members for Tainan mutiny.
• The American decline is for real. If only American decision-makers actually cared...
• Taiwan and S Korea close in on China and India in manufacturing.
• PRC may offer Taiwan perks to attract the Taiwanese. It won't work; too many Taiwanese have already traveled there.
  
• Taiwan retailers look to China market.
• Taiwan dollar may continue to gain in 2011.
• ECFA already hurting S Korean and India manufacturers.
• WantChinaTimes: ECFA starts this month with early harvest on over 800 items.
• Taiwan's airline profits driven by China routes. These are not open to other countries. Remember the days when the US complained that those routes should be open to everyone?
• Qualcomm to invest in $1 billion plant here.
• Taipei County to be named New Taipei City.
• One of my favorite writers on Japan, Gavan McCormack on the Senkakus.
  

EVENTS:
Jan 8, Jerome Keating is hosting another meet up at the usual venue. Frank Dikotter is the speaker. Jan 10 Heritage symposium in Taipei. See the left sidebar under HOT HOT HOT for links.
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[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.