WantChinaTimes reports....Seventy-eight flights from China to Taiwan have been added Jan. 13, the day before Taiwan's presidential election. The figure amounts to almost half of the additional 174 flights during the first traveling peak for Chinese tourists, which is expected to occur between Jan. 9 and Jan. 13, reported the Want Daily, the Chinese-language sister newspaper of Want China Times.The Chinese definitely can learn from the experience of Taiwan. News like this shows why the CCP is absolutely terrified by Taiwan's democracy and how potent this soft power is.
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Daily Links:
- A very positive, but sometimes unintentionally humorous article about Tsai from Reuters. It reads like the writer hasn't spent much time here -- on an island full of skilled freelancers, why do papers continue to source reports from such individuals? The same writer also produced one on Ma Ying-jeou.
- Paul Mozur in the WSJ with a really good piece on Taiwan, temples, and politics. From The Chung, no less. Not often in the mainstream media do we see a piece noting the role of temples.
- Ma camp says its margin of victory will be about 500,000 votes. I guess publishing of poll results is ok provided they don't talk about percentages... as Soong said: “That is obviously playing games with the law."
- NYTimes interview with Tsai Ing-wen: here and Ma Ying-jeou here.
- Americans must stand up for Taiwan's democracy.
- Mongabay with a great article on saving the Alangyi Trail
- Huge local news here: two Taiwanese students killed in Japan. This looks like one of those possessive male crimes, man killing a woman who had turned him down. Very sad.
[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.
re Reuters
ReplyDelete....''...It reads like the writer hasn't spent much time here -- on an island full of skilled freelancers, why do papers continue to source reports from such individuals?''
Can't you say ''IN A NATION FULL OF SKILLED FREELANCERS'' ..? ..why do you alwys refer to Taiwan as a mere island...stand up for the nation sir..or explain why you always call this nation a mere island in your prose. even though you love her. why denigrate her status? is it just habit from being oldtimer here? can you u xplane?
-- Keelung Jack asks and expects answer, i got a bet with the wife
MORE CHINA reax:
ReplyDeleteTaiwan's open society opens China exchange student's mind
By Feng Yanmei (馮艷梅) in China Post last week Jan 3
Dear Editor,
I come from communist China and I'm studying in Kaohsiung as an
exchange student. In the past three months, Taiwan has left a pretty
good impression on me. In my eyes, Taiwan is a comfortable place to
live in with the picturesque scenery, unique snacks and friendly
people.
Studying and living here helps me learn some special things about this
beautiful nation. ....Before I came here, I knew little about religions like Christianity. I
regarded the world of Christians as a place to go whenever people get
into trouble and want to escape from reality. However, I have had a
different view of it since I came into contact with some Christians.
The one thing all of them have in common is that they are kind and
take the responsibility of passing on love. Once I went to church with
my friends where Christians talked to me enthusiastically even though
we didn't know each other. It was a really interesting experience.
It's contradict to what I known from the TV news few weeks ago. The travel agencies in Beijing told the Taiwanese reporter, "We have to stop all the Chinese tourists' booking, and leave all the flights to the Taiwanese businessmen for voting."
ReplyDeleteQ: Speaking of negative campaigning, there was a recent story in the Taipei Times suggesting that mainland officials have been attempting to influence Taiwanese business people in China to vote for you. Is there any truth to such allegations?
ReplyDeletePresident Ma: I have called on mainland China many times to refrain from any involvement in these presidential and legislative elections. Early on in several presidential elections held over the past decade or so, they took some actions that were not beneficial to the cross-strait relationship. Thus, I once more call upon Beijing to stay out of our election.
WOW. Ma just going out and admitting Chinese influence in Taiwanese elections. Read this carefully:
I'll bet those planes were filled with Taiwanese coming home to vote. I know of lots of people that fly home from Seattle during every big election.
ReplyDeleteThat, or it's just the excuse being used by China Times to explain the dramatic drop in the price of tickets to get taishang back to Taiwan in time to vote for the preferred candidate. Liberty Times had a good story on that angle yesterday.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, that article on the 500 000 votes also has a prediction from a DPP source, so if it's not allowed, both parties are guilty.
ReplyDeleteSomething doesn't make sense here. The Want-Want people might want you to believe that those planes will be full of Chinese tourists (all with wallets bursting full of cash to lavish on the Taiwan economy), but I seriously doubt it. Everything I have heard is that the Chinese government has been actively discouraging tourism during the campaign season precisely because they don't want their citizens, including loyal party members, to be infected with the democracy bug.
ReplyDeleteI think all those planes will be filled with Taiwanese returning home to vote, and the Want Want is trying to frame the news as something other than China trying to mobilize votes to affect the election.
On the other hand, ironically a few westerners, the type that hates the freedom of speech in the west, see Taiwan and hope to find a successful model of a right-wing oppressive regime. They have a tough time in hiding their discomfort when comparing Ma and Tsai. They really wish it is between Lee kuanyew and Jiang zemin.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered what will come of increased contact and "integration" between Taiwan and citizens of China.
ReplyDeleteDo PRC leaders pushing for "closer ties" think they can "unify" (or make an SAR out of Taiwan), while somehow keeping the two cultures and societies separate?
Do they really understand how much Taiwanese love to complain and protest (especially older folks!)?
Do they know how solidly the notion of the rights of free speech & free press and the right to protest at will (and very loudly!) has taken hold in Taiwan?
With "closer ties", how do they intend to keep those attitudes from spreading to China? By using a media firewall?
Are they thinking the Hong Kong model will work for Taiwan?
The level of activism and the kind of civil society that Taiwan has now has already gone far beyond anything HK ever saw.
why do you alwys refer to Taiwan as a mere island..
ReplyDeleteMaybe you need to read the blog more. I use the terms island, nation, country, state and others to denote Taiwan. For variation, which is good English style.
Michael
I think all those planes will be filled with Taiwanese returning home to vote, and the Want Want is trying to frame the news as something other than China trying to mobilize votes to affect the election.
ReplyDeleteYou might be right.
..Taiwan's Tsai puts pragmatism over populism
ReplyDelete''By Jonathan Standin''g | Reuters – Thu, Jan 5, 2012..
DUH, Mr Standing of Reuters HAs spent a lot of time in Taiwan, more than you sir.....research before you attacK1
Dear Mr Turton,
ReplyDeleteI do apologize, now that i see your good explanation, sir. re:
''Maybe you need to read the blog more. I use the terms island, nation, country, state and others to denote Taiwan. For variation, which is good English style.''
Thanks, I see now. I know a lot of old timers in Taiwan who came here in 1960s and 70s and 80s often refer to the island as ISLAND, in a warm cozy way, like "all over the island" or "islandwide" or "this is one colorful island" because yes ROC is an island, so the old time boys most often say island but in a warm loving way, which si the way YOU say it too so i guesses you is old timer too. THAT explains it. You are EXCuSED sir. And you are wedded to your English writing manual which makes you a stubborn professor. I put your students if you have any!
-- Keeling Jackie
Tokyo police have made progress in investigating the murder of two female Taiwanese students after raiding the dorm room of a fellow Taiwanese male student yesterday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteNo one has seen the male student since Thursday morning,
ReplyDeleteDUH, Mr Standing of Reuters HAs spent a lot of time in Taiwan, more than you sir.....research before you attacK1
Sorry, I assumed, based on the ridiculous paragraph on languages and several other items, that he was faking it like Andrew Jacobs.
How long has Standing been here?
regarding the election polls, why is the international media and kmt all been saying ma ying-jeou has been in the lead throughout the campaign when all the polls were mixed and biased towards one party or another? and i thought the polls by global views were shut down because they were the most accurate and unbiased polls of them all and they showed tsai ying-wen in the lead?
ReplyDeleteso do you really think ma ying-jeou will win and by how much?
Dear Mr Turton,
ReplyDelete..now that i see your good explanation, sir. re:
''Maybe you need to read the blog more. I use the terms island, nation, country, state and others to denote Taiwan. For variation, which is good English style.''
yes, but I have a suggestion as a london-based professor of ESL: why not use nation or country as your first reference in all your posts and then later down in story use the more warm and friendly term of "this island" to vary the terms. But not as first reference. I give you D minus so far. You never studied writing? Study up sir!
Dr Locke in Londontown
As a London based professor of ESL, I might suggest you learn capitalization and avoiding fragments.
ReplyDelete