Daily Links, Oct 1, 2012

Appallingly gorgeous day on the road up to Guguan yesterday. Fall in Taiwan is fantastic.

One thing you should be reading today: Gordon Chang's Is China Burning? Both China-Japan economic relations and the current Senkakus mess are reviewed:

Because senior Party leaders are failing to maintain unity at home, it’s likely they will continue to press Tokyo over their claims to the Senkakus. In recent weeks, Beijing has upped the stakes by sending patrol vessels and threatening to flood the disputed area with “more than 1,000” craft.

Unfortunately, Beijing in recent years has lost its ability to compromise its territorial claims, some of which are outlandish. Beijing has laid down a marker for itself and cannot yield an inch. This makes each claim a flashpoint.

And Tokyo is beginning to realize there is no appeasing Chinese leaders. On the 14th, the official China Daily, by making a reference to Kume in the Ryukyus, laid the historical groundwork for raising a claim on that Japanese island chain, which is near the Senkakus. Said Hissho Yanai, a Japanese activist, to the New York Times, “If we let them have the Senkaku Islands, they’ll come after all of Okinawa next.”

Charles accelerates around a curve.

BLOGS:

• Drew hits some of my favorite roads in Sanyi. Lovely pics. 
• How not to use toilets in Taiwan
• Neil Wade goes to Smangus.
• If you missed them yesterday: Taiwan from the air, by the Bushman.

Just above Guguan town Steve's chain weakened and threatened to break. Charles attempted to fix it, but to no avail. So Steve and I headed back to town where Steve repaired the chain in proper manly fashion, by bashing it with a hammer, which is what real men do when duct tape and WD40 don't work, while I, effete English instructor, went along to supply translation.

MEDIA:

• Information Minister Hu busted for using (swoon!) an iPhone.
• China manufacturing contracting. Ouch for Asia. Taiwan dollar takes hit since real contraction apparently exceeded predictions.
• Manila beefs up Spratlys forces
• Keelung battles to change identity from container port to tourism port.
• Taiwan, Japan to continue talks about having talks on fisheries.
• LA Times on world's dullest sport.
• Touch of Light represents Taiwan at Oscars
• Taiwan manufacturing hub in Karnataka?

EVENTS:

• Neil Wade leads another expedition to Snow Mountain, Nov 9. Places still open.
• Taichung AmCham Walkathon Oct 28, for KIDZ charity, registration at 1:30, walk begins at 2. At the MetroPark.
• Sixth Annual Chili cook off  第6屆美墨辣肉醬烹飪大賽 Zhong Ming Park, 424 Huamei St 忠明公園, 台中市西區華美街424號 (2012 Book Exchange site... NOT SOHO STREET) October 13th from 12noon - 9pm 10月13日 中午12點-9點

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