Ma finds new way to irritate Japan

My new Sony DSC RX100 II has basically rendered my old Canon EOS 550D obsolete for most of the pics I take, but the Canon still takes excellent macro pics when coupled with the wonderful Tokina 100mm macro.

The Taipei Times comments on President Ma's latest drive to irritate relations with Japan...

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Friday once again called for Japan to review what he considered an insufficient number of Japanese tourists visiting Taiwan in recent years, the third time he has aired such concerns in the past 15 days.

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When receiving new Japanese Representative to Taiwan Mikio Numata on Aug. 22, Ma urged Japan to “reflect upon” why there were only 780,000 Japanese visitors to Taiwan in the first half of the year, against 1.46 million Taiwanese tourists to Japan during the same period, adding that Taiwan has surpassed South Korea to become the largest source of tourists to Japan.

The scolding language -- "reflect on" is a classic Chinese scolding trope that accuses the listener of a moral failure in behavior. But more importantly, it shows how the Ma Administration is continuing the policy of finding irritants to keep riling relations with Japan. Ma could just have easily have thanked Japan for being the largest source of tourists outside the China.....
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Daily Links:

• The always excellent Ketagalen Media on the Sunflowers: Turning protests into politics
• Livestream of tonight's protests in Hong Kong
• Article on how the election in Macao and future of Hong Kong
• KMT poll has Lien closing in on Ko in Taipei (China Post)
• Chinese spyplanes test Taiwan: the salami slicing has begun
• Wanna see Taiwan's future? Even Bloomberg, which is hardly what anyone would call a liberal rag, is publishing articles pointing out that China's goal in HKK is to save the rich. Same thing happening here in Taiwan, but in slow motion. 
• China now to destroy Taiwan's national champion semiconductor industry.
• FireX band on igniting the Sunflower movement via music
• Advice on moving to Taiwan (here)
• 10 Family friendly things to do in Taiwan. Actually, every one is in Taipei. Taipei does not equal Taiwan. For the sake of all Taiwan gods, can we stop writing as if Din Tai Feng were good? It's perfectly average. 
• Chinese incidents with Indonesia in the South China Sea.
• Taiwan Brain Trust on identification with Taiwan among the young
• MOD says China could seize Taiwan before help can arrive. That's the Ma administration's goal, no?
• NOT TAIWAN: Brian B's droll article on international sports and N Korea
• EVENT: KEEP TAIWAN FREE NYC Kick-off event featuring The Hsu-Nami, Olivia Utopia世外桃源 (Taiwan), Manic Sheep (Taiwan)
  Wednesday, September 10 at 9:00pm in EDT at Arleans Grocery (Facebook)

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