Blast from the Past + Links

The image above shows US pilots strafing near the Confucius Temple in Changhua (Google maps). A close friend posted to Facebook:

American pilots strafing Changhua near the Confucius Temple in Changhua.
When I lived in Hemei, in Changhua County my boss' husband was a KMT politician, and he liked to take me out drinking with his constituents. One night we were drinking 蒸餾酒 (I'm guessing at the characters, I had no clue then. It was moonshine made from grapes from near Fengyuan I was told, and 60% or higher alcohol) with a guy who walked with a limp. Turns out the guy had been hit by an American bomb, and one of his legs was all torn up. He also had to drop out of school, so never finished his education. He didn't seem to bear any ill will towards Americans, though.

Lots of people around like that....
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Daily Links:

• End of Ma era = end of KMT princelings. Well, no. There's Hau.
• East Asian Forum: Mark Harrison on Tsai Ing-wen and turbulent times to come
• News Lens: Is the mob receding, or just going further underground? From veteran Taiwan writer Timothy Ferry. Good stuff.
• A piece on Tsai and the SCS claims, but wrongly conflates ROC and Taiwan. It is precisely that difference that Tsai can exploit, if she wants to. Yes, the ROC and PRC claims are almost identical and China will get them if it gets Taiwan, as I have been saying...
• Good analysis of 1992 Consensus from the always sturdy James Wang
• Taiwan seeks 'independence' in trade too
• Real wages fell in Taiwan a tiny bit.
• Executive Yuan drops lawsuits against Sunflowers
• Interesting comments on Tsai from Indian scholar, though much incorrect.
• Richard Bush in Brookings: It could have been worse.
• Second Zika case
• WSJ says US ambiguity on Taiwan dangerous. Nope: US ambiguity on Taiwan is smart. Because if the US had to declare what it was defending, it would have to take a position on who really owns the SCS islands that the ROC claims. If it says it won't defend them, China might feel it has a free hand. If it says it will defend them, it is defending one version of China against another. Ditto for the Senkakus with added bonus that likely opponent is Japan. Headache city: best not to say anything...
• IMPORTANT: Legislative session extended to July 15. Good news for getting things done.

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