tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post5321754225682299434..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Ma: We need ECFA for Other FTAs Beijing: What are you talking about? =UPDATEDX4=Michael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-347827261673653332010-06-06T01:39:05.045+08:002010-06-06T01:39:05.045+08:00Exactly. If Beijing was really going to allow Taiw...Exactly. If Beijing was really going to allow Taiwan to sign FTAs with other sovereign nations then now would be a great time to make a clear and unambiguous statement eh? Clear up the misunderstanding...<br /><br />*crickets*<br /><br />Yeah. That's what I thought.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08682148923201795830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-82625672275697050512010-06-04T08:33:53.226+08:002010-06-04T08:33:53.226+08:00Oh c'mon everyone! Does anyone really think Ch...Oh c'mon everyone! Does anyone really think China would allow TWN to have FTAs? I don't need to hear it from the lips of some commie mouthpiece. They are consistent in their view that they are going to devour Taiwan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-4969047542591560612010-06-03T20:15:57.160+08:002010-06-03T20:15:57.160+08:00"I find it intriguing that whenever a mainlan..."I find it intriguing that whenever a mainland China official states anything, it's immediately believed to be truth and taken as gospel, but when a Taiwanese official says something, it's automatically a lie or empty promise."<br /><br />I never believe what China says, that is, if it is read out of a statement on a printed paper. The only thing I take it a little seriously is when they say it in a spontaneous way as seeems to be the case here. As Thomas pointed Ma Zhaoxu's problem is that he said what the Chinese are thinking rather than what they would have preferred him to say. When you have respond to a question without much preparation, it is more prone to say what you have been thinking.Jadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-68691079955909088292010-06-03T16:10:16.936+08:002010-06-03T16:10:16.936+08:00Bloom is right, according to Genzyme's own web...Bloom is right, according to Genzyme's own website. <br /><br />http://www.genzyme.com/pompemovie/<br /><br />Novazyme from Ok city was discarded as as ineffective. It was the Duke research by the Taiwanese doc that was the answer. The Cure and Extraordinary Measures are total bullshit, at least by that data.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-23923867444921774252010-06-03T16:08:07.858+08:002010-06-03T16:08:07.858+08:00It doesn't look like there is a contradiction ...It doesn't look like there is a contradiction so much as an omission. The original story seems never to have mentioned that Genzyme bought the cure from Taiwan, but treats it as something developed at Novazyme. There is a lot of missing information here.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-77763920921219637062010-06-03T16:04:44.507+08:002010-06-03T16:04:44.507+08:00You're right. Ok, so is Canfield or the Taiwan...You're right. Ok, so is Canfield or the Taiwanese guy the real hero?Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-29488744947521232092010-06-03T14:44:50.958+08:002010-06-03T14:44:50.958+08:00Funny, Wikipedia seems to think Harrison Ford'...Funny, Wikipedia seems to think Harrison Ford's character is modeled after another guy, William Canfield:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_CanfieldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-46299873393325156842010-06-03T13:16:34.487+08:002010-06-03T13:16:34.487+08:00I find it intriguing that whenever a mainland Chin...<b>I find it intriguing that whenever a mainland China official states anything, it's immediately believed to be truth and taken as gospel, but when a Taiwanese official says something, it's automatically a lie or empty promise.</b><br /><br />I know you PRC trolls are English-challenged, but it doesn't even take the low wattage necessary to power a PRC troll brain to understand that it was not us on the pro-Taiwan side, but the Ma government, which read the statement as denying the right for Taiwan to have FTAs. The interesting question here is why they took it that way.<br /><br />I find it intriguing that trolls point out, on those occasions when PRC diplomatic speech is taken as a true statement of PRC intentions, that this occasional judgment becomes "always." Really, even a PRC troll can chop logic better than that.<br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-16797271243981642222010-06-03T09:49:59.284+08:002010-06-03T09:49:59.284+08:00...The Harrison Ford thing is such a non-story... ......The Harrison Ford thing is such a non-story... <br /><br />Actually this is a big deal in the entertainment business. Entertainment activists have long battled Hollywood and Broadway to cast more non-white actors in leading roles normally given to whites, and to create more principal non-white characters in major Hollywood films. The black barrier has only recently been breached. Leading Asian characters are still uncommon.<br /><br />We can argue that Ford saw "an opportunity" in his property, but Hollywood has often portrayed famous white scientists authentically in the past. It's a bit disturbing that an Asian actor was not even considered for this role.Marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-9774209329814726952010-06-03T09:46:14.127+08:002010-06-03T09:46:14.127+08:00By the way, Lawrence Chung wrote another long arti...By the way, Lawrence Chung wrote another long article today, this time about the ECFA issue. The headline is "Official deals with Taipei blocked".<br /><br />It says nothing more than you already know, but it does have one interesting detail at the end. <br /><br />The second to last paragraph says:<br /><br />"Analysts said Ma Zhaoxu's comment could have been an accident, as the Foreign Ministry later revised the wording of Ma Zhaoxu's comment on its website to 'official contacts' instead of 'official accords'". <br /><br />My own take on this is that Ma Zhaoxu spoke correctly, but he revealed too much. Beijing really has no intention of letting Taipei sign FTAs with other countries, but in order to get the ECFA signed, it is willing to be ambigous regarding this matter. Therefore, the Chinese have never corrected Ma Ying-jeou before.<br /><br />Ma Zhaoxu's problem is that he said what the Chinese are thinking rather than what they would have preferred him to say.<br /><br />"Official contacts" can be interpreted as diplomatic relations, but the term can also be interpreted to mean any official dealings (such as negotiating and signing an FTA). Naturally, such ambiguity would be the ideal way of responding to the question of a nosy reporter. <br /><br />"Official accords" is less ambiguous. As all FTAs are official accords, Ma Zhaoxu committed the sin of revealing the Foreign Ministry's real position. <br /><br />But unless the Foreign Ministry specifically releases a statement saying that they really meant to say "official contacts" as opposed to "official accords", thereby implying that "official accords" are acceptable to Beijing, when they are not, I would say that Ma Zhaoxu's doozie of a comment will be very difficult for Beijing to undo, making the verbal acrobatics of Ma Ying-jeou, who has to prove to us that night is day and black is white, all the more entertaining.Tommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13552370490869601403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-76688100098766679502010-06-03T08:42:17.337+08:002010-06-03T08:42:17.337+08:00I find it intriguing that whenever a mainland Chin...I find it intriguing that whenever a mainland China official states anything, it's immediately believed to be truth and taken as gospel, but when a Taiwanese official says something, it's automatically a lie or empty promise.<br /><br />I'm not sure why the DPP hacks believe everything that China says.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-11711800208053677622010-06-03T07:20:18.375+08:002010-06-03T07:20:18.375+08:00The Harrison Ford thing is such a non-story. This...The Harrison Ford thing is such a non-story. This is a Hollywood film for god's sake. When you watch a "based on a true story" movie and they actually show the real people do you really expect to have them looking like Hollywood actors?<br /><br />And as expected Mayor Hu doing his Claude Raines impersonation: I was shocked, shocked.Tom Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08374660262095996434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-66706362831072603352010-06-03T07:06:46.144+08:002010-06-03T07:06:46.144+08:00The only rationale can be that the KMT are not sel...<b>The only rationale can be that the KMT are not selling out Taiwan so China's pissed at them.</b><br /><br />Or not selling it out fast enough.<br />Or institutional struggles within China.<br />Or KMT misinterpretation.<br />Or....<br /><br />Really, you pro-PRC trolls simply lack imagination.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-50543470757149449052010-06-03T07:05:44.290+08:002010-06-03T07:05:44.290+08:00Hahaha. Thanks D. But that big stick, it's you...Hahaha. Thanks D. But that big stick, it's your job to find it! I'll let you know if I come up with anything besides our market....Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-35032017685459880652010-06-03T01:31:32.773+08:002010-06-03T01:31:32.773+08:00Funny. Tsai Ing-wen gets blasted for correctly sta...Funny. Tsai Ing-wen gets blasted for correctly stating that the R.O.C. <i>was</i> a government in exile in Taiwan and thus supposedly undermined Taiwan's government and sovereignty/international status. <br /><br />But, the PRC blocking FTA's from being negotiated and signed between Taiwan and other countries doesn't undermine Taiwan's government/sovereignty/international status?<br /><br />We need a serious reality check. One is a simple problem of words, while the other is a significant problem of action (or inability to act [on a FTA]).Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13864496921909619980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-32838121142598888372010-06-03T00:05:48.982+08:002010-06-03T00:05:48.982+08:00Good to know. If the CCP really believed that the ...Good to know. If the CCP really believed that the KMT were handing Taiwan to them (as is so often claimed by this blog and other maddogs), then they wouldn't have done this. The only rationale can be that the KMT are not selling out Taiwan so China's pissed at them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-20797280353661793522010-06-02T23:39:55.603+08:002010-06-02T23:39:55.603+08:00And these are the guys who keep saying, "trus...And these are the guys who keep saying, "trust us, we know what we're doing."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-29383465047073801822010-06-02T22:38:37.991+08:002010-06-02T22:38:37.991+08:00I'm delighted China said this before the YECK-...I'm delighted China said this before the YECK-FA was signed. At least we can be reassured that China wasn't colluding with its old enemies.<br /><br />But now I think there's going to be blood in the pen that signs that document. What other choice does Taiwan have since it has essentially put all of its eggs in one basket?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-19687094737267991292010-06-02T21:44:31.593+08:002010-06-02T21:44:31.593+08:00Your "Kitty Hawk" is a good analysis of ...Your "Kitty Hawk" is a good analysis of PRC behavior, but I would soften it in one respect, by pointing out that some of this is the result of factional and/or institutional friction within the Chinese government. Some of these contradictions may be orchestrated, or tolerated as a way of projecting power, but some of them may be spontaneous. I don't think the foreign ministry carries much weight, by the way. (But were actual FTAs really a possibility anyway? I always felt like that was something Ma floated as a freebie, easily scaled back to "well, any kind of trade agreement, whether it's called FTA or not". In fact, I bet that's what he says tomorrow.)<br /><br />And oh, please do let me know when you find the "Really Big Stick" (the one you mention in your "Kitty Hawk" post) to negotiate with China with. I've been looking for that for a while. Barack will want to know about it too. :)Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-69459391332558561092010-06-02T21:24:03.231+08:002010-06-02T21:24:03.231+08:00Yes, but there's some funky stuff. everyone is...Yes, but there's some funky stuff. everyone is aware of it.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-72220647791264463502010-06-02T21:07:37.695+08:002010-06-02T21:07:37.695+08:00Is this making the news cycle?Is this making the news cycle?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-55588592768556127932010-06-02T20:16:03.970+08:002010-06-02T20:16:03.970+08:00A loud slap on the face for Ma, for sure.
I am jus...A loud slap on the face for Ma, for sure.<br />I am just surprised but how "frank" the Chinese Officials were...didn't they understand the trick that Ma was pulling here in Taiwan?<br /><br />It's all ruined now!<br /><br />KMT will just have to come up with another "rationale"...Hansnoreply@blogger.com