tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post5954122985392530473..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: China Seizes Singapore Military Equipment on the way home from TaiwanMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-57478444450522787742016-12-07T02:38:07.203+08:002016-12-07T02:38:07.203+08:00Regarding scooters:
Taiwanese think they are a nui...Regarding scooters:<br />Taiwanese think they are a nuisance and an eyesore, and "not modern." This is only a response to the demands of the landlords and their tenants.<br /><br />Regarding military hardware impounded in Hong Kong:<br />Why doesn't the Singapore military charter their own boats to shuttle hardware around? I'm all for cooperative military relations, but if I saw boatloads of military equipment stopping by MY container port, I would be suspicious as well. I would be fairly certain that SG and TW were both aware of this risk.channinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06386334271601532591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-91112831567667643232016-12-06T04:21:41.540+08:002016-12-06T04:21:41.540+08:00Mr Turton,
You are obviously a normally-abled ma...Mr Turton, <br /><br />You are obviously a normally-abled man who can ride his bicycle around the entire country and blog about it. I on the other hand rely on a wheelchair. I find it awfully patronizing that you are telling me scooters blocking the sidewalk should be a part of my experience. You cannot even imagine how many years of advocacy it took for municipal governments to make this a priority. Maybe you should reflect your privilege and incredible ignorance before denying me my right to an accessible inner-city experience. <br /><br />Regards<br /><br />Peter HwangAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-90355800125117025962016-12-02T21:51:29.380+08:002016-12-02T21:51:29.380+08:00I'm all in favor of more "rationalization...I'm all in favor of more "rationalization" of public spaces, even if it is somewhat dehumanizing. The current arrangements are incredibly self-centered and radically 自由 that people literally walk and ride into each other, or simply stop and cut off a sidewalk. It reveals a shortcoming in democratic development here that people do not acknowledge the other. That said, I am not in favor of unilateral organization and management by private entities. The government, by will of the people, ought to get serious about zoning and organizing public space so that truly beneficial urban development plans can be drawn up and implemented; the ad-hoc patchwork of ugly modern buildings is just a different kind of blight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-8200130690815309122016-12-01T01:54:36.061+08:002016-12-01T01:54:36.061+08:0020 years ago, city life in Spain was almost as sco...20 years ago, city life in Spain was almost as scooter-based as in Taiwan. But between efforts to cut down on the noise, insurance increases due to all the injuries, and a temporary increase in wealth, people ride a lot less now. Are people walking more? No, they're driving. Instead of walking around parked scooters, you now walk around cars parked halfway onto the sidewalk. So I agree with Michael - scooters, especially electric ones, should be encouraged.Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079284428870214896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-31473875346560248512016-11-30T11:52:45.113+08:002016-11-30T11:52:45.113+08:00Well, we can all rest easy at night knowing Donald...Well, we can all rest easy at night knowing Donald Trump and a cabal of insane war mongering zealots, creationists, and crackpots will be guiding our nations foreign policy for 4 years. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-45171921671292407642016-11-30T06:33:27.149+08:002016-11-30T06:33:27.149+08:00APL is a subsidiary of NOL. NOL was bought by CMA ...APL is a subsidiary of NOL. NOL was bought by CMA CGM earlier this year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-28935436392831140542016-11-29T21:35:35.179+08:002016-11-29T21:35:35.179+08:00One thing you have neglected to mention is that th...One thing you have neglected to mention is that the Chinese knew about the shipment when the vessel was in Xiamen. My thought about this is that it was not the smartest of responses on the part of China. Sure, it sends a message, but seizing military equipment of Singapore cannot make the Singapore government think they can trust China any more. To me, it looks like yet another characteristic action of Xi Jinping inc. Make a brash statement at the potential cost of a long-term relationship. It is a reversal of the post-Deng period that cannot help China apart from anything they can glean from the tanks themselves.Tommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13552370490869601403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-41628145763793781712016-11-29T20:56:12.247+08:002016-11-29T20:56:12.247+08:00If you replace scooter parking with sidewalks, wal...If you replace scooter parking with sidewalks, walking will replace scooters, not cars. That is because there will not be any parking spaces for the cars to use, rendering it impossible to increase the amount of driving to that area. You don't need personal motorized transit on that scale in cities with densities like those in Taiwan (European cities manage well with lower densities), and Taiwan's geography is well-suited to mass transit (lots of valleys). Moreover, electric scooters still require electricity to be produced, which almost always involves some sort of environmental damage or consumes a lot of space. Of course mass transit uses electricity too, but less per person since mass transit users walk for short trips while scooter owners drive almost everywhere. Besides, there seems to be little chance of electric scooters taking over any time soon.<br />Finally, scooters still require parking, which takes up quite a bit of space, leading to sprawl that eats up precious land.<br />I think you can get that chaos without scooters. I don't like new development much either, but it's more the lack of stands and small shops, the dead open spaces, and the oversized plot sizes that get me.<br />Sorry for being anon, for some reason I can't post with my account =PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-61315493470229484592016-11-29T20:29:20.068+08:002016-11-29T20:29:20.068+08:00we need more scooters, not fewer, so we use less g...we need more scooters, not fewer, so we use less gas. Eventually all those spaces will have to be used by electric scooters. That would cut CO2.<br /><br />Yeah, I agree about the walking issue. But I've come to see it as part of the experience, and necssary for all the things that must occupy a street in Taiwan...Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-46219551484318375002016-11-29T19:58:46.257+08:002016-11-29T19:58:46.257+08:00Re: the picture, putting aside space for walking i...Re: the picture, putting aside space for walking isn't a problem, it's essential for cutting CO2, reducing sprawl, and letting disabled people get around more easily. Fewer scooters also means less noise and better traffic safety.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com